Do you love ribs, but want another method to cook them, rather than standing out at the grill in the middle of winter? Well, look no further! Here is my personal recipe for oven baked baby back ribs. They are so delicious, and the meat is extremely tender once they are done.

I am going to be honest and tell you that I normally hate oven-baked meats… they always seem to come out dry and chewy instead of moist and flavorful. I am also going to be honest and tell you that I stole my method of cooking from watching Master Chef.  Ha!  I took bits and pieces that I learned about how to cook a rack of lamb, and applied them to my ribs. It worked like a charm! Woo hoo!

Here’s a little secret; what makes these ribs so tender is the low & slow roast, but also the Dijon mustard that I put in my basting sauce. The vinegar in the mustard helps break down the muscle and makes it soft and tender. Yum!

Now for the fun stuff – the recipe! Let me know if you try it.

Until next time,

Oven Baked BBQ Baby Back Ribs

Ingredients

Meat:

2 slabs baby back ribs (approximately 3-4 lbs. each)

Basting Sauce:

1/2 cup garlic butter (or 1/2 cup butter with 1 Tbsp. minced garlic and garlic salt)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup dijon mustard
1-2 Tbsp. liquid smoke, depending on how strong you like your smoke flavor

Glaze:

Smoky Applewood rub (or whichever rub you prefer)
Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce

Instructions

Prep:

1. Preheat oven to 300°F.
2. Line an extra large rimmed cookie sheet or jelly roll pan rim with aluminum foil.
3. Place a metal cooling rack (cookie rack) into bottom of the pan.
4. Remove the thin membrane off the back of the ribs; slide your finger or a knife underneath the top, and simply pull down. It will come right off.
5. Rinse rib rack under cool water to remove any bone pieces or bone granules, then pat dry with a paper towel.

Basting Sauce:

1. Melt garlic butter.
2. Mix remainder of sauce ingredients into melted butter. (Do *not* add BBQ sauce or smoked rub!)
3. Whisk well to incorporate

Ribs:

1. Use a basting brush to brush a generous amount of sauce on the back side of the ribs.
2. Flip over so that meaty side is up.
3. Brush remaining sauce all over the top of the ribs. It will be a thick layer!
4. Sprinkle with Applewood smoked rub. (or whichever rub you prefer)
5. Cover with aluminum foil, slightly tented in the middle.
6. Bake for 2 hours at 300° on middle rack of the oven.
7. Remove from oven, and let rest for 10 minutes.

Glaze:

1. Carefully remove aluminum foil, watching for steam so you don’t get burned.
2. Using a clean basting brush, add a thick layer of Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce.
3. Place under low broiler (still on middle shelf) uncovered for about 5-7 minutes, until BBQ sauce begins to bubble and caramelize.
   Watch carefully, or it will burn!
4. Remove from oven, and add another layer of BBQ sauce.
5. Place under HIGH broiler for about 2-3 minutes, again, watching carefully. This time you want it to start to burn, so as soon as you see it start to darken and burn around the edges (or on top), remove quickly and set on the counter to rest for 10-15 minutes.

(Photo by Tori Close)