How to Cook Ribs in the Oven

Many people wonder how to cook ribs in the oven. Is it possible to have fall-off-the-bone, tender ribs in the dead of winter without having to stand shivering over the barbecue as you are pelted by rain or snow? Absolutely.

The best thing about ribs cooked in the oven is that, after minimal prep, you can put them in the oven and walk away for several hours. It doesn’t get any better than that.

Learning how to cook ribs in the oven is really easy. To some extent, the ingredients you use don’t matter (other than ribs). What matters is that you follow a series of steps (outlined below) that give you flavorful, juicy, tender ribs.

Ovens tend to dry things out. The cure for this is brine. Typically, you brine the racks of baby back or spare ribs for one hour. If you’ve never brined before, this step is pretty easy.

1. Fill a large container that fits in your refrigerator, but holds all of your ribs with cold water.
2. Add ½ cup of salt (or 1 cup of kosher salt) and ½ cup of sugar.
3. You may also add herbs and spices to the rub if you wish. Sage, rosemary, garlic and oregano are great with pork.
4. Cover the container with plastic, and place it in the refrigerator.
5. Let ribs brine for one hour.

Dry rubs add flavor to your meat. Typically, it’s best to rub the ribs and let the rub sit on the meat for several hours – preferably overnight – before cooking them. Dry rubs consist of a base of brown sugar with herbs and spices. Here’s a great dry rub recipe:

• ½ cup of brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons smoked paprika
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• ½ teaspoon cayenne
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 2 tablespoons oregano
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons onion powder
• 1/2 tablespoon fresh cracked black pepper or white pepper

You may also use a commercially prepared dry rub. There are several excellent rubs available in the spice section of the grocery store.

1. Once you have your dry rub, the word dry is the key. Remove the pork from the brine and dry it with paper towels.
2. Place the ribs on large slabs of foil and rub all sides of the meat with generous amounts of your rub.
3. Wrap the ribs tightly in foil and stick them in the refrigerator for several hours.

It’s almost time to stick the ribs in the oven. First, you need to add some moisture to further keep the ribs from drying out. Do this by making a braising liquid while the oven preheats to 250 degrees. The braising liquid is up to you, but a good rule of thumb is this:

• Use a base liquid. You may use chicken stock, white wine, beer or something else – it’s your choice.
• Add in some smoke flavor. One of the flavors that is missing from barbecue to oven is smoke. Liquid smoke works great for this purpose. A little goes a long way.
• Add something sweet. You may use orange juice or maple syrup for this, but you can also add in a little sugar or molasses.
• Add some acid. Essentially this means to add vinegar. Any kind of vinegar works, especially apple cider vinegar or white vinegar.

1. Preheat the oven to 250.
2. Place the ribs on a rimmed baking sheet (still wrapped in foil).
3. Bring the braising ingredients to a boil on the stove.
4. Cool the braising liquid.
5. Open a corner of the foil packet for each rack of ribs and pour in about ¼ cup of cooled liquid.
6. Reseal the packet tightly so that the liquid will not leak out.

The secret to really tender ribs from your oven is this: low and slow. What does that mean? Low temperature (250 degrees). Slow cooking time (2-1/2-4 hours.) This low and slow cooking method breaks down the collagen in the meat, giving you that fall-off-of-the-bone tenderness that you desire.

1. Place the ribs in the oven.
2. Cook ribs for 2-1/2 to 4 hours.
3. After about 2-1/2 hours, open a corner of one of your foil packets and test the ribs with a fork. If they are tender, move on with step 4. Otherwise, allow them to continue to cook until they are fork tender. If in doubt, err on the side of leaving the ribs in the oven longer. In the moisture-rich, low temperature environment, it isn’t going to hurt the ribs.

You have two options for your glaze. You can use a commercially prepared barbecue sauce, or you can use your braising liquid.

1. Remove the ribs from the oven.
2. Turn the oven on to broil.
3. Open the foil packets and pour the juices back into the pan with the leftovers of your braising liquid.
4. Tent the ribs with foil and set them aside on the baking sheet.
5. Bring the liquid in the pan to a simmer.
6. Allow the liquid to reduce and thicken.
7. Brush the liquid on ribs. You can also use a commercially prepared barbecue sauce, or maple syrup for this step.
8. Put the ribs back in the oven, meat side up, and place under the broiler until the glaze starts to bubble – about four to five minutes.

Learning how to cook ribs in the oven is as easy as that. If you want some sides to go with your ribs, try this apple and celery salad recipe or some beans for a real taste of summer any time.

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