There really isn't much to say about ribs, because ribs speak for themselves. I love all kinds, and these are the ultimate Fall Off The Bone, eat me any time, spicy, tangy, dry rub and sauce, finger lickin, sauce in the corner of your mouth, whole roll of paper towel using, it is great to be American Baby Back Ribs! And that is all I have to say about it!
I like to cook my ribs in the oven because it is easy, neat, and never fails me. Once a little prep is done, you simply put these in the oven and let them cook away nice and slow with a good dry rub.
Then, finish them by slathering with your favorite barbecue sauce and sliding them under the broiler or on the grill for a perfect brown, sticky crust.
Oven baking baby back ribs gives you the flexibility to serve a barbecue classic all year long no matter the weather. The temperature is easy to manage and the foil packet ensures you’ll get to the high fall-off-the-bone temperature without drying out the rack and losing the delicious tasting fats through the grill grates.
Ingredients
Baby Back Ribs- Also known as loin ribs, these are a short, curvy rib full of lean meat that comes back of the pig near the loin.
Dry Rub- This special rub combines savory garlic and onion with a blend of peppers, cumin, and a generous portion of salt for richly spiced ribs. Some rubs have sugar, but I leave out sugars and add sweetness with barbecue sauce.
Barbecue Sauce- I recommend a sauce that is both sweet and tangy that is just a little bit spicy. Try my Apricot Honey Barbecue Sauce for a special homemade treat.
Instructions
Step 1: Prepare the ribs.
- Preheat your oven to 325° and line a sheet pan with foil.
- Then, mix together salt, pepper, granulated garlic, granulated onion, red chili powder, paprika, cayenne pepper, and cumin to make the dry rub.
- Next, pat down the ribs with a paper towel to remove excess moisture and apply dry rub. Use your hands to rub the seasonings into the meat and make sure all sides are well seasoned.
- Cut a piece of foil large enough to completely wrap your rack. Lay the seasoned baby backs meat side up in the center of the foil sheet. Bring the long sides together in the middle and fold over. Then, fold each end to make a neat packet.
Step 2: Bake low and slow.
- Place the foil packet with ribs on your lined sheet pan and bake at 325° for 2 hours.
At the end of two hours, you should have a good pool of juice in your foil packet and the meat should be naturally pulling away from the bone as it shrinks from cooking.
Step 3 Slather and Sizzle
- Remove the cooked ribs from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes.
- Carefully, open the foil packet to expose the top of the rack.
- Then, brush your favorite barbecue sauce across the top of the rack giving them a good thick coat.
Step 4: Finish under the broiler or on the grill.
- Place the ribs under a low broil for approximately 5 minutes. Then brush with another layer of sauce and put back under the broiler for another 5 minutes.
- Watch them closely to make sure they do not burn and always keep food at least 6 inches from the top of the oven.
Step 5: Cut and Serve
- Reserve the juices to pour over the rib pieces after cutting.
- Using the bones as a guide, cut the rack into individual ribs, drizzle the juices over the top and serve with your favorite barbecue sides.
FAQs
Using the foil packet method, nothing escapes and nothing burns. As you cook these ribs on a low temperature in the oven, the juices come out and act as a natural baste. Once the ribs get hot, the juices steam up and create moisture all around the meat and keeps it from drying out. The fat melts into the meat instead of losing it to the pan or the grill.
Technically pork can be eaten at 140°, however, ribs should be cooked until they reach around 190°. That is the point that the connective tissues and fat really break down giving you the desired fall-off-the-bone texture.
Low and slow is key to tender rib meat. 325 for two hours will give you tender juicy meat every time. When you bake ribs in a foil packet the foil prevents the meat from getting too hot too fast and allows the fat to render while the natural juices steam up and baste the meat while it cooks.
Tips for Success
- Mix the spices in a small bowl before handling the meat when your hands and counters are clean. This way you can prevent cross contamination with your dry goods.
- The curve of the baby backs can make cutting them a bit tricky. Take a good look at the direction the ribs curve, then place your knife between two ribs angled towards the curve for nice even pieces.
Related Recipes
- Easy Chimichurri Flank Steak
- Italian Grilled Chicken
- Greek Pork Souvlaki
- Baked Teriyaki Glazed Salmon
- Grilled Peanut Butter Chicken
- Mediterranean Chicken Kabobs
Stay in the Know! Follow Delicious by Design on Facebook for new recipes and cooking tips! Love this recipe? Leave a 5 Star Review!
📖 Recipe
Fall off the Bone: Baby Back Ribs in the Oven
Equipment
- Heavy Duty Foil
- Sheet Pan
Ingredients
- 1 Rack Baby Back Pork Ribs
- ½ Cup Barbecue Sauce
- 1 Tablespoon Granulated Garlic
- 1 Tablespoon Granulated Onion
- 1 Teaspoon Red Chili Powder
- 1 Teaspoon Paprika
- ½ Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
- ½ Teaspoon Cumin
- 2 Teaspoon Salt
- 1 Teaspoon Pepper
Instructions
- Pre-Heat your oven to 325° and cover a sheet pan large enough to hold your rack of ribs in foil. Lay down an extra large loose sheet of foil to wrap your ribs in.
- Then, mix together salt, pepper, granulated garlic, granulated onion, red chili powder, paprika, cayenne pepper, and cumin to make the dry rub.
- Pat the rack of baby back ribs dry with a paper towel to remove excess moisture.
- Season the meat with the dry rub and use your hands to work it into the meat and spread it evenly across the whole rack.
