Recipes

Oven Baked Pork Ribs

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Oven Baked Pork Ribs

July 4, 2021

by Josie Holford

Category Recipes

Persons

Ingredients

The Ribs
Two racks of loin ribs
Fresh ground pepper
Half teaspoon salt
Half teaspoon ground cumin
Quarter teaspoon cayenne (more if you like heat)
Tablespoon brown sugar
(Or basically with whatever you like and takes your fancy. Keep people's heat tolerance in mind when adding hot spices.)
The Sauce
Two tablespoons of canola or similar
One medium onion chopped
3-5 cloves of garlic minced
One and a half cups of water.
Half cup of apple cider vinegar (white vinegar also works)
Half cup of tomato paste (See note * below)
Half a cup of brown sugar
Two tablespoons of honey (maple syrup works well too)
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
Teaspoon of salt
Several - say at least six - grinds of black pepper
Two tablespoons of whiskey (I used Bourbon but any would do)
One and a half tablespoons of dark molasses
Cayenne pepper - depends on the heat tolerance of your eaters. but say at least half a teaspoon.If heat not a problem then up to a tablespoon.)
Quarter teaspoon of paprika
Squeeze of lemon.
*If you don't have paste or enough paste then improvise using combos of fresh/canned/ boxed tomatoes, ketchup, puree, etc. Just remember that the more watery/ less concentrated the tomato product, the more you need and the longer the sauce will take to reduce.

Instructions

Cut each rack in half and pat dry
Rub each with a combo of ground pepper, a little salt, cumin, cayenne, and brown sugar. (Or basically with whatever you like and takes your fancy. Keep people's heat tolerance in mind when adding hot spices.)
Double wrap each half rack with foil and let them sit in the fridge for a while. (Could be 24 hours but that seems excessive although maybe helpful with timing, meaning you can prepare ahead.)
Heat oven to 275 degrees
Remove from fridge and place in the oven on a sheet pan or whatever. for 21/2 hours.
Meanwhile, make the sauce OR use your favorite store-bought.
Put two tablespoons of canola or similar in a solid saucepan and heat
Add the chopped onions and gently cook until soft (say 5 minutes)
Add chopped garlic
Stir about and then add all of the following: water, cider vinegar, tomato paste, brown sugar, honey, Worcestershire sauce, salt, black pepper, whiskey, molasses, cayenne - depends on the heat tolerance of your eaters. but say at least half a teaspoon, paprika and lemon juice.
Bring to a boil and simmer uncovered for at least an hour. Then check the consistency. it will probably need another hour or more. Give it a stir to check it's not sticking.
When it's nice and thick and tastes how you want it, turn off the heat.
After two and half hours remove the rib packages from the oven and let them cool for a bit (or until you're almost ready to serve.) Remove the foil and return ribs to the sheet pan.
Crank up the oven to 450 degrees and remove the foil and place ribs back on the sheet pan. (You could add some of the liquid to the sauce, or reduce, or discard.)
(You could also do this last step on an outdoor grill. The trick is carmelize the sauce without creating a charred mess. Add the sauce at the very end or thin the sauce a bit and paint it on slowly over time.)
Place the ribs back in the oven and re-heat the sauce. Keep at eye on both. You don't want the ribs to burn and you don't want the sauce to stick.
Take the ribs out and coat with one-third of the sauce. back to the oven for five or so and coat with another third.
The idea here is to have the sauce caramelize a bit but not char, blacken or burn.
Remove the ribs and serve with the last third of sauce.

View Comments

mariamia says:

July 26, 2023 at 8:02 am

it's a very delicious recipe. I would like to try it. thanks
Patrick says:

September 7, 2021 at 6:35 am

This recipe just looks absolutely delicious. I don't have much experience cooking ribs and when I've done it in the past I've cooked them slowly in the crockpot before finishing them in the oven. I'll have to try your slow roast method, and your sauce sounds like it'll be a real treat. Thanks for sharing.
Betsy Slaughterb says:

July 5, 2021 at 3:33 pm

I cook them in the oven also, though I use bottled sauce made by Stubb's. Loved seeing your recipe, but my husband swears by Stubb's and he is the rib eater.
michael chapus says:

July 4, 2021 at 10:59 pm

This is not fair, to expose a bachelor, who rarely cooks these days, to such mouth-watering images. I assume it tastes even better than it looks
- Josie Holford says:
  
  July 5, 2021 at 8:51 am
  
  If you eat meat and you like pork then it is delicious. And you could make it for yourself. Buy one rack cut in half, cook one, freeze the other. Halve the recipe, Or invite someone to dinner and surprise them!
Will McMillan says:

July 4, 2021 at 10:36 pm

What a delicious recipe! I just ate a rib cooked by my 16-year-old cousin at a 4th of July picnic. I don't think he used cumin in his preparations... He was a vegan for several years, and now he is back to eating meat.
- Josie Holford says:
  
  July 5, 2021 at 8:53 am
  
  The thing with rubs is that you can make them with anything you like. I like cooking that lets you invent and improvise as you go along.
  - Matt David Snyder says:
    
    August 22, 2021 at 9:12 pm
    
    I like both instant coffee and cocoa rubs
    - Josie Holford says:
      
      August 22, 2021 at 9:52 pm
      
      Say more. Details please.