Easy ribs baked low and slow in the oven with a barbecue rub. These are fall-apart tender and so easy! Your family will love these ribs!
There are few things better than ribs cooked all day in the smoker, low and slow with applewood chips, until they fall off the bone and fill your palate with tender, smoky goodness. But what if you don’t have a smoker? Or don’t have all day? Or just want to serve good ribs but with less work?
You can slow cook ribs in the oven and produce a terrific result and you can do it in an afternoon. They will still fall off the bone and have rich, barbecue flavor. And you will have plenty of time to put together sides like baked beans, corn on the cob, potato salad and a soul satisfying dessert like Southern Peach Cobbler.
You will inspire devotion among the males in your household — and if you are the male, then you will impress your friends and loved ones who will think you worked all day in the kitchen.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- 2 lbs baby back ribs or spare ribs (should serve about 4 normal people, but if you are feeding teenage boys then you should probably add more. A lot more.)
- Roasting pan
- Tin foil
- Liquid, I use apple juice but you can use water
- 1 cup barbecue sauce
Dry Rub:
- 3 tablespoons garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons paprika
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 2 tablespoons cumin
- 1 tablespoon black powder
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon chipotle chili powder
- ½ teaspoon ground thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup white granulated sugar
Note: This makes quite a bit of rub, about 2 cups, which is more than you need for any single recipe. Put the extra in a sealed container and store in a cool, dry place (not refrigerator). Or, just don’t make as much.
If you are a starving college student, or if you don’t have all these spices, then concentrate on the garlic powder, chili powder, cumin, cayenne, brown sugar, salt and pepper and adjust the amounts proportionately. Experiment and play with the amounts based on what you like.
You really can’t mess this up. Well, ok, you can but you will be a better cook and learn from your mistakes. You can also buy a pre-mixed rub from the grocery store and it will work just fine.
Method:
Preheat oven to 300°. Place two sheets tin foil crosswise on the rack in the roasting pan. If you don’t have a roasting pan, you can take tin foil and roll it into a circle to make a rack in a cookie sheet or even a baking dish, and then lay the other sheets on top.
Place the ribs on the foil and sprinkle a generous amount of rub on both sides of the ribs and rub it into the meat. Fold the foil over the ribs and seal the edges together.
Pour ½ cup – 1 cup of liquid, depending on the size of your pan, into the bottom of the roasting pan. You want to cover the bottom of the pan with about an inch of liquid. If you are using a cookie sheet with a tin foil rack then you will need to add less liquid initially and add more throughout the cooking time.
Cook for about 3 and ½ hours, until you can easily separate the ribs with a fork and the meat pulls off the bone. I check after 2 hours and the ribs are usually done but not quite tender enough.
Once they are tender, brush the sauce on both sides, gently so that you don’t brush off the rub. Then either broil the ribs for a few minutes to caramelize the sauce (do not broil in a baking dish) or place them on the grill for 3-5 minutes each side.
Mmmm…taste the subtle smokiness of the cumin and chipotle, with just a hint of sweetness and a touch of spice from the cayenne…it’s pig heaven on a plate.
Enjoy!
Lucy
Easy Ribs
Ingredients
Ribs
- 2 lbs. baby back ribs or spare ribs
- 1 cup apple juice
- 1 cup barbecue sauce
Dry Rub
- 3 tablespoons garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons paprika
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 2 tablespoons cumin
- 1 tablespoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon chipotle chili powder
- ½ teaspoon ground thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup white granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300°.
- Place one sheet of foil lengthwise and one sheet widthwise on top of a rack in a deep roasting pan.
- Place the ribs on top of the foil and sprinkle a generous amount of rub on both sides of the ribs, rubbing it in as you go.
- Fold the foil over the ribs and seal the edges together.
- Pour about ½ cup – 1 cup, depending on the size of your pan, of liquid into the bottom of the roasting pan.
- Cook for about 3 and ½ hours, until you can easily separate the ribs with a fork and the meat pulls off the bone.
- Once they are tender, brush the sauce on both sides, gently so that you don’t brush off the rub. Then either broil the ribs for a few minutes to caramelize the sauce (do not broil in a baking dish) or place them on the grill for 3-5 minutes each side.
Notes
- If you don’t have a roasting pan, you can take tin foil and roll it up and make a circle to make a rack in a deep baking pan or dish and then lay the other sheets on top.
- This makes quite a bit of rub, about 2 cups, which is more than you need for any single recipe. Put the extra in a sealed container and store in a cool, dry place (not refrigerator).
- If you don’t have all these spices, then concentrate on the garlic powder, chili powder, cumin, cayenne, brown sugar, salt and pepper and adjust the amounts proportionately.
I am cooking this weekend for our sr management team and need some good hearty (all guys) ideas for 2 dinners, 2 brunches. I thought I will only serve two meals a day to avoid us overeating? I think your ribs and baked potatoes, then maybe a soup and bread? Any ideas would be great. I have to travel to blue ridge for the weekend so easy is what I am looking for