We take the 3-2-1 method of grilling ribs and tweak it so that the ribs aren’t so tender that they fall right off the bone. A lot of people love that, and that’s just fine, but some people want ribs a little short of pot roast. In this recipe, we give an alternative to the 3-2-1 method for grilling ribs which will save you significant time and still yield tender, juicy, and smoky ribs. We call it 90-60-30 Ribs.
How Long Does it Take?
The one question people ask me more than any other is, “How long did you cook it for?” This is a severely flawed question. How long I cook something has no bearing on how long someone else would cook a similar cut. There are too many factors that can vary the cooking time greatly such as weight of the meat, temp of the grill, fat content of the meat along with outside weather conditions. Simply put, cook to temp, not to time. But since so many people cook to time, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised at how popular the 3-2-1 method is for grilling ribs. This is an alternative to the 3-2-1 method for grilling ribs. In that 3 2 1 method recipe, we brine the ribs. We don’t in this recipe. Want the best of both worlds? The alternative to the 3 2 1 method AND brining, check out this recipe.
If you need more ribs inspiration, we can help.
What is the 3-2-1 method?
It’s the most surefire way to overcook your ribs and take them beyond fall-off-the-bone, which turns some people off, although the vast majority of people prefer them this way. Basically set the grill/smoker to 225F degrees, and smoke the ribs for 3 hours. Next, place the slabs on a couple sheets of aluminum foil and add either margarine or butter along with a bunch really sweet stuff like honey or syrup or brown sugar or a combo of 2 or 3. Feel free to add seasoning here. Maybe give Agave Nectar a try. Trust me here! Then the foil-wrapped ribs are put back on the grill for 2 hours. After that, the smoked ribs are removed from the foil and placed back on the grill to firm up the bark from all the liquid that accumulated in the foil. If applying sauce, this is the time.
So what’s the alternative?
How do you smoke ribs without the 3 2 1 method?
It’s pretty clear that I’m not a big fan of the 3-2-1 method. Well, actually, it’s not the method I don’t like – it’s the duration of each step. I love the method. I’m not happy with the times. All three of those numbers need to be cut in half. So if you convert the 3 2 1 method to the 1.5 1 .5 method, you’re golden.
The problem is the 1.5-1-.5 method sounds terrible. If we could get everyone to call it the 90-60-30 method we might have something. Because in actuality, that’s all anyone needs to cook a couple fantastic slabs of ribs. See, what happens is all that butter/margarine/honey/brown sugar/syrup/agave nectar combines with fat rendering out of the ribs to make a steaming, sweet/savory slurry. Thus, the liquid steams the ribs inside the foil, infusing some amazing flavor, but at the same time hyper-accelerating the breakdown of the connective tissues, which makes the ribs super tender.
The problem is it’s really easy to go too far. So what I’m saying is I’m all for the foil, just not foiling too long. We want to infuse all those flavors, but not make the pork too soft. I know some of you think all that sweet stuff will make it taste like candy. It doesn’t. It adds sweetness but it’s not candy sweet. The butter/margarine counters the sweetness a great deal.
Also, if the worst thing that happens to me in a day is I eat fall-off-the-bone ribs, I had an amazing day!
Let’s get to the method so I can show you what I mean.
An Alternative to the 3-2-1 Method for Grilling Ribs Ingredients:
- 2 slabs of St. Louis style spare ribs
- Salt
- Pepper
- Your favorite BBQ rub
- Reynolds Wrap Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil
- 12 pats of butter
- 2/3 cup of honey, divided three ways
- 2/3 cup brown sugar, divided 3 ways
- More BBQ rub
Does the alternative to the 3 2 1 method work for baby back ribs?
While I’m doing this recipe with St. Louis style spare ribs, the method will work just fine on baby back ribs too. Although, baby backs should be done a little earlier (like 20-40 minutes over the total time of the cook).
An Alternative to the 3-2-1 Method for Grilling Ribs Prep:
First, remove the membrane off the bone side of the ribs and season with salt and pepper and the BBQ rub. Always season bone side up first and then season the meat side:

The reason to season bone side first is so the natural concave of the bones will keep the meat (and seasoning) up off the cutting board and thus keep the BBQ rub from sticking to the wood.

