Baby Back Ribs

These ribs really did fall off the bone and they were delicious!! However, I would change a couple things next time I make them. I followed the recipe as is, except I made my own bbq sauce. When they were in the oven, the foil pouches started leaking. I contributed that to the fact that I may have had too much sauce in there and also the ribs secrete their own juices as they cook. Next time I may cook them in a cooking bag or I might line a 13x9 baking pan with non-stick foil and marinade and bake them in that. The non-stick foil really works! I baked the ribs for 2 1/4 hours and then placed them meaty side up on a cookie sheet lined with non-stick foil. Then I put more homemade sauce on them and broiled them for 15 minutes. This really makes a difference because then the ribs have sauce really sticking to them, restaurant style. If you skip this part and just take the ribs out of the foil and serve them, there is no sauce on them and they look pale and unappetizing. Just be sure to check the ribs frequently as their broiling so that they don't get burned. I had 3 big, hungry guys for dinner that night and they ate 5 pounds of ribs! Just a side note, I made yummy potatoes in foil and the whole dinner was EASY cleanup! Just slice raw potatoes fairly thin and lay them in a mound on a lg. piece of foil. Put a few pats of butter on them and sprinkle with salt, pepper or any herbs you like. Seal them up good and let them cook with the ribs for at least an hour and

This method was excellent -- and inspired me to come up with something even better. At the minimum, you can follow this method as is, except lower the oven temperature to 225 degrees and bake for four hours. For even better results, coat the ribs with prepared mustard (the taste of which will disappear during the long cooking time) and apply a "dry rub" (you can find many recipes for rubs on the Internet or in barbecue cookbooks). Seal the ribs in a plastic bag and refrigerate for at least one day; I do it for three days. Put the ribs on a raised rack or on paper towels (to allow fat to drip off or to absorb fat). Put the ribs and rack (or towels) in an oven bag and bake at 225 degrees for four hours. (Don't worry, paper towels will not burn at such a low temperature.) After four hours, the ribs will have a nice crust and flavor from the rub and will be fall-off-the-bone tender. The last step is to remove the ribs from the bag, brush the upper surface with your favorite barbecue sauce and broil for ten minutes. This is optional, but after cutting up the ribs, I like to pour on a little more sauce to make the ribs "wet." I realize that this written description makes the process sound quite involved, but it's really not and the results are well worth the extra trouble. Oh, and I have really enjoyed experimenting with different rub/sauce combinations.

This basic recipe, or cooking method, when combined with the suggestions of others, allowed me to make the most delicious, and easiest ribs we've ever had! Here are my changes. I adapted the "Dry Rub for Ribs" by Denise from this site, and it was the perfect amount for the three racks of ribs I had. This is what I used: 1/4c. brown sugar, 1 1/2 Tbsp. paprika, 1 Tbsp. kosher salt, 1 1/2 Tbsp. black pepper, 1 tsp. garlic powder, 1 tsp. onion powder, 1/4-1/2 tsp. cayenne red pepper. (Definitely remove the back membrane before rubbing spices on! Several people had mentioned how runny the barbecue sauce got from the meat juices, so I put only the dry rub on for the 8 hour marinating process, as well as the baking. My second concern was about the meat literally falling off the bones. I wanted to finish them on the grill, so meat actually falling off bones wasn't desirable. I baked the foil packets on cookie sheets at 300 for 2 hours. I let them cool for about 1/ hour to firm up before I moved them to the grill. Then I brushed them with Jack Daniel's sauce thinned with a little of the cooking juices. Finally, I grilled them on medium heat, brushing with extra sauce for about 5 min. a side, till they were nicely caramelized. YUM! They were "falling off the bone" tender, without actually falling off. Try these! You won't be sorry!