It’s hard to believe how juicy and tender these oven-baked baby back ribs are—cooked till they fall off the bone after being rubbed with a delicious dry rub. Then perfectly cooked while covered in a delicious barbecue sauce.
Cook Advice: Cooking baby back ribs in the oven slowly and steadily in a “foil pack” that traps the steam is the secret to ensuring they fall apart. I always get absolutely beautiful ribs when I bake the ribs at 275° F for a couple of hours covered in foil.
BBQ Baby Back Ribs Ingredients
Pork Baby back ribs: I prefer to go for the leanest baby back ribs when buying pork. Before using the dry rub, I’ll cut off any extra fat.
BBQ Sauce: You can use homemade or store-bought BBQ sauce. I particularly enjoy the baby back rib BBQ sauce from Stonewall Kitchen.
Onion: Include onions in your recipe; they truly enhance the flavor during baking. You can use your preferred kind of substitution.
Brown Sugar: I chose dark brown sugar, but light brown may also work fine.
Paprika: This gives the ribs a stunning color, and I prefer to use sweet paprika rather than smoked paprika.
Salt & Pepper: You can adjust the salt and pepper to your taste.
Garlic Powder: I prefer to use garlic powder here rather than raw garlic to ensure that all ribs are coated equally.
Onion Powder: This dish also features excellent onion powder as a flavoring agent. It aids in giving the spice rub the traditional taste.
Dry ground mustard: This is what I used. However, if you want to, you can use yellow mustard. The ribs should be covered in wet yellow mustard and marinade for at least two hours in the refrigerator.
Cayenne Pepper: This spice provides the ribs with a little kick that complements the other flavors. You may eliminate this or adjust the amount to your liking if you don’t like spice.
How to make Baby Back Ribs
Here is a brief guide on how to cook these baby back ribs in the oven.
Step 1: Prepare the ribs by removing the silver skin
Note: If you can’t find the membrane, the butcher probably took it off already.
Remember that the thin silver skin or membrane that runs around the back of the ribs must be removed while cooking ribs. The membrane, a thick layer of skin, will stop the ribs from dislocating. Leaving it on will make the ribs less tender and less enjoyable to eat, which is not good.
It’s simple to get rid of. Simply flip the ribs over and search for a section of the membrane around the meat’s margins that you can grip onto. To free the silver skin from the ribs, you can also slide a little knife blade between them.
It produces a very thin covering across the back and is silver in hue. Use a paper towel and pull a piece back once you’ve caught it, just like you would tape. The membrane may be pulled entirely off in one piece if you do it just properly.
Step 2: Prepare and apply the dry rub
The dry rub should next be prepared, applied, and thoroughly rubbed into the ribs. It adds a ton of flavor and is simple to create.
For even more flavor, you may let it lie with the rub in the refrigerator overnight, but it’s not required. The rub gives the ribs an additional layer of strong flavor. I strongly advise applying it.
But you may just add salt and pepper if you choose. Give the ribs plenty of seasoning.
Step 3: Bake the ribs
You must set up the ideal conditions for pork baby back ribs to steam cook if you want to bake them in the oven. The simplest method to accomplish that is to wrap them with tin foil. If you prefer not to cook using foil, you can alternatively use parchment or butcher paper.
To create a pouch for the ribs, cut off a piece of tin foil that is large enough. Place sliced onions over the top of the ribs in an even layer. The foil must completely enclose them. To keep the steam inside, crimp the edges together. The ribs acquire their tenderness in this way.
Bake the baking sheet at 275 degrees Fahrenheit. The time it will take to cook a rack of ribs depends significantly on how large the rack is.
It’s possible to bemoan the lack of sear you get on the grill while preparing these ribs in the oven. However, don’t panic; we have a solution for it.
For three to five minutes, broil the ribs. Watch it closely in case it flares up. To properly caramelize the sauce, I like to brush them with more sauce and place them back under the broiler for an additional three to five minutes. The second time is optional if you’re pressed for time.
Simply place the ribs meat side up on a hot grill, cover it, and cook them on the grill instead of the broiler. Before basting again, let the edges of the meat get a bit charred. The top will have a fantastic caramelized crust in 5 to 10 minutes.
After finishing cooking, the ribs will have a slight sear on the sauce, giving them a grilled appearance and flavor. The taste strength is increased as a result.