Next, season the edges. The easiest way to do that is to put the ribs on their side and rub the edges along the seasoning that landed on the cutting board:

You will notice those latex-looking gloves in the above three pics. They are actually made of nitrile. They are A-MAZ-ING. Got a sloppy job to do, slap a pair on, get down and dirty then toss them in the trash. We go through thousands a year. You can also layer on 4 or 5 pairs, when the top set gets all nasty, slide that set off and the next set is ready to go. Here’s our go-to for nitrile gloves. Also, black nitrile gloves just plain look cool!
Now back to the recipe.
How to Grill Ribs:
Prep the smoker for between 250F-275F degrees. In this case we have a kamado style grill with a plate setter in between the hot coals and the ribs to deflect the heat away from the meat. In a conventional grill, simply do two zone or indirect grilling with coals/smoke wood on one side and the meat on the other.
I added some pear wood to the coals and dropped those ribs on the cooker bone side down to keep the seasoning from sticking to the grill grates:

An hour in the smoke and the ribs are coloring up nicely:

After 90 minutes (or the first part of the 90-60-30 Method for Ribs), the ribs are ready for the foil:

How to Foil Ribs
Lay down a couple layers of foil and place four pats of butter a in a row a couple inches apart. Then add a third of the honey and a third of the brown sugar along the line of butter. Sprinkle a little rub down as well. Next, put the first slab on top of that buttery sweetness meat side down. I know it’s been bone side down the whole time until now, but the rub is now melded to the meat and we want to create a vessel for the liquid to pool in. See, the meat is going to pull back from the bones making for 12-13 pointy protrusions pushing against the bottom of the foil which is holding in all that scalding liquid. As soon as the foil packet is picked up, the bones poke through and now we have a sweet, hot slurry sprinkler pouring all over our legs and shoes. Like I said, meat side down, bone side up here. Add the second slab and the last third of the honey/brown sugar/butter and wrap up the ribs in the foil.
Read on to see step by step, pic by pic, foolproof grilling instructions on exactly how to do this
The first slab is placed on top of four pats of butter. Then, add four more pats of butter to the bone side of the ribs along with a third of the honey and a third of the brown sugar as well as a little more rub:

Next, place the second slab on top of the first, again meat side down and repeat the process on the bone side of the second slab. Then wrap the foil around the two slabs and put them back on the cooker, also, meat side down.
How to tell the ribs are done? The bones know!
After an hour, I know the ribs are done because those bones tell me soL

Finally, the ribs go back into the cooker for 30 minutes without the foil to firm up the bark:

Why is one slab darker than the other? The one on the left was on the bottom and almost completely submerged in juices and melted butter. Conversely, the one on the right was on top and not submerged. If this is an issue, simply wrap each slab separately.
Plate the ribs
When I said these ribs were pretty much done when they came out of the foil, the darker slab (the one completely submerged) came just short of splitting in half at the bone because that slab was fall off the bone tender. See the split:

So just an hour in the foil and the one slab that was completely submerged was fall off the bone. Although, be careful. The Texas Crutch is a powerful tool.
Perfect bite
The slab in this pic was the top, lighter colored slab in the foil. How did this one turn out?

There is a term for that clean indention that shows the exact shape of the teeth. It’s called the perfect bite.
That’s what every competition barbecue contestant is looking for. Thus, with this cook, I had the best of both worlds. I had a slab that was fall-off-the-bone and another slab for those that prefer ribs a little less done.

