Ribs in the Oven (Read it before dismissing it!)

[McGurk]

My Father in Law picked up a rack of BB ribs for me and I thought I'd give them a shot inside today. Honestly they weren't half bad, pretty good even. Looking through a couple of cook books gave me a start, and I just applied my own experience to see where I could go with them. To be clear: No smoker, No water bowl, No woodchips, Just an oven and some time.

Heat the oven to 300 deg, and get a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan to keep any juices from dripping onto the element or the bottom. I also grabbed the rack from my roasting pan to keep it suspended off of the cookie sheet a 1/2" or so. I rinsed the rib rack, removed the membrane, and patted it dry. Put a touch of BBQ sauce on and sprinkled my rub on. Put it in the oven for an hour and a half and it was just starting to weep.

I grabbed a sheet of HD alum foil, and spread in some butter, brown sugar, season salt, and "Tiger sauce". Put the ribs in meat side down, and put the same mix on the back. Wrap it tight, put it back on the rack and sheet, and put it back in the oven for another hour.

Pull them out, and see if they are done to your liking. I removed them from the tin foil and put them back on the rack on the sheet for another half hour or so. I also put some sauce back on a couple of times during that half hour to "gummy them up".

The rack I used was tiny (the smallest I've ever made) so cooking times might be longer for larger racks, and definately longer for spares or St Louis cuts. Give them a try, you might be happily suprised like I was!

[jmd1]

I like ribs in the oven. if you do them low and for a long time, they come out very good.

[Leaky]

I've cooked them like this many times with great results. At the end I like to put a little Sweet Baby Rays on them and stick them under the broiler for a minute.

[reinhard1]

i've done ribs in the oven as well. i also rinse the ribs, remove the membrane, and pat them dry. i put them in a roaster with a metal rack to keep the ribs off the bottom. i only put the dry rub on them. i keep the roaster uncovered. 300 deg until almost done. then i apply a mop sauce on them on both sides, repeating it every 10 minutes until they are ready. good luck.

[McGurk]

Didn't mean to come across so negative, but every recipe I have seen for oven baked ribs calls for high heat and no time which seems counter-intuitive to the nature of cooking on a smoker. That, compounded with the fact that I haven't had decent ribs when someone else makes them in their oven (I haven't had the chance to eat at any of your houses yet! ) steered me away from oven baking them.

Don't even get me started on mushy crock pot ribs, I haven't had one yet that I liked. Not that you don't like the way you may make them, I just haven't had one that wasn't a steaming pile of spoonable mush with rib bones on the plate.

[SkunkedAgain]

I've also slow-cooked ribs in the oven until they've pulled back and tenderized to my liking, then sauced and finished on the gas grill. There are many ways to skin a cat and make it taste good

[thatoneguy]

Didn't mean to come across so negative, but every recipe I have seen for oven baked ribs calls for high heat and no time which seems counter-intuitive to the nature of cooking on a smoker. That, compounded with the fact that I haven't had decent ribs when someone else makes them in their oven (I haven't had the chance to eat at any of your houses yet! ) steered me away from oven baking them.

Don't even get me started on mushy crock pot ribs, I haven't had one yet that I liked. Not that you don't like the way you may make them, I just haven't had one that wasn't a steaming pile of spoonable mush with rib bones on the plate.

I can send you the recipe I use for ribs in the oven if you'd like. While I prefer to slow-smoke my ribs on my grill, the oven version I use is great for winter. They cook for about six hours, which is roughly the same amount of time it takes for me to do them on the grill. Incredibly good...especially if you double the amount of sauce, then use half on the ribs when you put them in and simmer/reduce the other half to a glaze which you apply about 20 min. before they're done.

Dine-o-mite!

[reinhard1]

how about spareribs or pork bone in country ribs with German krout with bacon? i'm going to do that today using the cub pork packs they have on sale for 1.29 lb. yesterday i bought a pork pack that had a 5 inch think loin chop roast along with 7 chops. i will butterfly the loin roast to make it as thick as the chops. may not be ribs but the same preperation.

i have pre-baked BB backs and st. louis ribs rubbed and double wrapped in foil and finished them off on the grill as well. Hey Thatoneguy, please share the recipe with all of us here. always like to try something new. good luck.

[Jim Uran]

Dang that sounds good right now.. I cook country style ribs like this. They always turn out good!

[prov1900]

One of the best rib places in this state doesn't smoke theirs either and they are very good.

Anyone oven bake ribs with liquid smoke? I've done it with country style with good results, although a little liquid smoke goes a long way. Too much and it will get bitter.

[BPBOB]

One way I do ribs (baby back or spare).

