Marinated, Baked, and Grilled Baby Back Ribs
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
- 1/3 cup brown sugar packed
- 2 teaspoons pepper
- approx. 3 pounds packaged baby back ribs one package yields approx. 16 ribs
- rub
- 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 medium onion finely chopped
- 1 - 2 teaspoons penzeys bbq 3000
- 2 teaspoons penzeys arizona dreaming
- 1 teaspoon organic red cayenne pepper
- barbecue sauce
- 1 cup ketchup
- 1/2 cup hot & spicy or horseradish mustard
- 1/2 medium onion finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons balsamic or white vinegar
- 2 cloves minced garlic or substitute garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon sriracha hot sauce
- 1 teaspoon organic red cayenne pepper or substitute red pepper flakes
- Carbohydrate 56.5921536892873 g
- Cholesterol 204.117 mg
- Fat 47.9863969033551 g
- Fiber 1.17514261476489 g
- Protein 69.5299491825182 g
- Saturated Fat 16.5927690818177 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (489g)
- Sodium 865.425214162263 mg
- Sugar 55.4170110745224 g
- Trans Fat 4.84014619898262 g
- Calories 939 calories
Step-by-step
- Cut the ribs into four equal size pieces. Marinate the ribs with the rub, wrap in foil and store in refrigerator overnight. I rub each ingredient on the meat individually, but you can also mix together first.
- Prepare the sauce, mix in a covered container and store in the refrigerator overnight to allow some time for the ingredients to meld together.
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F and bake the foil wrapped ribs on a shallow baking pan or dish for 2 and 1/2 hours.
- Grill immediately or refrigerate the ribs until ready to grill.
- Preheat the grill to medium heat. Remove the ribs from the oven (careful - juices are hot), remove from the foil and cook under the broiler or on the grill. Spread the sauce on both sides of the ribs using a spoon and/or a brush. Turn occasionally and re-cover the ribs with sauce until the sauce is used up. Save enough sauce to do one nice coating just before you take the ribs off the grill.
- Grill 15 - 30 minutes until the ribs are juicy and tender on the inside, but crispy and flavorful on the outside.
Attempting to cook raw pork ribs directly over high flames guarantees charred exteriors enclosing tough, unrendered connective tissue. Achieving proper tenderness requires a controlled progression that starts 24 hours before cooking. Massaging dry spices and wet aromatics directly onto the meat breaks down surface proteins while allowing salt to penetrate deep into the muscle fibers during an overnight rest in the refrigerator. Wrapping the pork tightly in heavy-duty aluminum foil creates a sealed pouch that traps moisture, preventing the surface from drying out while the meat marinates alongside its own accumulating juices.
Transferring the foil packet directly into a 300 degrees F oven for two and a half hours initiates slow thermal breakdown, converting tough collagen into gelatin without scorching the exterior sugars. Once the oven cycle completes, the meat should yield easily to a fork while retaining enough structural integrity to hold shape on the grate. Moving the pieces to a medium-heat grill provides the necessary char, where basting layers of vinegar-and-mustard sauce caramelize under direct exposure. Because high-sugar tomato sauces burn rapidly at temperatures exceeding 350 degrees F, monitor the surface closely during the final fifteen to thirty minutes, applying thin, repeated layers of sauce to build a lacquered crust without burning the exterior.
Adapting the homemade rub and sauce profiles requires understanding how substitutions alter the final chemical balance. Swapping balsamic vinegar for white vinegar increases residual sweetness and darkens the glaze faster, necessitating closer attention at the grill to prevent bitter carbonization from the extra sugars.
