As part of a job application, I was asked to walk a theoretical someone through a procedure I perform regularly. Seemed like a shame to have put in the work only to let it languish in a Google Doc, so I figured I’d share this awesome recipe with you all.
My daughter is a fiend for barbecue ribs. An absolute fiend—I end up making them for her somewhere around once a month.* Given the opportunity for so much practice, I’ve developed a really top-tier recipe for absolutely unreal ribs…and they’re prepared entirely in the oven.**
Start with a rack of baby back pork ribs; a good size is three to three and a half pounds. If they’re frozen, thaw them overnight in the fridge or in cool water for an hour or so, replacing the water as it gets ice-cold. About four hours before you plan to eat, remove them from whatever cool environment they’re in so they start to creep toward room temperature.
While that’s going on, you’ll assemble your dry rub: Mix four teaspoons of brown sugar, one tablespoon of kosher salt (or one teaspoon if you’re using table salt), a tablespoon of smoked paprika, and a teaspoon each of garlic powder, dry mustard, and black pepper. Mash it well with a fork to break up the brown sugar and get everything evenly distributed.
Now, prepare a pan with enough heavy-duty foil to wrap the ribs with lots of room to spare: It should look like you could wrap it twice around the long sides, and you want enough on the ends to be able to roll them up a few times. Center the foil on the pan and cover that center area with a couple spritzes of cooking spray, or a bit of nonstick foil if you have some on hand. Lay the ribs bone-side down in the pan, gently enough to avoid tearing the foil.
This would be a good time to begin preheating your oven to 275 degrees Fahrenheit.***
Now it’s time to season the heck out of those ribs. Shake a little more than half the rub onto the meat, coating as evenly as possible. By now the ribs should have warmed up enough that they’ll hold onto the seasoning on their own, but press the rub firmly into the meat just for insurance. Once you’ve covered the meaty side, flip the ribs over (lift and flip—don’t drag the ends of the bones or you might punch holes in the foil) and repeat the process with the remaining rub, making sure to get the meat around those bone-ends, which are now mostly face-up.
Then we seal it all up: Bring the long sides of the foil together and fold them over several times to create a tight seal. Don’t fold all the way down to the meat, however! We want an air gap between the meat and the foil to help keep the temperature steady. Once you’ve got a good seal on top, fold the ends in just as tightly. The goal is a package that’s as airtight as foil will allow. (Yes, we’re basically steaming the meat. Please refer to footnote **.) Once you’ve gotten things wrapped nicely and the oven is up to temperature, put the pan on the middle rack, close the oven, and go find something else to do for three and a half hours.
[Insert training montage]
Welcome back. You are now very close to tasting the best, and easiest, ribs you’ll ever make inside. Remove the pan from the oven and switch the oven from Bake to Broil, on high if your broiler has levels. Carefully—carefully—unwrap those tight seals; the foil will cool quickly but there will be much steam and it will be very hot. Spread the foil out in every direction, rolling the edges back inward if the foil spreads out bigger than your oven rack. Flip the ribs meat-side-up. (No need to be as careful now, though keeping the foil intact will help with cleanup.) Pause to appreciate what you have created.
If you like barbecue sauce baked on your ribs, this is the time to add it. Having used this rub alongside several different kinds of barbecue sauce, I’m reasonably confident it will work with just about anything, so just brush it on, thick or thin, however you like it. Once your broiler has reached its full power, return the ribs to the middle rack of the oven.****
Timing here is very important; we want the top of the ribs to caramelize but not burn. If you’re lucky enough to have a spotless oven door, you can eyeball it, but otherwise you’ll want to set a timer for two minutes and check on things once it dings, repeating as necessary. As soon as you notice a bubbly crust forming—which will happen even without barbecue sauce thanks to the sugar in the rub—pull the ribs out and let them cool as long as you can stand.
Serve with more of your favorite sauce, perhaps some roasted or mashed potatoes, and a lightly steamed green vegetable. Oh, and make sure you have lots of napkins handy. You’ll need them.
* …OK, and for me too.
** I know this may border on sacrilege. Stay with me.
*** That’s 135 degrees Celsius.
**** You can do this part with the ribs meat-side-down on a grill at around 450–500 F (230–260 C), but unless you’re using a wood-fired grill the results will be pretty much the same.