Yield: 4

Spare Ribs Fall Off The Bone Tender

How to cook ribs in the oven for succulent fall-off-the bone meat every time. Use your favorite dry rub, BBQ sauce or a combination of both.

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 35 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 full rack pork spare ribs (usually 2.5 to 3.5 lbs)* 
  • pork dry rub (about 1/4 cup or to taste, see below or use your favorite)**
  • 1 cup BBQ sauce (use your favorite, optional)

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 275-300 F (depending on how strong your oven is) and line an appropriately sized baking sheet with aluminum foil (for easy clean up), then place a sheet of parchment paper on top***
  2. Trim the rack of spare ribs from any excess fat, pat them dry with a paper towel. Turn the rack with the meaty side down and identify the membrane that runs across the length of the rib bones. Peel it off using a paper towel to eliminate slipperiness.
  3. Liberally season the rack of ribs on both sides and place onto the baking sheet. If you need to cut the rack in two to achieve a better fit, do so.
  4. Cover the ribs with a sheet of parchment paper, then aluminum foil - tuck it around the edges of the baking sheet to create air tight seal.
  5. Place in the oven for 2 hours.
  6. After 2 hours unwrap the cover and check the meat for tenderness. If satisfied, remove the covering, season with more dry rub or brush with BBQ sauce on both sides. (If you feel that the meat can use a little longer in the oven, go for another 20 mins and check again).
  7. Place the uncovered ribs back in the oven for 20-30 mins more, as needed (you want a nice crust to form and the meat to be super tender).
  8. Transfer to a cutting board, use tongs and a sharp chef's knife to slice the ribs, brush with BBQ sauce again (if using) and serve.

Notes

*See section in post explaining the cut and outlining how to trim a full rack into a St. Luis style spare pork ribs rack if you are interested in doing so.

**If you do not want to use a dry rub at a minimum use salt and pepper, about 1 tbsp salt and 1 tsp pepper, adjust to taste.

***Per food safety regulations it is not desirable for aluminum foil to be in direct contact with the surface of seasoned meat during baking (too much aluminum will leak into the meat).

PORK RUB (makes about 1/3 cup)

Measure out and mix:

  • 3 tsp brown sugar
  • 3 tsp kosher salt (reduce to taste*)
  • 2 tsp garlic powder
  • 2 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp ground black pepper
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • 2 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp cayenne pepper (optional, tune it down as needed to correspond to your preference for spice)

*Note that some salt brands are denser and therefore a teaspoon will be much saltier. For example the Diamond brand salt is less salty than the Morton brand)

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 458Total Fat: 25gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 91mgSodium: 1014mgCarbohydrates: 37gFiber: 1gSugar: 30gProtein: 21g

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