Remove membrane and sprinkle with rub.

Put in roaster covered with a 2 liter root beer poured over them-not diet.

325 for 2-2 1/2 hours,depends how-fall-off the bone you like them

Remove from roaster and finish on grill-needs less than 1/2 hour - I like Sweet Baby Ray's smoothed on the last 10 minutes.

I do up to 4 rib racks at a time this way.

Family and friends-even kids-love them.

[prov1900]

You guys are killin' me. Sounds great! Is there anything better than ribs?

[RK]

Hiya -

I do ribs in the oven all the time. This is my favorite method, from Alton Brown:

1 full rack/slab baby back ribs

Kosher salt

Shake No. 9 (see note)

1/2 cup orange juice (not fresh squeezed)

1/2 cup prepared margarita mix

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup ketchup

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon espresso powder or instant coffee (freeze-dried, not actual grounds)

1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne

You will also need:

Paper towels

Extra-wide, heavy-duty aluminum foil

Shallow roasting pan

Saucier or small sauce pan

Kitchen shears

Broiler pan

Application: braising, then broiling

Rinse the ribs and pat dry with paper towels. Place on a sheet of extra-wide, heavy-duty aluminum foil. (The foil should be 4 inches longer than the ribs on either end.) Season liberally on both sides with the salt and Shake No. 9.

Turn the ribs meat-side-down and tightly seal inside the foil by folding and rolling the longer edges together, then closing the ends tight over the ribs. Place the packet in the roasting pan and refrigerate for 6 to 12 hours, turning the sealed packet over once.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Remove the packet from the refrigerator and unroll one end, shaping the foil upward like a funnel. Pour in the orange juice and the margarita mix. Reseal the foil packet and see-saw it back and forth a couple of times to evenly distribute the liquid inside. Return the packet to the pan and place the pan in the middle of the oven. After 1 hour, reduce the temperature to 250 degrees and cook until tender, approximately 2 hours.

Remove the pan from the oven, unroll one end of the packet, carefully drain all the juice into a saucier or small saucepan, and add the honey, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, espresso powder, and cayenne. Bring the mixture to a boil, whisking frequently until reduced to a glaze that coats a spoon. Remove the pan from the heat.

Move oven rack to the next-to-the-top position and turn on the broiler (use the high setting if you have a choice). Remove the slab from the foil packet and cut it into four equal sections (I use kitchen shears for this). Place ribs on the broiling pan, meat side up, brush with the glaze, and broil for 2 to 3 minutes. Reglaze and repeat until the ribs are a dark mahogany color. Flip the ribs bone side up and glaze, and broil a minute longer.

Remove and allow to cool a couple of minutes before serving, preferably with potato salad or copious amounts of cole slaw.

Makes 1 to 3 servings, depending on who's doing the eating

NOTE: A part can be any amount - a tablespoon, for example - depending on how much is needed. For one rack of ribs, 1/2 to 3/4 cup of rub will be sufficient. The ratio of ingredients for Rub No. 9 is: 5 parts brown sugar, 3 parts chile powder, 1 part garlic powder, 1/2 part ground thyme, 1/4 part cayenne, and 1/4 part allspice.

[harvey lee]

I have used the oven method and it took 2.5 hours at 300 degrees. The I put them on the grill after they cooled to get a nice golden brown color to them.

Very good ribs indeed.

[thatoneguy]

the wifey made spare ribs in the oven last night. sooooooooooooooo tasty!

[brakedancer]

so what kind of wood do you put in the oven to give it the nice smokey flavor?

[Walleyehooker]

Nothing wrong with ribs baked in the oven in fact I did some a couple days ago. I do like to finish them off on the grill even if just for 10-15 minutes to add a little flavor and BBQ sauce.

[MNfan]

Share the recipe please!!!

[Leaky]

Doing these as we speak. BBs cooking now in the oven for 2 1/2 hrs @ 300. Will finish under the broiler with some Sweet Baby Rays slathered on. Here's the rub I put on last night, wrapped in cling wrap:

Dry Rub

1 tbsp ground cumin

1 tbsp garlic powder

1 tbsp onion powder

1 tbsp chili powder

1 tbsp salt

1 tbsp ground pepper

1 tbsp paprika

1/2 cup brown sugar

They are sure smelling good!

[LindellProStaf]

I read this thread the other day and haven't gotten it out of my mind. I am prepping some nice meaty looking Tyson spare ribs right now. Whenever I am at Wally World I buy BB if they have them otherwise I get some Spares. This is my last rack. Need to go shopping again and stock up. Thanks for the inspiration, all of you...