Step 4: Apply BBQ sauce
When finished, take the ribs out of the foil and drain the liquids. Apply BBQ sauce liberally to the ribs. For me, baby back ribs must be served with BBQ sauce.
The sauce is what preserves the liquids and intensifies the taste.
For how long should the ribs in the oven be cooked?
The best generalization for the softest and juicy baby back ribs is to cook them low and slowly. I like to roast ribs in the oven for 2 to 2 1/2 hours at 275 degrees Fahrenheit. Then set the oven to broil and let it run for 5 to 10 minutes to caramelize the barbecue sauce.
If you’re in a hurry but still want to make these fantastic ribs, check out my Air-Fryer ribs recipe.
Important Notes
- A small rack with ribs will take around 2 1/2 hours to cook.
- For a medium rack, plan on spending about three hours. Four hours is a possible time frame for a large rack.
- Give it at least 2 hours in the oven before you check it for the first time. After then, have a look at it.
- The meat should have come off from the bone edges. Insert a fork into the flesh and give it a little pull if you’re unsure if it’s cooked. It should break easily.
- If not, return it to the oven for an additional 30 minutes. Remember that, depending on the size of the ribs, roasting them to perfection might take up to four hours.
- When the bones are excessively tender, it is more difficult to pick them up. The meat should begin to peel away from the bones but not totally released.
Oven-Baked Baby Back Ribs Recipe
Ok, it is time to go with a more detailed recipe for these fantastic baby back ribs. Once you make them, you’ll see just how simple this recipe is.
Ingredients
For the Ribs
- 3 lbs of baby back ribs
- 1 sliced onion
- BBQ sauce
For the BBQ Rub
- 2 TBSP of brown sugar
- 1 TBSP of paprika
- 1 tsp of black pepper, ground
- 1 tsp of salt
- 1 ½ tsp of garlic powder
- 1 tsp of onion powder
- 1 tsp of ground mustard
- ½ tsp of cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Set the oven’s temperature to 275° F.
- Wash the ribs and use a paper towel to dry them. Take off the membrane with the silver skin from the bottom.
- Apply the dry rub on the ribs. (Although it’s not required, you may improve the flavor by covering the dish and letting it remain in the refrigerator for two hours or overnight.)
- Over the top of the ribs, spread out the sliced onions evenly. Cover the ribs with foil on a baking sheet, closing the edges firmly to form a packet.
- Bake for two hours in the oven. When the meat breaks away from the bone and becomes fork-tender, it is ready. Cook the meat until the bone readily breaks when pulled.
- Remove the foil and remove any liquids. Rub the ribs with barbecue sauce and serve.
Grill the ribs for extra char
You may grill or broil the ribs as an additional step to gently char the top. Prepare the grill for cooking. Put the ribs over the flames when the grill is heated and cook for 3–4 minutes or until the marinade is boiling.
The meat is very sensitive and can easily come apart while moving to and from the grill, so take care.
Turn the oven on to broil. Bake the baking sheet for three to five minutes under the broiler once it is hot. If desired, repeat the process and add another coating of barbecue sauce.
If you like this recipe you will also love these Dr.Pepper Short Ribs.
Share the image below to your Pinterest board if you like these pork baby back ribs in the oven!
FAQs
What’s the best temperature for baking the ribs?
In this dish, baby back ribs are baked for 2 to 3 hours at 275 degrees F. The rack size of ribs is the main factor in determining how long they must cook at this temperature. A smaller rack will probably take about two hours, while a bigger rack might take up to three hours.
When baking ribs, should I cover them?
Yes, to prevent the ribs from drying out while baking, it is better to cover them. Every time, excellent ribs will be produced by wrapping the ribs in tin foil and grilling them there.
How do you tell whether the ribs in the oven are done?
When the bone easily separates from the meat when pulled, your ribs are cooked.
Do ribs get more tender as they cook longer?
Yes, as they simmer longer, ribs get more tender, but there comes the point where they stop being soft and start to dry up. Toward the end of cooking, check the flesh every 10 minutes to see if it hasn’t dried out, and tug on the bone to see how readily it separates from the meat.
It will eventually just slip off the bone. The flesh will start drying out after that.
Is it better to cook ribs with the bone up or down?
The meaty side of the ribs should always be facing up while the bony side is cooking.
