Fall-off-the-bone ribs with delicious dry rub and saucy sauce are the perfect summer meal. The slightly sweet and BBQ smoky flavour is finger-licking good.
Who doesn’t love the perfect rack of ribs? With a slightly sweet and slightly smoky flavour, this recipe is foolproof.
Ribs may seem like a daunting task but the most important tip is to cook them low and slow. A lower temperature with a longer cooking time is what turns the ribs into the perfect fall-off-the-bone texture.
The perfect dry rub doesn’t hurt either. We use a simple dry rub for most of the cooking process, then near the end, we add a sauce to baste the ribs and coat them in the perfect coating.
Preparing Oven-Baked Ribs
Ingredients
Paprika: I use sweet paprika for this recipe. It is not sweet in the sugary sense, but compared to its spicy and smoked siblings it is definitely the sweetest of them all.
Chili powder: This powder is made up of various varieties of dried chilies. The chilies are dried then ground and combined into this spice mix. Sometimes other spices are mixed in as well which is why you may find that different brands have slightly different flavours.
Garlic powder: Garlic powder is dehydrated garlic ground to a powder. It’s sweeter than raw garlic so it just adds a hint of garlic flavour without the sharpness.
Brown sugar: Brown sugar is a mixture of white sugar and molasses. Molasses is responsible for the darker colour. We use dark brown sugar for this recipe but any brown sugar will do.
Onion powder: Onion powder is made from dehydrated onions which are then ground. White, yellow or red onions can be used to make onion powder. It is a very common spice that is used in many spice mixes.
Steak Sauce: Steak sauce is a condiment commonly served with beef. It has a hint of sweetness, it’s tangy and smoky, and sometimes can be peppery. It’s most popular in North America but is similar to ‘brown sauce’ used in British cuisine.
Ketchup: Ketchup is the default condiment in America but variations are seen all over the world. It actually has roots in Chinese cooking where tomatoes were not even an ingredient. Over the years, it has morphed into what we know today to be a red, sweet and slightly tangy sauce or dip.
How to Make Oven-Baked Ribs
Start by combining all of the rub ingredients in a small bowl. Stir them together to combine well. Make sure that there are no sugar clumps.
Before the next step, turn on your grill and let it warm up to 320°F or turn on your oven to 325°F.
Next, you need to prep the ribs. Place the ribs on a cutting board or other clean, flat surface and remove the membrane covering the bones. Once you get a lift on it you should be able to pull it back pretty smoothly. Check out the video below to see how I did it. It takes a little practice but you can do it!
Once you remove the membrane, coat the ribs on all sides with the rub you made earlier.
Oven Method
Place the ribs bone side down on the rack of a roasting pan and cover the pan with aluminum foil.
Place the roasting pan in the oven for 2 hours.
If you like your ribs saucy, make the sauce next. Though you won’t need it until the timer goes off. To make the sauce, mix all the sauce ingredients in a bowl and stir well to combine.
At the 2-hour mark, take the ribs out of the oven and turn up the temperature to 400°F. Brush the sauce all over the ribs. If you like extra sauce, reserve some sauce for serving.
Put the roasting pan back in the oven for another 30 minutes.
Remove the ribs from the oven and let them rest for 5 minutes. You can rub more sauce on the ribs once you take them out of the oven if you like really saucy ribs.
Charcoal Grill Method
When the grill reaches the desired temperature, place the ribs bone-side down.
If you are using a charcoal grill, place the ribs away from the coals. If you are using a gas grill, turn off the burners directly underneath the ribs.
Cook on indirect heat, covered for 4 hours.
Combine the sauce ingredients in a small bowl. After 4 hoursof cooking, brush the sauce over the ribs using a silicone brush.
Cover and cook for another 30 minutes.
Remove from the grill and let rest for 5 minutes. You can rub more sauce on the ribs once you take them off the grill.
Serving Oven-Baked Rivs
Ribs can be a heavy meal so it’s always nice to pair them with a vegetable. Try these ribs with a side of our roasted Brussels sprouts or with roasted broccoli. Our simple spinach salad also offers a great balance to the sweetness of the ribs.
If you’re not afraid of a filling meal, then you definitely want to make the cheesy smashed potatoes. Prep the potatoes before you brush the ribs with sauce. You can bake the potatoes and the sauced ribs at the same time!
Let us know in the comments if you have any other questions. And if you like this recipe be sure to leave us a five-star rating below.
Are you looking for dinner ideas? Check out our recipes:
Oven-baked Ribs with Dry Rub and Rib Sauce
Equipment
- Roasting pan (if following the oven method)
- Aluminum foil (if following the oven method)
Ingredients
- 1.4 kg back ribs 1 rack
Dry Rub:
- 2 Tbsp paprika
- ½ Tbsp chili powder
- ½ Tbsp garlic powder
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
Sauce (optional):
- ¼ cup steak sauce of your choosing
- ⅛ cup ketchup
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar or honey
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F.
- In a small bowl mix all the rub ingredients together until well combined.2 Tbsp paprika, ½ Tbsp chili powder, ½ Tbsp garlic powder, 1 Tbsp brown sugar, 1 tsp onion powder, 1 ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp ground black pepper
- Remove the membrane from the bone side of the ribs.1.4 kg back ribs
- Rub the spice mix all over ribs, patting it down to make sure it sticks
- Place the ribs bone side down on a rack in a roasting pan and cover the pan with aluminum foil.
- Place the roasting pan in the oven for 2 hours.
- If adding sauce, mix all sauce ingredients in a bowl.¼ cup steak sauce of your choosing, 1/8 cup ketchup, 1 Tbsp brown sugar or honey
- Take the ribs out of the oven and turn up the temperature to 400°F. Brush the sauce all over the top of the ribs and put back in the oven for another 30 minutes. If you like extra sauce leave some aside.
- Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes. You can rub more sauce on the ribs once you take them out of the oven if you like really saucy ribs.
- Serve with your favourite sides
