Baked Baby Back Ribs Recipe
Making oven baked baby back ribs is a terrific way to get that slow-roasted flavor and fall-off-the-bone end result you crave. Spare ribs are cut from the bottom portion of the rib cage, while baby backs are cut from the top portion of the rib cage. Baby back ribs are leaner and cook faster than spare ribs, their heavier counterpart. Some people say spare ribs have richer flavor because they’re more marbled, but baby backs are more popular because they have more meat and are more tender.
Per 3 pounds of pork ribs
In a bowl mix together per 3lbs of pork ribs:
- 1 tablespoon of ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon of chili powder
- 1 tablespoon of paprika
- 1 cup of barbeque sauce
- salt and pepper to taste
- This recipe generally takes about 2 hours and 50 minutes to cook. However, racks vary in size — bigger racks might take longer to cook, while smaller ones might be ready more quickly. Turn to your digital food thermometer for the most precise results: Ribs are technically safe to eat when they reach an internal temperature of 145 degrees F, but they will be most tender and juicy between 190 and 200 degrees F.
- Remove the rack from the oven, let cool slightly, and open the foil seal
- Completely coat the rack in barbecue sauce, brushing it on all sides. Return it to the oven (with the foil open) and bake for about 10 more minutes. Remove from the oven again and brush again with barbecue sauce (on the meat side only). Repeat this process about four times, then cut and serve.
There you go! Pair with sweet slaw, baked beans, Caesar salad or even mac & cheese for a delicious and easy summer meal.
Did you know that Babe Ruth loved ribs?
One notable rib fan was the famed New York Yankee slugger Babe Ruth. The Yankees swept the St. Louis Cardinals in four games in the 1928 World Series, and the night after the final game, as the Yankees’ east-bound train rolled into Mattoon, Illinois, the Babe entertained his teammates and reporters with “50 pounds of barbecued spare ribs and an amber-color fluid which foamed suspiciously on being poured into serving glasses.” (This was in the midst of Prohibition, we should note.)