An Alternative to the 3-2-1 Method for Grilling Ribs Recap
I highly recommend foiling ribs. It’s up to you to experiment with different flavors, whether sweet or savory, as well as cook times in the foil. It really is a great way to ensure ribs are flavorful and tender. Just be careful. Foiling is a potent weapon. Go with the 90-60-30 method. Unless of course you are all about those fall off the bone ribs, then by all means, go for the full two hours in the foil and don’t let anyone tell you those ribs aren’t fantastic too!
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them below or shoot me an email.
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An Alternative to the 3-2-1 Method for Grilling Ribs
Equipment
- aluminum foil
Ingredients
- 2 slab St. Louis style spare ribs
- salt
- black pepper
- your favorite BBQ rub plus extra
- 12 tsp salted butter divided into pats
- ⅔ cup honey divided 3 ways
- ⅔ cup brown sugar divided 3 ways
Instructions
- Remove the membrane off the bone side of the ribs and then salt and pepper that side before dusting with the rub
- Flip over to meat side up and repeat the seasoning process
- Prepare the grill for two zone or indirect grilling with a target temp of 250-275f
- Place the ribs bone side down the grill and close the lid
- After 90 minutes lay down two long sheets of Reynolds Wrap and line up 4 pats of butter a couple inches apart
- Drizzle a third of the honey over the butter as well as a third of the brown sugar
- Dust with some more BBQ rub
- Place the ribs meat side down and repeat the butter/honey/brown sugar/rub process on the bone side of the ribs
- Place the second slab meat side down on top of the first slab and place the remaining butter/honey/brown sugar/rub on the bone side of the second slab before wrapping the two slabs up in the foil
- Place the foiled slabs on the grill for about an hour
- Remove the foiled slabs from the grill and remove the slabs from the foil
- Place the ribs back on the grill and close the lid for about 30 minutes.
- Remove the slabs from the grill and place on a platter or cutting board
- Slice and serve
More pics from an alternative to the 3-2-1 method for grilling ribs
37 comments
Jason Sneller
I use a very similar method, but when I foil them I put some bbq sauce and apple flavored whiskey in the foil. The alcohol cooks off and gives the meat a little apple flavor. The family really likes it
Scott Thomas
Jason,
That sounds fantastic…
…….Scott
Anthony Leone
Great article and insight. After reading about the 3,2,1 method it didnt seem right. 6 hours for ribs seems long. This method was spot on for that perfect bite.
Peter Harkonen
I prefer baby backs to the St Louis style for one. I have had the best results from smoking the ribs for 3 hours and continuing to grill them indirect for another 4 hours. I stay under 200° the entire cook. Haven’t had better tasting ribs yet using any other method that involves wrapping.
Dave Johnson
My wife likes baby back ribs. Would this method be the same? I’m using a pellet grill if that matters. Thanks in advance.
Scott Thomas
Dave,
Sure it would work. Just knock 30 minutes off the first portion of the cook…
…….Scott
Wilfredo Alvarez
Completely correct, 6 hrs way too much for ribs, have u ever tried guava wood?
Scott Thomas
Wilfredo,
I have not tried guava wood. Where would I find it?
Mike
What times would you recommend for baby back ribs?
Scott Thomas
Mike,
Take about 30 minutes off the first portion of the cook for BBR’s
Cam
Hey Scott, Costco sells their baby backs in a 3 pack, would you stack the 3-pack for the foil wrap or do two separate foil pouches?
Scott Thomas
Cam,
Stacking three high will probably cut right through the foil. I generally only stack two high…
…….Scott
Vince
Great method, Scott.
What do you consider a pat of butter… 1/2 a tablespoon?
What is the internal temp you are looking for prior to pulling off the grill?
Thanks for this site!
Scott Thomas
Vince,
A pat of butter is whatever you see it as. That’s a personal decision…
Mr Negative
