Raise your hand if you crushed half racks of BBQ pork ribs on the reg when you were 12 years old. I’m raising my hand. I’ve always loved ribs slathered in BBQ sauce. There is nothing like tender juicy meat and sticky sauce. Yes, it gets all over your hands and face but it’s worth every bite.

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:

1. Stack two identical sheets of foil (8 inches longer than a rack of ribs) on top of each other on the counter.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.

Print