Baked Ribs

Do you not smoke? Of course! In contrast to smoked ribs, these Easy Baked Ribs are luscious, meaty, and fall-off-the-bone tender.

Smoking meat is one of my husband’s favorite things to do, and I must admit that nothing beats a slab of ribs cooked slowly over hickory wood chips.

Because I know that not everyone has access to a smoker, I’m going to share my quick and incredibly tasty oven-baked rib recipe instead. It is possible to make oven-baked ribs that are so tender they practically fall off the bone.

I am astounded by how tasty these are with each batch that I bake. No matter what, they always turn out beautifully!

Because they require no cooking on my part and can be prepared in advance, Easy Baked Ribs are similar to slow cooker recipes. This gives me a lot of freedom to do other things while they bake. The ribs are delicious both hot and warm, making them perfect for hectic sports nights when the kids return home ravenous or for when you need to space out supper because your kids have different activities.

Indulge in luscious, fall-apart-tender oven ribs that are seasoned with common spices, roasted for hours, and topped with BBQ sauce. This is the simplest rib recipe you’ll ever encounter.

Four Primary Rib Types

For the record, this oven-baking technique is specifically for ribs of pork, not ribs of beef. It can be overwhelming to try to narrow down your pork rib options at the supermarket. With that out of the way, buckle up because I’m about to give you a crash course on the four most common varieties of pork ribs you can purchase in the supermarket.

Ribs that attach to the backbone are called baby back ribs, but you may also hear them called back ribs or loin ribs. This cut features a natural curvature and contains eleven to thirteen ribs. Contrary to what the name may suggest, the ribs displayed here are really from baby backs, not pigs. Back ribs usually come in 2- to 3-pound chunks, which is enough to feed two or three people.

Spare ribs, often called side ribs, are the section of ribs that extend from the belly button to the breastbone. Although most of the meat is located on top of the bones in baby back ribs, this cut of ribs has bigger bones and more meat between them. In my opinion, the extra cartilage and bones that come with this cut of ribs—also called rib tips—are not particularly attractive. Although back ribs are the faster option, spare ribs will require more time in the oven.

Spare ribs that have had the cartilage and excess bones removed are called St. Louis Ribs.

Although they are not really ribs, country style ribs are incredibly meaty since they are sliced from pork shoulder.

Tips for Choosing High-Quality Baby Back Ribs

Here are two key things to remember when selecting a rack of back ribs from the shop, regardless of whether you’re going to bake, grill, or smoke them:

Because there isn’t a lot of meat between the rib bones in back ribs, you want to be sure that the baby back ribs you buy have a generous amount of meat on top.
Make sure the rack of ribs you choose has enough of fat. Flavor = pork fat! Although bigger amounts of fat can be removed, it is the fat that imparts the succulent flavor and tender texture to ribs.
For a family of five, I usually bake two racks of baby back ribs because one rack typically serves two to three people.

Although I’ll teach you how, I think many people find the thought of preparing ribs at home to be daunting.

Roasting Ribs: A Step-by-Step Guide

1.One must first cut the ribs.
Get a rack of baby back ribs that weighs 2 1/2 to 3 pounds. Keep in mind to seek out ribs that have an abundance of fat and meat covering the bones. By all means, remove any very large bits of fat from the surface.

After removing the ribs from the oven, pat them dry with paper towels.

2.The second step is to remove the silver skin.
One layer of connective tissue called silver skin is located on the back of the ribs. No matter how you cook the ribs, you’ll need to remove the tough, biting flesh first. The processor has deleted it at times, but at other times it hasn’t.

Silver skin is easy to remove and has a purplish-white hue (I suppose it’s silver, haha). If the silver skin is present, insert a pairing knife between two rib bones at one end of the rib rack. If needed, use a paper towel to gain a strong hold and peel it off the length of the ribs.

The rest is a piece of cake!

3.Third, add seasoning to the ribs.
Afterwards, in a small bowl, combine a handmade spice blend consisting of salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, smoked paprika, and a pinch of cayenne pepper (if desired).

After you’ve sprinkled the mixture on the ribs, use your fingers to rub them in. After wrapping the ribs in plastic, place them in the fridge for at least 2 hours, preferably 24. It makes no difference whether you use the baking sheet or a tray to set the ribs on; both will be used for baking.

4.As a fourth step, cover and bake.
After removing the ribs from their packaging, set them on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray and lined with foil. Separate the racks onto their separate baking sheets if you’re baking more than one.

Tightly cover the baking sheet with foil and bake at 250 degrees for 3-1/2 hours. Bake the ribs for 30 minutes longer for every half to one pound of ribs if your rack weighs more than three pounds. To illustrate, bake a rack of ribs weighing 3 to 4 pounds for 4 hours.

After carefully removing the foil from the baking pan, pour out any remaining liquid.

5.The fifth step is to apply BBQ sauce.
Apply your preferred BBQ sauce to the ribs’ surfaces, then bake for another 30 minutes to achieve a caramelized, lacquered finish. For my taste, nothing beats Stubb’s Sticky Sweet BBQ Sauce or another similar sweet BBQ sauce.

No other aroma can compare to what’s emanating from the oven!

6.Lastly, take a break, After slicing, present
After around 15 minutes, remove the ribs from the oven and set them aside to rest. The meat literally slips off the bone, trust me when I say this. So juicy and flavorful!

These oven-baked ribs are soft and quite tasty, so I hope you enjoy them whether you’re eating them at a summer barbecue, in the dead of winter, or any time in between!