Oven Baked Baby Back Ribs
These oven baked baby back ribs are seasoned with a simple dry rub, baked low and slow with apple juice until fall-off-the-bone tender, then brushed with BBQ sauce and broiled until perfectly sticky and caramelized. No grill required!
Servings 6 servings
Ingredients
- 1 4-pound rack baby back pork ribs
- 3 –4 tablespoons yellow mustard
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons black pepper
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- ⅓ –½ cup apple juice
- 1 –1½ cups store-bought BBQ sauce
Instructions
- Preheat the oven. Preheat your oven to 275°F. Line a large baking sheet or roasting pan with aluminum foil.
- Prepare the ribs. Remove the thin membrane from the back of the ribs if necessary and pat the ribs dry with paper towels.
- Add the mustard. Brush both sides of the ribs with yellow mustard.
- Make the dry rub. In a small bowl, combine the kosher salt, black pepper, brown sugar, smoked paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder.
- Season the ribs. Rub the seasoning mixture evenly over both sides of the ribs.
- Add the apple juice. Place the ribs meat-side down on the prepared baking sheet. Pour the apple juice around the ribs.
- Bake. Tightly seal the ribs with foil and bake for 3 to 3½ hours, or until the meat easily pulls away from the bones and a knife slides into the meat with little resistance.
- Sauce the ribs. Carefully remove and discard the foil and cooking liquid. Brush the ribs generously with your favorite BBQ sauce.
- Broil. Move the oven rack to the upper third of the oven and turn the broiler to high. Broil for 3–5 minutes, watching carefully, until the sauce is bubbly and caramelized.
- Finish. Brush with another layer of BBQ sauce and broil for an additional 1–2 minutes, if desired. Let the ribs rest for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.
Notes
Baking the ribs meat-side down allows the rendered fat to naturally baste the meat, keeping the ribs extra juicy.
Keep the foil tightly sealed to trap the steam from the apple juice and create incredibly tender ribs.
Start checking for doneness around the 3-hour mark.
BBQ sauce contains sugar and can burn quickly under the broiler, so keep a close eye on the ribs during the final few minutes.
For extra sticky ribs, brush on a second layer of BBQ sauce before the final broil.
Equipment
Keep the foil tightly sealed to trap the steam from the apple juice and create incredibly tender ribs.
Start checking for doneness around the 3-hour mark.
BBQ sauce contains sugar and can burn quickly under the broiler, so keep a close eye on the ribs during the final few minutes.
For extra sticky ribs, brush on a second layer of BBQ sauce before the final broil.
Equipment