Chicago BBQ
intro
Tender, fall-off-the-bone pork rib tips coated in tangy, slightly sweet tomato-vinegar sauce, the iconic smoky staple of Chicago’s South Side BBQ tradition.
Ingredients
Steps
Prep the rib tips
Pat 900g (2 lbs) of pork rib tips completely dry with paper towels. Trim any excess loose fat or tough silver skin from the surface, then cut the full slab into 5cm (2 inch) individual chunks. Season all sides evenly with 5g (1 tsp) kosher salt and 1g (½ tsp) freshly ground black pepper, then let the meat rest at room temperature for 20 minutes while you prep the grill and sauce.
Make the BBQ sauce
Place a small saucepan over medium-low stovetop heat (130C/265F). Combine 180ml (3/4 cup) ketchup, 120ml (1/2 cup) unfiltered apple cider vinegar, 65g (1/3 cup, packed) light brown sugar, 30ml (2 tbsp) yellow prepared mustard, 30ml (2 tbsp) Worcestershire sauce, 7g (1 tbsp) smoked paprika, 3g (1 tsp) garlic powder, 2.5g (1 tsp) onion powder, remaining 5g (1 tsp) kosher salt, and remaining 1g (½ tsp) black pepper in the pan. Stir to fully combine, bring to a gentle simmer, then cook for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves and the sauce thickens slightly. Remove from heat and set aside half the sauce for serving.
Prep grill for smoking
Set up a charcoal kettle grill for two-zone indirect cooking: light 2kg (4.4 lbs) of charcoal briquettes, and wait 15 minutes until the coals are fully covered in a thin layer of gray ash. Pile all lit coals on one side of the grill grate, then scatter the drained, soaked hickory wood chips directly over the hot coals. Place the grill lid on, and adjust the top and bottom vents to maintain a steady internal grill temperature of 120C/250F, positioning the top vent over the cool, coal-free side of the grill.
Smoke rib tips low and slow
Arrange the seasoned rib tips in a single layer on the cool, indirect side of the grill, ensuring no pieces are positioned directly over the hot coals. Close the grill lid, maintain the steady 120C/250F temperature, and smoke the rib tips for 2 full hours. Check the grill temperature every 30 minutes, adding a small handful of extra charcoal if the internal temp drops below 110C/230F. Do not flip the rib tips during this initial smoking period.
Sauce and finish cooking
After 2 hours of smoking, brush the rib tips generously on all sides with the portion of BBQ sauce not reserved for serving. Move the sauced ribs slightly closer to the hot coal zone (still not directly over coals), close the lid, and cook for an additional 30 minutes at 135C/275F. Cook until the internal temperature of the thickest rib tip reaches 93C/200F when measured with a meat thermometer, and the meat pulls easily away from the bone.
Rest and serve ribs
Transfer the fully cooked rib tips to a clean serving platter, and brush with a light extra coat of the reserved serving sauce. Loosely tent the platter with aluminum foil, and let the ribs rest for 10 minutes to allow juices to redistribute through the meat. Serve hot with the remaining reserved BBQ sauce on the side for dipping.
Tips
2.Soak hickory wood chips for a full 30 minutes before draining and adding to coals; dry chips will burn up instantly instead of producing the slow, steady smoke that gives Chicago BBQ its signature deep, smoky flavor.
3.Avoid lifting the grill lid more than necessary during the first 2 hours of smoking; every lid lift drops the grill temperature by 10–15C, adding 10–15 minutes of extra cook time.
OMG, I’ve been chasing the rib tips I grew up eating on the South Side for 10 years since I moved to Cali, and this recipe is DEAD ON. The sauce has that perfect tangy-sweet balance, the tips got that sticky, fall-off-the-bone-but-still-has-a-little-bite texture I missed so bad. Made these for my Sunday family dinner last week and even my picky teen asked for seconds! Total game changer, don’t sleep on this one. Worth every minute of the 3 hour cook time, trust me.
Brought these to my neighborhood potluck last weekend and people were literally lined up for seconds. I was a little nervous about the 3 hour cook time since I’m used to quicker weeknight meals, but the hands-off time in the oven meant I could prep my sides while they cooked. The only tweak I made was adding a tiny extra hit of hot sauce to the sauce base for a little kick, and it was chef’s kiss. SO good.
First time making rib tips ever and these turned out way better than I expected! I will say I messed up the sauce ratio a little at first (added too much vinegar oops) but I balanced it out with a little extra brown sugar and it still tasted great. Medium difficulty is fair, I wouldn’t recommend this for a total total beginner but if you’ve got a couple cooks under your belt you’ll be fine.
Made these for the Bears watch party at my place last Sunday and my crew demolished the whole rack in 20 minutes flat. I smoked them for the first hour then finished them in the oven with the sauce like the recipe suggested? Wait no — wait, does the recipe say you can smoke them? I just did that on a whim and it was insane, but curious if that’s a common hack.
I made a double batch of these on Sunday for meal prep and they held up perfectly all week for lunches! I paired them with coleslaw and cornbread and honestly the leftovers tasted even better the next day once the sauce had time to sink in. My kids kept stealing bites off my plate every time I pulled the container out of the fridge, lmao. Will be making this monthly for sure.
These tasted really good, but my oven runs super hot so mine were done about 40 minutes earlier than the recipe said, and a few of the tips got a little charred on the bottom. Flavor was on point though, next time I’ll just lower the temp by 25 degrees and check them more often. Would make again!
Grew up going to rib joints in Chicago every summer with my grandpa, so I’m super picky about my rib tips. Tried this recipe last night and it’s legit. The sauce doesn’t have that weird fake liquid smoke taste a lot of copycat recipes have, which is my biggest pet peeve. 10/10, will be my go-to rib tip recipe from now on.
Help! I tried making these last night and my rib tips came out really tough and chewy? I followed the cook time exactly but I think I bought the wrong cut? The label said “pork riblets” not rib tips, did I mess that up? Flavor of the sauce was amazing so I know I did that part right, just the texture was off.
My husband is a Chicago native who swears no BBQ outside the city comes close to the rib tips he grew up on, so I was low-key terrified to make this for our anniversary dinner at home. Y’ALL. He took one bite and got quiet, then said it tasted exactly like the ones his dad used to bring home from the joint on 79th. I nearly cried. 10/10, just gained so many spouse points lmao. SO good.
Just pulled these out of the oven and holy cow. The smell alone has my whole apartment building jealous. Can’t wait to dig in, they look perfect. Will update later but so far 10/10.
Did these on my charcoal grill instead of the oven over indirect heat for the full 3 hours, mopping with sauce every 30 minutes the last hour, and they turned out insane. Took these to my kid’s soccer team cookout and all the other parents were asking for the recipe. My youngest said they’re better than the ones we got at the BBQ festival downtown last month. High praise!
Really solid recipe! I served these with homemade mac and cheese and collard greens for our extended family Sunday dinner and everyone was raving. My only note is that I wish there were more make-ahead tips — I prepped the sauce the night before and stored it in the fridge, which worked great, but I was winging it. Difficulty is spot on for medium, just set aside enough time and you’ll be golden.