Easy Fall Off the Bone Oven Baked Ribs
- PREP 15min
- COOK 3hrs
- TOTAL 3hrs 15min
Baking low and slow makes these oven-baked ribs fall off the bone tender. Once baked, we add our sweet and spicy BBQ sauce to the ribs, but you can use whatever you love. For the most tender ribs, we remove the thin membrane covering the back of the rack. Depending on where you purchased the ribs, this may already be done for you. If not, instructions are in the tips below the recipe.
You Will Need
2 to 2 ½ pounds baby back pork ribs
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup finely diced onion
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon hot chili sauce like Sriracha
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Salt and ground pepper, to taste
Directions
Bake the Ribs
Preheat the oven to 275°F (135°C). Set aside a large roasting pan or rimmed baking sheet and foil.
If your ribs still have the thin membrane covering the back of the rack, remove it. The tips section below explains how.
Season both sides of the ribs generously with salt and pepper. If you are using a spice rub, rub it over the ribs.
Place the ribs, meatiest-side up, in a large roasting pan. You may need to cut the ribs in half to fit them into the pan. Cover the pan or baking sheet tightly with aluminum foil. It is important they are well sealed inside the foil. If your foil does not wrap all the way around your baking sheet, wrap the rack in tight foil packets and place them on the baking sheet.
Bake the ribs until the meat falls easily from the bones, 2 ½ to 3 ½ hours. I check the ribs after 2 hours to see how they’re doing. Ribs are ready to come out of the oven when the meat is cooked through and tender. To check, pierce them with a sharp knife. There should be little to no resistance. You can also gently bend the ribs. If the meat looks like it will easily pull away from the bone, they’re ready.
Make Homemade BBQ Sauce
While the ribs bake in the oven, make the barbecue sauce. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until soft and translucent, 5 to 8 minutes.
Stir in the cumin and cook for an additional 30 seconds.
Add the ketchup, hot chili sauce, brown sugar, and apple cider vinegar. Stir to combine, season with salt, then cook for 2 minutes. Set aside while the ribs finish baking.
To Finish
Remove the ribs from the oven, discard the aluminum foil, and generously brush both sides with barbecue sauce.
(Optional) Move an oven rack near the top of the oven. Turn the broiler to high and broil the ribs until the barbecue sauce begins to caramelize, 3 to 4 minutes. Keep a close eye on the ribs while they broil so the sauce does not burn.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Ribs: We call for baby back ribs in the recipe, but other ribs (spare ribs, country-style, St. Louis-style) will work with this recipe. Cook time should be similar. We recommend you check on the ribs while they cook to see how they are progressing.
- Remove the membrane: Place the ribs meat-side-down on a cutting board. Locate the thin membrane covering the rack. Use a knife to gently slide under the membrane, then pull the membrane away from the bones using your fingers. If the membrane is slippery or difficult to remove, use a kitchen towel to hold it and pull.
- Multiple racks of ribs: Cooking time should stay the same with multiple racks of ribs. I prefer to wrap each rack tightly with foil and then place them onto a large baking sheet. You can fit two racks on one baking sheet, so my oven can bake four racks at a time.
- Ketchup: The BBQ sauce is best when made with thicker varieties of ketchup with no high fructose corn syrup added. You can use homemade ketchup, or we have found that organic or natural options like Hunt’s 100% Natural or Heinz Simply work nicely in this recipe.
- Back in the day, we were contributors to Betty Crocker. We shared a similar version of this recipe with them. We loved it so much we had to share an adapted version with you.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates, which include the barbecue sauce and 1 teaspoon of salt.