Who doesn't love a nice rack of ribs? Ribs have a reputation as a backyard barbecue or summer meal, but they're certainly delicious any time of the year. For those days that you just don't feel like brushing the snow off the grill or grilling with an umbrella in one hand, baking is a great way to cook your ribs!
The trick to perfect oven-baked ribs is simple: cook them slowly and for a long, long time. Those of you who frequently make roasts, chili, and pulled pork know that you can't rush certain meals. I would recommend a minimum of 3 hours of cooking time, but longer cook times will make the ribs even softer. We'll talk about other ways to cook ribs in future posts, but for all of them, slow is the key.
There's another detail in cooking ribs that somehow is frequently overlooked: YOU NEED TO REMOVE THE MEMBRANE! I've had ribs at a lot of restaurants, and offenders of this sacred rule are everywhere! If you don't know what I'm talking about already, let me fill you in. There's a very thin membrane on the bony side of the rack. When it's left on during cooking, it can be difficult to bite all the way through when you're eating, or you may find yourself chewing something rubbery. It's really just an unpleasant thing to deal with, and removing it is simple.
For you first-timers, here are some instructions: Turn your ribs over so that the bony side is facing upward. If you look near the edge of the rack, you should see a place where the color of the meat suddenly changes—that's where the membrane ends. Try to grab the edge of the membrane with your fingers (this will be difficult) and pull it away from the rack. Sometimes it helps to make small cuts between the membrane and the meat using a small knife to give you more membrane to hold onto. Once the membrane starts to come away from the meat, carefully and firmly pull until the whole thing comes off. That's it! That's the hardest part of making these ribs!
This post is more about how to cook ribs than making uniquely flavored ribs, so I won't spend much time talking about the sauce. In this particular case, I used Jack Daniel's Original No. 7 BBQ sauce as my sauce of choice, but that's just a personal preference. It's a sauce that my grocery store consistently has in stock and that I enjoy the flavor of. You can use any sauce you like or none at all. In the future, I'll give you recipes for fresh sauces that I came up with or tried.
Oven-Baked Baby Back Ribs
Makes: about 4 servings
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 3 to 4 hours
1 rack of baby back ribs (about 3 lbs)
1-2 tsp smoked paprika
Freshly ground salt
Freshly ground pepper
About 2 cups of your favorite BBQ sauce
1. Preheat the oven to 275°F.
2. Remove the membrane from the bony side of the ribs (instructions in post), then flip over and pat the meaty side dry. Season with salt, pepper, and smoked paprika.
3. Place rack on a sheet of aluminum foil, then coat with barbecue sauce. Loosely wrap with foil, place on a large baking sheet (to prevent spills), then bake for 3 to 4 hours.
TIP: Use two sheets of foil to wrap. First, wrap from the bottom using the foil that the ribs were placed on. Then cover the top with a second piece of foil and wrap around the edges.
4. Remove the foil from top of the ribs and coat the surface with more barbecue sauce if needed. Turn on the oven broiler, then broil until the ribs are darkened slightly (5 to 10 minutes). Allow ribs to rest for at least 5 minutes before cutting.