Grilled Maple Glaze Ribs

How to grill maple glazed baby back ribs

If you look through this website you will discover that I love ribs. I like to smoke them, grill them, bake them and even sous vide them.

Ribs have a lot of connective tissues and benefit from a low and slow form of cooking to create tender, fall off the bone ribs. When I smoke them they take about 6 hours and when I sous vide them they take a whopping 18 hours of cooking. But, if you are like me, you do not always have that much time. Sometimes I want the great taste of ribs but only have a couple hours. This recipe clocks in at around 2 hours of cooking time and I was amazed at how tender they turned out.

How to grill maple glazed baby back ribs

Below you can see a simple picture tutorial for removing the membrane on the underside of the ribs. It is not necessary to do, but it does allow the spices and flavors to better penetrate into the meat. It also creates a more tender finished rib. Use a knife on one end of the rib to lift up some of the membrane. Gently pull back to pull it off completely. Make sure you get a good grip as it can rip easily. Use a paper towel if you are unable to get a solid grip on the membrane.

preparing ribs labelled

This simple brown sugar and spice rub is perfect to season the meat during the 2 hour cooking process. The highlights of cinnamon and garlic give these ribs a nice depth of flavor.

Maple Pork Ribs-19

Set up grill for indirect cooking. Heat up one side of the grill and leave the other side with no flames. The ribs will be on the side with no flames and will cook in an indirect way preventing burning/charring.

Place the ribs in a rib rack or directly on the grill. Make sure that you have a drip pan underneath the grill grate as there are a lot of drippings that come off the ribs. The drip pan can prevent flare ups and there is nothing more discouraging than lifting the lid only to find charred ribs caused from the flames.

Maple Pork Ribs

Set your grill to 300F. Put in the ribs and close the lid. Let the ribs cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Check them occasionally to make sure there are no flames and that they are cooking well.

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After the 1 1/2 to 2 hours of cooking on the grill, the ribs should be fully cooked. You should see the meat pulling away from the bone. If the ribs are on a rib rack, use tongs to pull them out and place them, meat side up, on the grill. Brush them with maple syrup and close the lid for another 5 to 10 minutes.

These ribs are sticky and sweet and you will discover people devouring them. For a 2 hour cooking time, these ribs are truly amazing!

How to grill maple glazed baby back ribs

Grilled Maple Glaze Ribs

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Sticky and sweet baby back pork ribs. Maple syrup glazed with a brown sugar and cinnamon spice rub. Grill with a rib rack or right on the grates. 
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours
Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients

  • 2 racks pork back ribs
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1/3 cup maple syrup

Instructions

  • Pull the membrane off the back of the ribs (Look and picture tutorial above for instructions)
  • Make the rub by mixing the brown sugar, cinnamon, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and cayenne pepper.
  • Rub the spice mix all over both sides of the ribs.
  • Set up grill for indirect cooking. Heat up one side of the grill and leave the other side with no flames. The ribs will be on the side with no flames and will cook in an indirect way preventing burning/charring.
  • Preheat grill to 300F. Place a drip pan under the grill grates.
  • Using the indirect grilling method, place the ribs away from the flames, in a rib rack or right on the grill grates and close the lid. Cook on the grill for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until the ribs are done. Check often for flare ups.
  • After the 1 1/2 to 2 hours of cooking, use tongs to remove the ribs from the rib rack. Place, meat side up, on the grill grates.
  • Brush with maple syrup and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes.
  • Serve immediately.

Maple Pork Ribs pinterest

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How to grill maple glazed baby back ribs

Did you try this recipe?

Leave a comment and let me know how it turned out. Or, take a picture to share on Instagram and tag me @theblackpeppercorn.

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10 comments

  • 5 stars
    So I made these yesterday for my daughter and it turned out great. I baked them in the oven ….thanks for sharing your recipe.

    • Reply
  • 5 stars
    This is amazing! Definitely doing this later

    • Reply
  • These look sooooooooo goooooooood!

    • Reply
  • 5 stars
    Wow… these ribs look incredible. I wish I could grab a few off the screen . 🙂

    • Reply
  • Would these work in the oven?

    • Reply
    • I think they would work just fine actually. I also imagine that the temperature of 350F would work well also.

      • Reply

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