How to Smoke Rib Tips

Rib Tips are part of the spareribs that some pitmasters see as “scrap” meat and toss them in the trash. However, when barbequerib tips are properly cooked on the smoker, they are full of flavor, tender, and delicious! Let’s talk about it!

What are Rib tips

Rib tips are the “U” shaped portion of the sparerib. This portion of meat is trimmed to create the more “rectangular” shape of the St. Louis ribs. This is one of the BBQ world’s hidden gems, so don’t scrap this meat!

Rib tips – Win-Win Situation

One nice thing I like about rib tips is the full spare rib is usually CHEAPER than St. Louis and Baby Back ribs. So in my mind I get two cuts of meat, spare rib tips and St. Louis ribs, cheaper than purchasing St. Louis ribs alone! That’s a win-win situation for my wallet!

How to Prepare Rib tips

The spare rib actually has a “line” of fat that helps show you where to cut the rib tips. You will also see a slight “bend” where the bones end and where the cartilage begins.

This is the location where you want to use a sharp knife and a disposable cutting board. Simply cut along the fat line and the remaining “scrap” meat is your spare rib tips.

This is a beautifully marbled piece of pork that will make for some delicious pitmaster treats!

Seasoning the Rib tips

When it comes to seasoning, use your favorite BBQ rub. I prefer to use Butcher BBQ Honey Rub. This is a rub that is sweet and complements pork well.

That’s it, now let it sit for 30-45 minutes while you get the smoker ready!

Let’s Get to Cooking

Your rib tips will smoke fairly quickly. I believe when I smoked these they cooked for about 2 hours at 250 degrees on my Hasty Bake Legacy pit.

After about an hour some bark formed and I then cut them into 2-3 inch chunks.

The pork rib tips went into an aluminum pan. I added some Butcher BBQ Sweet BBQ Sauce, two sticks of butter, and another dusting of Butcher BBQ Honey Rub.

At this point you could add some brown sugar, honey, whatever flavor profile you are going for.

Cover the aluminum pan with foil and back on the pit for another hour or so.

Are the Rib tips Done Already

After about an hour the rib tips should be smelling REALLY good! Use a probe thermometer and lift up a corner of the foil and check the temperature. You want an internal temp of 195-200ish. You want them to probe with very little resistance, that’s when they are done!

Let them rest for about 30 minutes and it’s time to eat!

In Conclusion

Ok, there you have it. Straight forward, no nonsense how to smoke rib tips!

Grab yourself some spare ribs and make your family two new delicious BBQ meals they will really enjoy! Remember Pitmaster Essentials is where smoke meats flavor!