Sweet and Tender BBQ Baby Back Ribs (Easy Cleanup)
These ribs are extremely tasty and tender. Plus, the method I use results in very little cleanup time.
These ribs are extremely tasty and tender. Plus, the method I use results in very little cleanup time.
- Carbohydrate 77.1965245585818 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 0.1851925 g
- Fiber 0.351962506040919 g
- Protein 0.277355000124042 g
- Saturated Fat 0.03119125 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (190g)
- Sodium 20.9689583533675 mg
- Sugar 76.8445620525409 g
- Trans Fat 0.0807975 g
- Calories 300 calories
Step-by-step
- Pre-Heat oven to 400 F (Cook at 350 F) If you are going to finish off the ribs under the broiler instead of the grill make sure you take the broiling pan out of the oven.
- Prep rack of ribs by removing the thin fatty membrane from the underside of the ribs, simply use a knife to lift a corner of the membrane up, and use a paper towel to grip it and pull the membrane up and off the underside of the ribs.
- To start lay a double layer of extra wide heavy duty aluminum foil down on your counter (or table) they should be about 1x longer than the rack so you have plenty of foil to fold and seal the ends .
- Coat both sides of the rack generously with the BBQ dry rub (equal parts brown sugar, smoked paprika, and garlic salt) and place the rack in the middle of the aluminum foil, fold up the long sides like a tent and fold together a few times to seal the seam leaving the foil slightly tented. Now fold one end a few times to seal, holding the package at a slight angle (open end up), take 1 cup of apple juice (save the other cup for the sauce) and pour it into the open end so that it pours underneath the ribs, then fold end to seal the package up compleatly (Make sure to seal package up nice and tight to prevent any leaks or steam escaping). Place sealed package on a cookie sheet or baking pan to help with moving them in and out of the oven.
- NOTE: I Usually prep the rib's the night before to let the ribs soak up the flavor of the dry rub and apple juice, then when its time to cook just throw the "package" into the oven.
- NOTE: Multiple Racks of ribs: You can choose to place the ribs into a shallow baking pan with a lid (or sealed with foil) instead of individually sealing each one in its own aluminum foil tent, however I have tried both, and I get far better results sealing each rack individually, in my opinion its worth the extra effort.
- Cook in oven at 350 F for 2 hours
- After Ribs have been baking for 2 hours take them out and carefully open the package (be carefull the steam and juices will be very hot).
- NOTE: Now is a good time to cover your broiler pan with some more heavy duty foil (for easy clean up).
- Mix BBQ Sauce, apple juice, Brown sugar, and honey, (If you want a little Kick add some Chipotle Tabasco sauce) and generously cover the ribs with the mixture on both sides. Place rack in the broiler on high for about 7 minutes or until the sauce is just SLIGHTLY charred (WARNING, it is important to watch the ribs closely during this step, if left in direct heat for even 1 minute to long you will burn the ribs and that does not make for tasty ribs).
- OPTIONAL; Or if it is more convenient or desireble, this last step can also be done on a out door grill, I love finishing off my ribs on the grill because I usually grill corn on the cob so the grill is going anyways.
- Repeat steps for each additional rack of ribs. I have found that 4 full racks fit into a standard oven pretty good.
When kitchen cleanup is the primary constraint holding back a weekend barbecue project, heavy-duty aluminum foil serves as both cooking vessel and barrier. Enclosing a full slab of pork baby back ribs tightly within a double layer of extra-wide foil traps the rendering fats and moisture inside a sealed pouch, preventing baked-on messes on baking sheets while creating a moist microclimate for the meat to soften during its two-hour roast at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Without this sealed environment, convective oven heat dries out lean pork cuts rapidly.
Reading Rib Doneness Without a Probe Thermometer
Bone-in pork cuts present a unique challenge for instant-read thermometers because proximity to the bone yields artificially high temperature readings while surrounding connective tissue remains tough. Assessing doneness relies instead on structural physics and visual cues rather than internal temperature alone. Lifting the rack with tongs at the midpoint should cause the meat to flex significantly, creating visible cracks in the surface where the muscle fibers begin to pull apart from the bone ends. Furthermore, the meat should shrink back to expose roughly a quarter-inch of clean bone tip along the edges, signaling that collagen has successfully converted into gelatin and rendered the protein fork-tender.
Finishing Options and Glaze Caramelization
Transitioning the cooked meat from the foil pouch to direct radiant heat caramelizes the sugars present in the brown sugar, honey, and commercial barbecue sauce mixture. Operating a broiler on high demands continuous visual monitoring because high-sugar sauces burn within sixty seconds once the moisture evaporates. Alternatively, transferring the glazed slab to an outdoor grill utilizes existing hot zones while imparting a subtle smoke char that indoor ovens cannot replicate.
