Baking Ribs in the Oven
While I always advocate for ribs cooked over a live fire — sometimes that just isn’t possible. In my third floor condo, if I started a charcoal fire on my balcony, I’d be fined — and rightly so. Even when I did have a back yard and a big grill, there are some Texas summer days when grilling and smoking involved a little more heat and sweat than I wanted. So whatever your reason for thinking about baby back ribs in the oven, I’m sure it’s a good one.
The smoked paprika in the rib rub is the secret to creating a satisfying smoky flavor for these oven-baked ribs. I used a smoky barbecue sauce to increase that flavor, the Stubb’s Smokey Mesquite (use whatever your favorite sauce is, and it will work just fine). This recipe is easy and delicious. It takes very little prep work, and after that — a slow heat and several hours of cooking time.
You’ll want to season your rack of ribs ahead, if at all possible.
That Pesky Membrane
Before you season your rack of baby back ribs, you need to remove the membrane that covers the back of the rack. I purchase ribs from the meat counter at a local grocer, and fellows there have always been willing to remove the membrane for me — but if you have to do it yourself, this is a great video:
Oven Baked Baby Back Ribs
- 1 rack of baby back ribs
- 4 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup of your favorite barbecue sauce (or more, if you want to serve it on the side with the ribs) ((I used Stubb's Smokey Mesquite))
Rub Ingredients
- 4 Tbsp kosher salt
- 2 tsp celery salt
- 4 Tbsp brown sugar
- 3 Tbsp smoked paprika
- 2 Tbsp Ancho chili powder
- 2 Tbsp garlic powder
- 1 Tbsp dry yellow mustard
- 1 Tbsp ground thyme
- 1 Tbsp coarsely ground black pepper
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper ((if you don't want any spiciness at all, omit the cayenne))
- Mix up the rib rub.
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If your rack of ribs still has the membrane on the back, peel it off and discard it. (for a video on how to do that, check in the main body of this blog post).
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Rub the rack of baby back ribs with olive oil first. Then sprinkle a generous quantity of rub on both sides, rubbing and patting the seasoning all over the rack. This can be done the day before. Otherwise, letting the rib rack season for 1 – 2 hours at room temperature works very well.
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Preheat oven to 275°.
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Line a large baking sheet with heavy aluminum foil.
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Then wrap the seasoned rack of ribs in in another sheet of heavy aluminum foil and place on/in a large baking pan.
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Cook the ribs for 2 hours and 45 minutes.
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Then remove from the oven, take the foil wrapping off of the ribs. Cover the rack with half of the barbecue, and return to the 275° oven and cook uncovered for 45 minutes to 1 hour — meat should be tender and pulling away from the bone.
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Remove ribs from oven. Turn your broiler onto high. Put remaining barbecue sauce on the ribs, and run them under the broiler to cook for 3 or 4 additional minutes. Watch them carefully — you want the additional sauce bubbling — but not burned.
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Remove ribs from oven and let them rest for 5 – 10 minutes before cutting and serving.
What Are Baby Back Ribs?
Well, they aren’t called “baby” because they come from baby pigs. They are pork back ribs — coming from where the ribs meet the spine on the hog. They are called “baby” simply because they are shorter than spareribs.
For this recipe, be sure you actually have baby back ribs — otherwise the cooking time will be off — bigtime. Spare ribs will take significantly more time to cook.
For more about the different cuts of ribs, check out The Three Little Pigs tutorial on rib cuts.
