Baby Back Ribs – from the Oven

You don’t have to fuss with cleaning an outdoor cooker, and the weather won’t interrupt your craving for ribs. After a little bit of brushing and baking, watching the sauce start to bubble during broiling will be your cue that it’s time to poor a cold beer and grab the coleslaw. Serves 8

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp. kosher salt
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
3 Tbsp. smoked paprika
1 Tbsp. black pepper
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
1 Tbsp. dry mustard
4 lbs. baby back pork ribs (2 to 3 slabs)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 1/2 cups bottled barbecue sauce

Directions: Preheat the oven and cover ribs in spice mixture:

Step 1 – Preheat oven to 275°F with rack in middle position. Stir together salt, brown sugar, smoked paprika, pepper, garlic powder, and dry mustard in a bowl. Remove thin outer membrane on back of ribs by loosening with a butter knife and pulling it off; discard.
Brush slabs evenly with oil; sprinkle with spice mixture, gently patting to adhere. (If desired, wrap ribs with plastic wrap; place on a baking sheet, and chill at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours.)

Step 2 – Line baking sheet with aluminum foil: Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil; set a wire rack inside sheet.

Step 3 – Wrap ribs with aluminum foil and bake: If you wrapped and chilled the ribs, remove and discard plastic wrap. Wrap each slab with heavy-duty aluminum foil; place on prepared wire rack. Bake in preheated oven until tender, 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

Step 4 – Unwrap ribs and apply barbecue sauce: Remove from oven, and unwrap ribs; discard foil and drippings. Place ribs directly on wire rack; brush 1/2 cup barbecue sauce on top of each slab. Return to oven; bake at 275°F until ribs are tender and meat is pulling away from bones, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Step 5 – Baste ribs with barbecue sauce and broil: Remove from oven; brush slabs evenly with remaining barbecue sauce. Increase oven temperature to broil, and return ribs to middle rack. Broil until sauce bubbles and starts to caramelize, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from oven; let rest 5 minutes. Serve.