Summer Smack'n Oven Baked Ribs

  A. Weaver || June 30, 2024

A rack of sticky, flavorful pork ribs are always a crowd pleaser in our household. First, the meat is rubbed with a tangy mustard binder and then sprinkled with a flavor packed sweet and spicy rub. The key to making these ribs “fall off the bone” tender is by steaming them over some apple cider. This is a great meal to please everyone, but its also a stress free dinner where you can “set it and forget it” in the oven.

Summer Smack'n Oven Baked Ribs

Recipe makes 3-4 servings. Total time 3 hours and 30 minutes (Prep: 15 minutes/ Bake: 3 hours/ Rest: 15 minutes). 

Special Cookware: Wire rack and baking sheet

Ingredients

For the Rub 

1. 1/4 cup light brown sugar
2. 4 tbs kosher salt
3. 1 tbs paprika
4. 1 tbs garlic powder
5. 1 tbs ground pepper
6. 1/2 tbs red pepper flakes

Ribs

• 1 rack of St. Louis style ribs or spare ribs
• 2 cups of apple cider
• 3 tbs Dijon mustard
• Aluminum foil 

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a small bowl, combine the ingredients for the rub; set aside.
3. Prep your baking sheet by coving the baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place the wire rack on top of the baking sheet.
4. With a paper towel, pat the ribs dry. 
5. Optional: On the backside of the ribs, you will see a thin membrane. You can opt to leave the membrane on, in which it will keep the rib meat attached to the bone after the ribs are done cooking. I personally do not care for the texture of the membrane, so I remove it. 
1. To remove the membrane, draw the pointed end of your knife between the membrane and the bone. Slice the membrane enough to be able to grab the loosened membrane.
2. Use a paper towel (provides tension) to grab the lose part of the membrane and pull slightly up and away from you. Sometimes the membrane will come off in one piece or you will have to repeat this step a couple of more times until you are satisfied. 
6. Slather the ribs with mustard on both sides. The mustard acts as a binder for the rub to stick to the meat.
7. Coat the rack of ribs with the rub generously on both sides, pressing the rub into the binder and meat.
8. Once coated, place the ribs on the wire rack. Before placing the ribs in the oven, pour the apple cider on the bottom of the baking sheet. The apple cider will create steam which will keep the ribs moist throughout the cooking process. Place aluminum foil on top of the ribs and transfer to  the oven. Bake for 3 hours.
1. During the last thirty minutes of cooking remove the foil from the top of the ribs. This will ensure that the ribs will get a nice color. At this point you can add any type of BBQ sauce to the ribs.
9. Remove from the oven and let rest for 15 minutes before carving. 

Hūlō! (Cheers!)

A. Weaver

Photo by A. Weaver