I attempted to follow your instructions but then discovered I failed reading comprehension. First I noticed you used St Louis style and I had the meatiest back loin ribs ever. Not what I would call baby back. After the time on grill , no noticeable undulations . What had I done wrong ? Nothing except wrong ribs . Oh and back tie reading, I was @225° oops! I increased the temp to closer to 250° then used butter honey and rub meat side down 2 separate packs. 1.5 hours later , out of the foil for 30 minutes. They still turned out pretty awesome. First ever slabs I smoked, done butts,shoulders, a turkey , salt , venison and bologna . Next time . Thank you. Sorry so long winded.
Jim
I am 2 1/2 hrs into a two rack cook. I use buckthorn, an invasive species. Quite mild.
Matt
I agree with you and the on my Kamdo Joe the times are too long due possibly to the great heat retention of the ceramic grill. However on my Camp Chef Smoke Vault. They weren’t mushy after 6 hours. I also dont use foil, I use butcher paper which is supposted to breathe a little bit.
Craig
This is spot on, exactly how I do mine on my Kamado Joe. Six hours is way too long and ribs are too dry. About 3 hrs is perfect.
Edd
3-2-1 works for a 3 pound rack of baby backs commonly sold at stores like Costco.
2 pound racks works with 2- 1.5- 0.5 and 1+ pound racks works well with 1.5- 1-0.5.
Sauce the last 30 minutes in 10 minute intervals, meat, bone and meat.
Eric
Ever use butcher paper?
Scott Thomas
Sure. Butcher paper works great. It’s just not as easy to get.
matt
What do you think of butchers paper instead of aluminum foil?
Scott Thomas
Matt,
I think butcher paper is great! You can’t go wrong with either product.
Matthew
Scott, you can now get butcher paper on amazon. Good prices also.
John DK
I just cooked about 6 pounds of meaty baby back‘s and ran at 200° for about four hours – foiled and ran for two hours … removed the foil and ran an hour and a half. They were great and some bite to them. During this process of nearly 7 hours I was able to consume several beers more than if I had ran a higher temperature.
Kelly Adams
I couldn’t agree with you more on the 3-2-1 turning ribs to mush and actually enjoying eating that. I made ribs yesterday following your process and they were flawless! Juicy, perfect bites, and full of flavor. Appreciate you sharing this Scott!
Kyle
This was a great alternative to the 3-2-1. Smoked under 4 hours, came clean off the bone, and everyone thought they were some of the best they’ve had.
Bill
I like a competition bite. How can I avoid the bottom one getting too soft? Thanks
Scott Thomas
Bill,
Simply don’t leave them in the foil very long. Like 30-45 minutes tops…
…….Scott
Len
I must admit I’ve never fully understood time-only based cook methods of any kind. I view them as guidelines for the purposes of having a rough expectation. I try to get my ribs to around 195-199 and not hover in that zone too long before pulling. Sometimes it takes 5 hours, and other times 7, depending on variables like weight, type of cut, meat-to-bone ratio, starting temp, moisture, etc. I’ve never had an issue with mushy ribs. The main lesson I’ve learned is, just because cook times are longer, ribs are still not “set and forget.” It’s important to monitor them and adjust depending on the method, starting variables, and ever-changing conditions during the cook.
Thanks for your article. I enjoyed the read and picked up a couple of tips I will try.
Blake H.
Heard of this website for the first time from Order of Man podcast!!! I tried a few different things but my favorite so far has been the ribs. Sometimes I can’t find St. Louis style so I use baby backs and it works just the same. Awesome stuff and really enjoying the website!
Linda Speers
is the time and temp the same if I am using a Pit Boss smoker?
Scott Thomas
Yep
david bruce
Just wanted to thank you. I use this recipe every single time I smoke ribs and they have become a neighborhood favorite. Only modification is to lightly sauce for the last 15 minutes or so. Highly recommend BBQ Guys Memphis Rub. Thanks Scott!
Jim F
Just call this the 90-60-30 method and its perfect.
Steve Bass
what is the “divided three ways” mean?
1/2 cup of honey, divided three ways
1/2 cup brown sugar, divided 3 ways
Scott Thomas
Steve,
Great eye. Fixed.