- Wrap your ribs right side up in foil. Make sure they are completely covered and that the foil makes a nice sealed packet to keep the juices in.
- Place in the oven and let cook at 325° for 2 hours.
- After two hours have passed, remove ribs from the oven, and let red for 10 minutes.
- Carefully open the foil packet to expose the ribs. Brush the cooked ribs with barbecue sauce and place uncovered under a low broiler for 5 minutes.
- After 5 minutes, brush on more barbecue sauce and place ribs back under the broiler for approximately 5 more minute or until the ribs are well browned and the sauce is sticky.
- Be sure to watch it carefully as every oven is different. Be sure to leave at least 6 inches between the rack of ribs and the broiler coil in the oven.
Notes
- Mix the spices in a small bowl before handling the meat when your hands and counters are clean. This way you can prevent cross contamination with your dry goods.
- The curve of the baby backs can make cutting them a bit tricky. Take a good look at the direction the ribs curve, then place your knife between two ribs angled towards the curve for nice even pieces.
Nutrition
Never miss a new recipe from Delicious by Design! Sign-up below for weekly recipes directly in your inbox.
Beth says
This post is amazing! Each picture made me more and more hungry! I love that your tinfoil method makes this messy, and tasty recipe and easy clean up one!
Sharon says
These beautiful ribs are calling my name! Just in time for the warmer weather, they look delicious.
Sophia says
These looks so delicious! Can't wait to try them and the Apricot BBQ Sauce!
Mindy Fewless says
These really do fall right off the bone!!! So Good!!
Ann says
Wow those are mouthwatering! I only make ribs in the summer on the BBQ and look forward to them all year! Did not know they would turn out so well in the oven. I gotta try this!
Hillary Matley says
Hi , I do believe this is an excellent blog. I stumbled upon it on Yahoo , i will come back once again. Money and freedom is the best way to change, may you be rich and help other people.
Linda Becker says
Trying these today while staying home
Laurie Ortiz says
Never did ribs before but I seen this recommendation on food hits , so I’m trying it out
Rose Ramirez says
Love these, shame I will be social distanced and will have to eat these all by myself...but I will definately share this with my family and friends. Maybe we can zoom it.
Diana Reis says
It’s a shame to have to be away from family and friends, but I’m glad you loved the ribs. You can have an everyone makes their own ribs zoom party!!
Perry says
I have cooked ribs like this for up to four and a half hours and it still was not fall off the bone tender. I looked at another website and they indicated that they have had to cook ribs at times up to eight hours at 225 degrees before it was fall off the bone tender. That has been my experience. It seems that sometimes it takes longer to break down the collagen in the meat. What is your take on this?
Diana Reis says
My experience is that the meat cooks perfectly well and pulls off the bone in this amount of time. The meat does not shred, but it is very tender and does not stick to the bone. This will only work with baby back ribs that have less connective tissue and sinew. At 225, it will take a long time to break the collegens down sufficiently.
Hazel Mays says
Great line up. We will be linking to this great article on our site. Keep up the good writing.
Heather says
Hello Diana,
I am a newbie foodie to your site. At this very moment I am cooking your baby back ribs.
QUESTION: I've tried the link to your Apricot Barbecue Sauce but the link does not take me there! I will concoct my own BBQ sauce tonight and look forward to the link working to try again next time.
I am super happy to find your site. As a highly creative foodie, I have never been much of a recipe follower! There are so many recipes on your site that are exactly what I love to eat. So, here I go, a happy initiate!
Best regards,
Heather
Diana Reis says
Thank you for letting me know that link wasn't working. It is so nice to get nice feedback and actual help with the many moving parts of a website. Especially since I am a one man band. I'm getting that link and page fixed for the next users. I hope you find lots to enjoy and the recipes helpful. Happy New Year!
MARINDA C.A. says
RAN ACROSS THIS RECIPE EARLIER AND GONNA COOK FOR SUPPER FOR MY HUSBAND TONIGHT,THEY SOUND SCRUMCIOUS,I SURE HOPE HE LIKES THEM,WILL TAKE A PIC AND POST IT IF I DONT FORGET LOL,YES MY HUBBY UR GETTING BABY BACK RIBS FOR SUPPER JUST CAUSE I LOVE U AND THE HARD 70 YEAR OLD OILFIELD
WORKER U ARE.
Diana Reis says
I get so excited when someone comes to the site and uses my recipes. I sure hope it came out beautifully and your deserving husband enjoyed it.
Patricia says
I love these ribs! My husband loves these ribs! He asked for them today! So easy and so full of flavor.
Diana Reis says
I get so excited by these comments. I'm so glad you love this recipe and I'm so grateful that you visited my blog and gave it a shot.
Mandy says
Does extra time need to be added on when cooking more than one rack of ribs? If so, how much time?
Diana Reis says
Not usually. If you really crowd them into the oven then it could add 15-30 minutes. If you are just doing two racks, try putting one on the a sheet pan middle rack and one on a sheet pan bottom rack. You can rotate half way through for a nice even bake.
Samantha Lewis says
This was a good recipe to get some ribs cooking quick. I would have liked them to cook a little longer to be a little more tender but they were good.
Diana Reis says
I have had some racks take longer than others to get truly tender. It may be the overall size of the racks or their fat content. I had two racks going side by side and had different results. One of those racks had a very fat end and I ended up putting it back in the oven. Sometimes a rack just needs an extra 30 minutes. Thanks for the feedback, I think sharing this will be really helpful for the next person.