If you love baby back ribs but don’t love standing outside in the heat for several hours cooking them or don’t have a grill, this easy recipe for the Best Oven-Baked Baby Back Ribs is for you! These baked baby back ribs are mouthwateringly juicy, fall off the bone tender and when slathered with tangy barbecue sauce, just plain finger-lickin’ good!
Folks in the South take their barbecue very seriously, and there are countless articles and reviews of different barbecue restaurants and barbecue contests to decide which barbecue is the best, but ultimately any selection is a highly personal and subjective matter. In other words, what is a killer barbecue sauce or ribs for one person is not necessarily another person’s favorite and the debate about the merits of wet vs dry ribs goes on and on.
Barbecue aficionados live, eat and breathe the stuff. There is even a Florida BBQ Association whose mission is to promote, through education, family-friendly fellowship, and competition the uniquely American tradition of barbequing meat over natural wood or charcoal-fired heat and smoke.
I’m not going to tell you that these baby back ribs will rival ribs that are smoked low and slow for hours on a grill, but what I will tell you is that my son who is a barbecue snob pronounced them delicious and proceeded to devour a rack in one sitting. And if you are one of those folks like him, well, you will just have to try this recipe to become a believer. The convenience of being able to cook them in the oven instead of standing over a hot grill on a hot summer day wins every time in my book!
Unfortunately, one thing that you don’t get with this recipe is the smokey barbecue flavor, but these ribs are succulent and delicious in their own way. If you really can’t live without the smoky taste, you can always just add a small amount of liquid smoke, smoked paprika or smoked salt to the barbecue sauce or purchase barbecue sauce with a hickory smoke flavor.
In case you are wondering, baby back ribs do not come from baby pigs! They are only called baby back ribs because they are shorter in comparison to regular spareribs and St Louis style ribs. I think baby back pork ribs are the best ribs for grilling, but again everyone has their own preference.
Looking for sides to serve with your Baby Back Ribs? Check out these delicious options: Southern Green Beans and New Potatoes, Southern Potato Salad, and Southern Style Crispy Onion Rings. Need even more ideas, click here to see all of my side dish recipes.
The ingredients you will need to make the Best Oven-Baked Baby Back Ribs and Dry Rub include, baby back ribs, brown sugar, chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, onion powder, salt, ground black pepper and whatever commercially prepared barbecue sauce you like.
How to Make the Best Oven-Baked Baby Back Ribs and Dry Rub!
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
Remove the membrane from the back of the ribs by using a small paring knife to pry up a corner of the membrane. Then grab the membrane with a paper towel and peel it off down the length of the ribs.
Combine all dry rub ingredients in a small bowl.
Sprinkle the dry rub liberally over the front and back of the ribs and gently rub it in.
For the best flavor, let the ribs sit with the rub on them for at least 30 minutes, or you can refrigerate them and let them sit for up to 24 hours.
When ready to cook the ribs, wrap them in heavy duty aluminum foil and place them on a baking sheet with a rim. Place them in the oven and cook for 1 1/2 hours or until the meat starts pulling away from the bone and is tender.
When the ribs are done, open the foil packet completely and brush on your favorite barbecue sauce. Turn up the heat to 350 degrees and let the ribs cook for an additional 30 minutes.
Serve immediately with plenty of napkins!
| Prep Time | 10 minutes |
| Cook Time | 2 hours |
| Passive Time | 30 minutes |
| Servings | 4 servings |
- 2 racks baby back ribs about 1 1/2 lb each
- 2 cups barbecue sauce we like Sweet Baby Ray's Hickory and Brown Sugar Barbecue Sauce
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
Ingredients Oven-Baked Rib Ingredients:
Dry Rub Ingredients
|
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
- Remove the membrane from the back of the ribs by using a small paring knife to pry up a corner of the membrane. Then grab the membrane with a paper towel and peel it off down the length of the ribs.
- Combine all dry rub ingredients in a small bowl. Sprinkle the dry rub liberally over the front and back of the ribs and gently rub it in.
- For the best flavor, let the ribs sit with the rub on them for at least 30 minutes, or you can refrigerate them and let them sit for up to 24 hours.
- When ready to cook the ribs, wrap them in heavy duty aluminum foil and place them on a baking sheet with a rim. Place them in the oven and cook for 1 1/2 hours or until the meat starts pulling away from the bone and is tender.
- When the ribs are done, open the foil packet completely and brush on your favorite barbecue sauce. Turn up the heat to 350 degrees and let the ribs cook for an additional 30 minutes.
- Serve immediately with plenty of napkins!
I just baked the “Easy Southern Peach Bread” recipe that was in the Tallahassee Democrat on Sept. 14th.
There were two errors in the list of ingredients and the mixing instructions:
1. No listing of pecans (and amount) in the ingredient list. and
2. No place in the mixing instructions to “add the eggs”.
I didn’t have pecans for this attempt, but if I make it with pecans later, I would like to know about how much to add.
I realized I had never added the eggs I had laid out on the kitchen table, when I started to clean up after the cake was in the oven. I quickly pulled it out, poured back into the bowl and mixed in the eggs and put it back in the oven.
Hi Laura,
I am so sorry about the ommissions and hope it didn’t spoil your bread. I was in a hurry to post that recipe before Hurricane Irma hit and our power went out and I didn’t proof the recipe and verify the ingredients as well as I should. As soon as I realized what happened I contacted the paper and had them correct the online article but unfortunately, it was too late to correct the hard copy.
The recipe calls for 1/2 cup of chopped pecans and the eggs should be added the same time as the sour cream, peaches, and vanilla.
I apologize again.
Sharon