Unlike some of the other recipe’s that I’ve posted here from America’s Test Kitchen, this one is all me. It’s taken about a dozen trys to get this BBQ rib recipe exactly how I like it, but it was worth the trial and effort. The best thing about these ribs is that they are made in the oven, so you can enjoy them in the dead of winter as well as on lazy summer days.
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This recipe calls for baby back pork ribs, but would it work with regular beef ribs as well. I usually figure about 3/4 of a rack per person, so plan accordingly. Assuming you have enough space in your ovens, or dual ovens, you should be able to serve up to three people with two racks. Sometimes my supermarket has babybacks on special two for one, that’s when I buy up all that I can. Freeze them for up to 6 months and then you have them whenever the mood strikes you. They thaw incredibly quick too, so its no bother to get the dinner moving when it comes time. You’ll need about 4 hours total cooking, so plan ahead. If you really want to bring out the flavor, rub the ribs down generously and then put them in the fridge over night until ready to cook. Rubbing them down right before you cook is fine, but over night is always better.
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Ingredients
• 1 1.75-2lbs rack of pork ribs (babyback)
• 1 cup of apple juice
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• dry rub ingredients (see below)
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Rib Prep
• Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Foil a large sheet pan with heavy duty foil
• Wash all ribs completely and pat dry with paper towel.
• Be sure to get the membrane off all racks you are going to cook. If you don’t know how, here is an excellent video tutorial on the process on YouTube. Once you do it once, you’ll see it’s easy and it makes all the difference.
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Dry Rub
This is my basic dry rub. Adjust the amounts according to your tastes.
Serves 2 to 4
1/4 cup of garlic powder
2 Tbls brown sugar
2 Tsp black pepper
1 Tbls Mesquite flavor
2 Tbls Paprika (Hungarian is better, but regular is fine)
2 Tsp kosher salt or 1 Tsp or table salt
1 Tsp cayenne pepper
1 Tbls cumin
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• Cover the ribs both front and back with the rub and be generous! (can let rubbed ribs rest in fridge covered for up to 24 hrs)
• Place ribs on foiled pan in center of oven & cook undisturbed for 3 hours.
• Remove ribs from pan and then place them in another piece of alum foil big enough you can wrap around them like a bag (if you use a foil tray instead of a foiled sheet pan, simply wrap the tray in foil and seal well after next step).
• Fill bottom of foil bag (or tray) with about 1 cup of apple juice (any kind will do, but I use sweet granny apple juice) and 1/2 cup of Apple cider vinegar. Any kind will do, but I use sweet granny apple juice.
• Close up the bag, and seal tight. Place bag back on foiled tray and cook for another 45 min.
• Remove ribs, open bag (don’t have to drain the rest of the apple juice) and coat top well with your favorite sauce. It’s got to have some sugar in it though. KC masterpiece is great, as is Bone Suckin’ Sauce.
• Set the oven to broil and broil the ribs (middle rack) for 10-12 minutes or until a nice brown, bubbly crust forms. Keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn in this last step!
• Best to eat them right away, if you have to seal them back up you can, but you’ll lose some of the nice crust.
PIG OUT and be sure to me know how it goes. 🙂