Well, lucky for you and me, cooking a full rack of pork ribs in the oven has never been easier. Picture sticky ribs, covered in a sweet and smokey dry rub and topped with your favorite BBQ sauce (Sweet Baby Ray’s anyone?).
Removing the Silverskin
Before we do any seasoning, you’ll want to check to see if the ribs still have the silverskin intact on the back of the rack. Silverskin is a tough white membrane that covers the entire back surface of the ribs. Some butchers will remove before packaging, while others will leave it on.
If left on, it keeps the seasonings from penetrating the meat and it cooks into an unpleasant leathery skin on the ribs that won’t break down or soften. To remove the silverskin from the ribs, use the back of a knife and slide it under a section of the silverskin. Lift a sizable portion of the skin from the meat and then use a paper towel to help grip the skin and pull it off the rack. Here is a really helpful video.
Dry Rub for Ribs
You may want to add a sweet and smokey spice rub to your ribs for additional flavor and texture. This will help give your ribs more of a bark-like exterior. The dry rub should be applied to the naked ribs before baking in the oven. Furthermore, you can baste BBQ sauce over the dry rub if desired before sealing the ribs up with foil and baking. This is usually my preferred method.
To make the dry rub, combine all spices in a small bowl and mix well. Rub the spices into the meat and fully coat all sides of the rack.
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup paprika
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
How to Cook Ribs in the Oven
The most important part of cooking ribs in the oven is slowly cooking them at moderate heat wrapped in aluminum foil for about 2 hours. This provides more indirect heat and keeps the moisture in and prevents the meat from drying out. At the very end, we can either finish on the grill or broil for a nice charred exterior.
Wrapping Ribs in Foil
You’re most likely going to need 2 sheets wide of foil to successfully wrap the ribs. You want a tight wrap with no holes or exposed parts. To do this:
Stack two identical sheets of foil (8 inches longer than a rack of ribs) on top of each other on the counter.
Take the left edges of the long side of each foil sheet and fold over together in a 1/2 inch wide strip. Flatten/crease tightly and fold over one more time, pressing down firmly on the folds.
Open the top sheet of foil like a book and press down on the new middle seam to lock in and flatten. You now have a double-wide sheet of aluminum foil. Here’s a video of what I mean.
From here you can place the rib rack in the center of the foil. Be sure to rub with spices and baste with BBQ sauce if you haven’t already. Fold up the short sides followed by the longer sides. Seal tightly and wrap with one more sheet of foil, covering the top exposed seam.
This method works for several racks of ribs. You can comfortably span 4 racks of ribs in an oven, two on the bottom and two on the top.
Finishing the Ribs With the Grill or Broiler
To finish ribs on the grill (which is by far the best method), preheat the grill with the cover down for about 10 minutes. Bring to medium-high heat and clean the grates well. Remove ribs from the foil and cover with a thick coating of BBQ sauce. Sear for 1-2 minutes per side, or until the exterior is charred to your liking.
To finish ribs with the oven’s broiler, uncover the ribs from the foil and either discard or flatten. Coat ribs fully (both sides) with additional BBQ sauce. Turn the broiler on high and ensure the ribs are 5-6 inches from the heat source. Broil for 1-3 minutes per side or until ribs reach desired charred exterior. Note, the broiler will cook very fast so be sure to monitor very closely.
Brush ribs with additional BBQ sauce before serving if desired.
Oven-Baked BBQ Ribs Recipe
Author: Shawn Williams
Prep Time: 15
Cook Time: 2 hours 5 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
Yield: 4
Category: Dinner
Cuisine: American
Pin
Description
Cooking a full rack of pork ribs in the oven has never been easier. These sticky ribs are covered in a sweet and smokey dry rub and topped with your favorite BBQ sauce.
Ingredients
1 rack of baby back pork ribs, roughly 3-4 lbs
BBQ sauce of your choice ( I like Sweet Baby Ray’s)
Salt and pepper, to taste
Aluminum foil for wrapping
Rib Dry Rub (optional)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup paprika
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350° F.
For the dry rub, combine all spices in a small bowl and mix. Set aside.
Remove ribs from packaging and rinse with cool water. Pat dry with a paper towel and remove the silverskin from the back of the rack if it’s still intact. See note below. Place rack on two interlocked sheets of aluminum foil so you have twice the width of a standard sheet. Be sure foil sheets extend 8 inches longer than the rack length. See note/video below on foil prep.
Place the rib rack in the center of the foil. If using a dry rub, rub the entire rack (top and bottom) until completely coated. Optionally baste all over with BBQ sauce. Fold over the short sides first followed by the longer sides. Seal tightly and wrap with one more sheet of foil, covering the top seam. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 2 hours.
To finish ribs on the grill (which is my preferred method), preheat the grill with the cover down for about 10 minutes. Bring to medium-high heat and clean the grates well. Remove ribs from the foil and cover with an additional coating of BBQ sauce. Sear for 1-2 minutes per side, or until the exterior is grilled to your liking.
To finish ribs with the oven’s broiler, uncover the ribs from the foil and either discard or flatten. Coat ribs fully (both sides) with additional BBQ sauce. Turn the broiler on high and ensure the ribs are 5-6 inches from the heat source. Broil for 1-3 minutes per side or until ribs reach desired seared exterior. Note, the broiler will cook very fast so be sure to monitor very closely.
Brush ribs with additional BBQ sauce before serving if desired. Serve cut into individual ribs or 3-4 rib sections.
Notes
Removing the silverskin
To remove the silverskin from the ribs, use the back of a knife and slide it under a section of the silverskin. Lift a sizable portion of the skin from the meat and then use a paper towel to grip the skin and pull it off the rack. Here is a really helpful video.
Foil Prep Tips
1. Stack two identical sheets of foil (8 inches longer than a rack of ribs) on top of each other on the counter. Take the left edges of the long side of each foil sheet and fold over together in a 1/2 inch wide strip. Flatten/crease tightly and fold over one more time, pressing down firmly on the folds.
2. Open the top sheet of foil like a book and press down on the new middle seam to lock in and flatten. You now have a double-wide sheet of aluminum foil. Here’s a video of what I mean.
Keywords: pork ribs in oven, rib dry rub, bbq ribs, pork ribs
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