I started making these ribs about 10 years ago, when I would host several large cookouts at home every summer. When it comes to ribs, I’m the kind of person that buys them at a good price when I find them. My favorites are the St Louis style, so I pick up a few multi packs and store them in the freezer — I learned the hard way that the nice, large meaty ones can be scarce around the summer holidays.
On one of these planned events, the weather was not cooperating and there was rain planned for much of the morning, but the afternoon looked great. Instead of calling it off, I just went with it but I was worried that I would not be able to get the ribs done in time. Not serving ribs at one of my cookouts would surely have spelled disaster, so I had to come up with a Plan B. What I decided to do might surprise you, but the results were not only devoured, but complimented long after the event.
I decided to try and make the ribs in the oven, because I was not going to have this event go down in flames. The night before, I prepped the ribs as I always do — I rinsed them, removed the silver skin, placed them on a large sheet of foil, added S & P liberally on both sides, then smothered them in the sauce I have listed below. The sauce not only acts like a marinade to tenderize the ribs, but I also use it to baste the ribs to achieve that delicious, caramelized exterior we all love. Several hours before the event, I place these foil packs of ribs on the grill and let them cook slowly for about 2 hours. In this case, I did the same thing, but ended up putting them in the oven.
After the 2 hour ‘steaming’ period, I turned up the oven, removed the top foil sheet and started basting/turning the ribs every 15 minutes or so. I found that if the racks are too large, you can cut them into 3 or 4 rib sections so they are easy to turn as you baste them.
I don’t make make my own BBQ sauce because there are several decent products out there, so I end up taking some of my favorites, using them as a base and then just jazzing them up. The reason that I do this is because I could never find one BBQ sauce that had it all — some were too smokey, others too sweet or not sweet or spicy enough.
The ones I use the most as a base are either Cattleman’s Original or KC Masterpiece Original BBQ sauce because I have found that they have just the right amount of smoke flavor without it being overwhelming. The recipe for the sauce is enough for 4 racks of ribs, so adjust the recipe as you need to. I add both molasses and honey — the molasses adds a caramel note to the sauce and the honey adds a good sweetness that you don’t get with just using molasses. I also add mustard and find that this is really important in adding that important tanginess to the rib that also compliments the sweetness — the mustard also helps in tenderizing the meat.
I can’t tell you how worried I was — were they going to be moist, flavorful and delicious? I knew that many of my invited guests had previously enjoyed the ones I had made many times on the grill — so would these pass the test?
The ribs were perfectly delicious. I realized that using the right kind of BBQ sauce as a base is what really helped to impart a nice smokey flavor. I also managed to achieve the perfect level of caramelization on the outside — thanks to the extra honey and molasses, but also the little extra effort it takes to baste and turn the ribs in the home stretch.
Now, when the weather isn’t conducive to grilling and I’ve got ribs on the brain, I know that I don’t have to worry. These perfectly delicious ribs will satisfy even the pickiest eater. They not only make a great lunch or dinner, but also a great riblet finger food.
Good Food Gourmet BBQ Sauce
4 racks of baby back pork ribs or St Louis style ribs, cleaned
S&P
1 ½ cups BBQ sauce of your choice (I use Cattleman’s original or KC Masterpiece original)
1 cup ketchup
¼ cup yellow mustard
½ cup molasses
1 ½ cups honey
**For spiciness you can add hot sauce, a few tablespoons of pepper jelly or some crushed red pepper flakes
2-3 large foil pans or 8 large pieces of foil
Prepare the sauce by placing all of the ingredients together in a small bowl and whisking it well until everything is well mixed. The night before you plan to cook the ribs, rinse them well and remove the silver skin from all of the racks. Turn them onto their meaty side because the silver skin lies right over the rib section underneath. Use a small knife and pry a piece of the skin up from the center of the rack. I find that you get a better hold of the skin if you pry it up from the center, rather than trying to get it up on one side or the other.
Place the ribs in a disposable foil pan or a large piece of foil and add S&P liberally on both sides. Spoon on some of the sauce on both sides and then add another piece of foil on top and create a little package by sealing the edges of the foil. Place the rest of the sauce covered in the fridge to use in the basting process. Allow these packages to sit in the refrigerator overnight. The sauce will marinate the meat and make them so tender they will fall off the bone.
The next day, either prepare your grill or preheat your oven at 300°F. Place the foil pack of the ribs in the oven (or on the grill) for 2 hours to steam the ribs in the marinade. Once the ribs have steamed in the foil pack, take off the top piece of foil and turn your oven up to 400°F.
At this point, you can cut your racks into 3 or 4 rib sections so that they are easier to baste and turn. This is what I usually do to make my life easier. Keep the ribs on the bottom layer of foil so it will help you in the cleanup later on. Remove the reserved BBQ sauce from the fridge and baste the pieces of the ribs on both sides, then place them onto the top shelf of your hot oven. Let them bake and take on some color before you remove them, this should take about 10-15 minutes. DO NOT leave the ribs unattended or they will burn. This next hour is critical in getting the right color and caramelization on the final product. You will need to do this a total of 4 times — remove, flip and baste.
Once they are ready, they will look slightly charred and the sauce will have baked right into the surface of the ribs. Serve them with some delicious cornbread, traditional potato salad or pasta salad for a truly unforgettable meal.
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