Everyone enjoys the taste of barbecue, but not everyone is up to speed on how to cook it.

This is especially the case when it comes to smoking ribs.

Even some of the most seasoned pros are left wondering how to get that perfect, BBQ circuit taste.

So how do you get that professional taste and how do you achieve the ideal bark and texture?

You may not even realize that in many cases, it all comes down to timing.

But even that is not the end all be all of the perfectly cooked rack of ribs.

So how long does it take to smoke ribs in a charcoal smoker?

Slow-smoked ribs on average should take about 5 hours to be cooked to perfection.

The caveat here of course is that you should be cooking by temperature, not time. More on that below.

Let’s start by looking at a quick overview of the process of cooking smoked ribs before we move on to how long you should cook them in a charcoal smoker.

The Process You Follow Will Help Determine How Long It Takes to Cook Ribs

We all love the taste of lip-smacking, fall-off-the-bone BBQ ribs, and when done correctly, you never hear anyone complaining about the mess they make.

The overall process can be challenging, yes, but ultimately oh-so rewarding when you see your guests sucking every last bit of sauce off the bones.

By following the general process for smoking ribs in a charcoal smoker outlined below, you will be well on your way to mastering this skill.

For a more in-depth look at the process of using a charcoal smoker, you can check out this article: A Beginner’s Guide on How to Use a Charcoal Smoker.

Starting the Coals

Ideally, you should barbecue with either lump coal or high-quality briquettes. You should never use lighter fluid or charcoal that contains lighter fluid.

If you want to achieve the best-smoked meat, then it’s a good idea to keep an arsenal of lit coals on standby so that your grill will always be at a consistent temperature. Also, never put raw charcoal on an already established coal base. This will create a drop in temperature and will take valuable time to reestablish your smoking temperature sweet spot.

Start by lighting your coals using a charcoal chimney starter. Charcoal chimney starters are metal cylinders with air vents that are used for lighting charcoal easier before adding it to your smoker or grill.

You can see a list of the Best Charcoal Chimney Starters options on the market if you don’t already use one. Let the chimney burn for around 15 minutes or so until the coals are ready. Then, simply add the coals to the firebox in the smoker.

Another effective method is to light only a handful of briquettes on fire in the chimney and place them on top of the remaining unlit ones inside the charcoal pan. They will gradually light the unlit ones on fire without offsetting the temperature.

What Is the Proper Temperature at Which to Smoke Ribs?

Start by opening the bottom and top damper of your grill. Spread out all of the lit coals on top of the charcoal grate.

Monitoring and adjusting the vents as the ribs are cooking is crucial to ensuring that the temperature stays in the sweet spot for smoking. The ideal temperature is between 220℉ and no higher than 250℉. Your smoker should never get hotter than this.

Perhaps your smoker does not have a built-in temperature gauge. In this case, you should really consider purchasing a wireless digital meat thermometer that can monitor the internal temp of the smoker. You can check out some top-notch options by going to this article: Best Digital Meat Thermometers.

Not knowing the internal temperature of the smoker while cooking is a surefire recipe for disaster.

Maintaining the Smoking Temperature Sweet Spot

Once the grill has reached 250°F, replace your cooking grate if you have not done so already, and lay your slab of ribs on the opposite side of all of your coals.

Place the lid on your smoker and make sure that you put the lid’s open damper directly above your meat. Placing the bottom and top dampers on the opposite sides will help you to create somewhat of a vacuum, which will push oxygen through your coals and help keep them going. Another huge benefit to this method is that it will allow the heat and smoke to pass directly through your ribs giving them added flavor.

At this point, the cold is being shocked off of your ribs and the ribs are essentially robbing the smoker of all of its heat. This reaction will cause the grill to settle at around 220°F. This is why it’s a good idea to start at a temperature that is a little bit higher—the temperature eventually decreases anyway.

A good rule of thumb to keep in mind is that you can always add more heat; the difficult part is taking the heat away.

Do your best to maintain a 220° temperature. This is hot enough to get a deep brown surface and develop a crusty bark. Most importantly, it is hot enough to melt the collagens and fat.

This means that you should keep a constant eye on your smoker. Add more coals if needed when the temperature continues to drop even after adjusting the vents.

The Importance of Low Manipulation

Have you ever attended a barbecue, and noticed that the cook is constantly poking or flipping the meat and checking to see if it is done? What most people don’t realize is that the best-smoked foods don’t require that. In fact, when it comes to smoking ribs, you should refrain from opening your lid as much as possible—not even to check on or flip them.

You are not cooking the ribs over an open fire; you are actually cooking with indirect heat. This means that you have to touch them almost not at all.

The secret is to monitor time and temperature. Your main priority should be keeping an eye on and managing your coals and the heat. If you have to open the lid for any reason, remember to close it as quickly as possible.

For more information on cooking with indirect heat, check out this article: What Is Indirect Grilling – Why and How to Grill With Indirect Heat

How Long Does It Take to Smoke Ribs in a Charcoal Smoker?

Wrapping the Ribs | Cook for Another 40 Minutes to an Hour

If you have stayed on top of monitoring the temperature and your coals, then you should be able to start opening the lid of your charcoal smoker and checking on the ribs in 2 hours’ time. This is the point at which you should notice that the meat is somewhat pulling back from the bones.

Are the ribs done now?

Probably not, but knowing if they are done can be a tricky endeavor especially because there isn’t an easy spot to accurately place a meat thermometer probe on a rack of ribs.

Then there is the fact that ribs come in many different thicknesses and weights and no two smokers or grills are the same. So relying on time alone is not a good way to measure your rib’s doneness.

The above just underlines the fact of how hard it is to tell if they are ready.

Wrapping the Ribs

At this point, many people like to wrap their ribs in foil or butcher paper. This method is sometimes called the “Texas crutch”. This allows the “Stall” as it’s called to speed up and helps keep the rib meat moist.

The temperature should be maintained at around the 250°F for an additional 2 hours for this part of the cook.

Cook for Another 40 Minutes to an Hour to Finish Off

Once the ribs have cooked for about 2 hours while wrapped, it’s time to unwrap them and place them back on the smoker for another 40-60 minutes to finish them off.

The last 20 minutes will also be when you add some sauce if you are going for BBQ sticky ribs.

How Do You Tell When the Ribs Are Done?

The Bend Test Is My Preferred Method

Using a good instant read thermometer is a good starting point, and ideally, you would want to shoot for between 190°F and 203°F internally.

The problem with using a thermometer on ribs is that the meat is thin, the meat is too close to the bone and ribs vary in thickness from end to end. So relying only on a meat thermometer is not good enough.

If you have worked hard to control your temperature throughout the cook, have kept a close eye on the clock, and think they are close to being ready, here is a surefire method you can use.

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