Barbecue ribs are delicious, but a barbecue can only be used during certain times of the year. The key to cooking fatty cuts of meat such as ribs is the low and slow style. This allows the meat to cook down properly, leaving it juicy rather than dry and chewy. Certainly, you need an outdoor smoker, decent weather and hours of cooking time to make proper ribs, right? As it turns out, you can make a high-quality rack of ribs using just your standard kitchen oven.
Rib Marinade
As you won't be getting the usual smoky, barbecue flavor, it's important to make a marinade that will help bring out the ribs' taste while also adding the flavors that you'd get from a smoker. Liquid smoke is a great substitute in this case.
Ingredients:
- Two racks of pork baby back ribs
- Four cups water
- One cup salt
- One cup brown sugar
- One cup apple cider vinegar
- One tablespoon liquid smoke
Instructions:
- Using a knife, remove any membrane from the ribs. The membrane won't cook down, so removing as much as possible is ideal.
- Place the ribs in a deep dish
- Mix the water, salt, sugar, vinegar and liquid smoke in a mixing bowl
- Pour the mixture into the dish with the ribs, ensuring that ribs are completely submerged in the marinade. If you need more liquid, add equal parts vinegar and water until the ribs are covered.
- Wrap the dish in plastic wrap and store in the fridge for 24 hours
Dry Rub For Ribs
The rub will add dimensions of flavor to your ribs, help bring out the juiciness in the meat and add a nice crust when the ribs are done cooking.
Ingredients:
- One tablespoon cumin
- One tablespoon coriander
- One tablespoon chili powder
- One teaspoon smoked paprika
- One teaspoon onion powder
- One teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions:
- Drain the ribs after they've soaked in the marinade for 24 hours
- Mix all the ingredients in a bowl
- Gently apply the mix to the ribs. Give the ribs a quick pat to ensure the ingredients stick to the meat.
Cooking Ribs In The Oven
Now it's time to cook those ribs. It's recommended to have some of your favorite barbecue sauce on hand to brush on the ribs throughout cooking, as well as when they're ready to eat.
- Preheat your oven to 225 degrees
- On the bottom rack of the oven, place a large dish. This will be used to catch the juices from the ribs.
- On the higher rack, place four layers of foil to act as a buffer for the ribs
- Using a meat brush, lightly brush the ribs with some barbecue sauce
- Place the ribs on the foil and set a timer for five hours. Halfway through, rotate the ribs and brush some more barbecue sauce on them.
- With five minutes left on the timer, turn on the broiler to let all the sugars in the sauce caramelize, as well as turning the dry rub into a nice crust on the meat.
- When the timer is up, remove the ribs and enjoy some tender, fall-off-the-bone ribs.
