Easiest Ever BBQ Ribs

These ribs are so yummy and…

They were so easy!

I saw them in Bon Appetit Magazine in my July 2012 issue and was reminded of my Grandma’s recipe for how she used to make BBQ ribs..in the oven.  She used to lay them inside of tin foil, top them with sliced onions and lemons and bake them in a pan for a few hours.   Transfer them to the grill for a few minutes to impart some smokiness.  This method makes them incredibly tender and the meat literally falls off the bone.

And mouth watering delicious as well.

I improvised the dry rub somewhat from the recipe in the magazine, but followed Grandma and Bon Appetit’s lead and oven roasted my ribs as well. If you’re looking for a simple rib recipe and don’t have or can’t mess with a smoker, try these ribs. With little fuss and just a quick unwrap and a toss on the BBQ grill for 10  minutes, you won’t believe how good they are!

Start out by making your dry rub.  This is a fancy name for mixing together some spices in a bowl and then smashing them all over your meat.  It also lets you practice your massage techniques and you can give your honey a back rub later.

Since I only made 2 racks of ribs, the following is a smaller recipe than what you can print at the bottom.  The recipe is for 8 racks on the printable and you can scale it however you like!  You can make the full recipe of dry rub and store the leftover in a mason jar or even a freezer bag to keep for another time!

In a medium bowl, mix together 2 1/2 tablespoons of kosher salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper, 1 tablespoon dry mustard, 1 tablespoon of paprika and 1 -2 tablespoons of chipotle pepper (depending on how much heat you want – I used two!) and 1 tablespoon of brown sugar .

Stir this all up with a whisk or spoon.

You have a choice here.  You can make baby back pork ribs or St. Louis (spare ribs).  If you don’t know the difference, you can read about the different cuts here.  But just for a Cliff’s Note’s version…

Spare Ribs = bigger, tougher, meatier (cut from the belly of the pig, unless they say “beef”).  St. Louis style means the tips have been removed making them prettier little pieces of meat. They need more cooking time but guys tend to like these as they have more meat to chew on.

Baby Back Ribs =smaller, leaner (cut from the loin section) which make them more tender and take less time to cook.  Sometimes they will be labeled as baby back loin ribs.

I opted for the baby back ribs for this recipe and they took right around two hours.

Lay a double sheet of foil onto a baking sheet and lay one rack of ribs right on top of it.

Now take your rub and sprinkle it generously right over top of the rib rack.

Don’t be afraid of this next step, just get right in and get dirty. Press and rub the spice rub right into the meat as best as your can.

Then flip the ribs over and do the other side.  Don’t forget about the sides and the ends!

Then lay another double layer of foil right over top.

Fold up the sides and the ends like you’re wrapping a gift.  Kind of roll them up tight.

Do the same with your other racks of ribs.  Then pop them right into 350º oven.

Walk away and leave these for two hours.

Isn’t that wonderful? No fuss, no checking…just leave them alone!  And after two hours…

Unwrap them. Oh lordy.

Then take your favorite bottled BBQ sauce. If you want to try my homemade version called Chipotle Molasses BBQ Sauce, you can find it here!  Around here we like Oklahoma-made Head Country BBQ sauce.

Heat it up in a small saucepan.

Take your ribs out to your BBQ grill and lay them on.  Mr. Wonderful had a really hard time keeping them from falling apart..they were just that tender.

Baste them with the sauce and make sure you turn them every 2 minutes until they are nice and lacquered and wonderful.

Then remove them to a platter and cut between the ribs…which will be unbelievably easy.  You could use a butter knife.

If you’re looking for a super simple rib recipe, that’s still tender and delicious, try this one.

We loved it!

Following is the original recipe from Bon Appetit and also my improvisation as well! Happy BBQ’ing!

Bon Appetit’s Best Ever Barbecue Ribs

Easiest Ever BBQ Ribs

 

Save Print

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

2 hours 10 mins

Total time

2 hours 20 mins

 

Author: Katie of Dishin & Dishes

Serves: 16

Ingredients

• 8 racks babyback loin ribs
• 5 T. kosher salt
• 2 t. black pepper
• 2 T. dry mustard
• 2 T. paprika
• 4 T. chipotle chile pepper (not chipotle in adobe)
• 2 T. brown sugar
• 1 c. of your fav BBQ sauce

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2. Lay double layer of foil over sheet pans for each rack of ribs (Can be done up to three days in advance if making all 8 racks).
3. Mix together next 6 ingredients (not the sauce) in a bowl and then sprinkle liberally over both sides of all racks of ribs, rubbing in with your hands.
4. Lay 2 more sheets of foil over top of ribs and wrap up tightly by rolling up sides to seal.
5. Place in oven for 2 hours.
6. Unwrap and grill 10 minutes on the BBQ grill basting each side with BBQ sauce and turning every 2 minutes.
7. Remove to tray and cut between ribs and serve.

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