Where I come from, barbeque ribs are an art form. In the great state of Alabama there are as many secret recipes for ribs as there are barbeque grills. This is my recipe. And it’s the best.
I feel confident in saying that because every time I serve these ribs I hear the same word – “Phenomenal”. No joke, every time. From multiple people who don’t even know each other. People who don’t really throw the word “phenomenal” around very often. No, these are people who I’d say are quite judicious in their use of that word. And yet they say it about these ribs. That my friends should tell you something right there.
The secret to my ribs is that I actually have two secrets. Secret one – my ribs are actually cooked in the oven, then finished on the grill. This is where most people go horribly wrong. You can’t expect to get ribs of this caliber by using the grill exclusively. Ribs must be cooked low and slow if you want them to achieve fall-off-the-bone tenderness, which in case you didn’t know is critical to phenomenal ribs. You can control the heat of an oven perfectly. An outdoor grill, not so much. Secret two – DRY RUB. It’s capitalized because it’s that important. This is what produces 99.7% of the flavor. You need a good dry rub, and lots of it. Lucky for you I’ve got a killer dry rub mixture that I’m more than happy to share with you. Feel free to use it with wild abandon.
After the dry rub is applied and the low, slow cooking has occurred, the ribs are finished up by slathering on a thick coat of barbeque sauce and then a quick turn on a hot grill. The high heat seals in the flavor of the dry rub while it also perfectly caramelizes the sauce into a thick coating of pure flavor. I’m telling you, it’s rib perfection.
Now, these ribs are not without their downfall. You will dispose of at least one full roll of paper towels during the course of dinner, mopping up hands, mouths, cheeks, and chins. (And yes, in Alabama a roll of paper towels on the table is considered good manners on rib night.) So when you make these ribs, and your spouse/friends/family/neighbors tell you they are indeed phenomenal, you can simply hand them a paper towel and say “Yeah, I know”.
PS – One critical thing I forgot to mention before…Never, ever, ever wear a white shirt to a rib eating party. Ever.
Barbeque Ribs
serves 4
5-6 pounds Ribs – pork spare ribs are the best for barbeque
1 Tablespoon Cumin
1 Tablespoon Smoked Paprika
1 Tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon dry mustard powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup apple cider vinegar
2 cups of your favorite barbeque sauce (I love Stubb’s Original Barbeque Sauce)
Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Place a wire rack on top of a baking sheet that has high sides. (I use the wire rack that is typically used for cooling my baked goods fitted inside a deep dish pizza pan, because I’m fancy like that.) You may need to cut the ribs into two pieces to get them to fit – that’s totally ok.
Place ribs on the rack. Mix together the seasonings – cumin through black pepper – and rub generously over both sides of the ribs.
Pour the apple cider vinegar into the bottom of the pan. Do not let it touch the ribs.
Place ribs in the oven for 1 hour and 45 minutes. The internal temperature should reach 160 degrees.
Preheat grill to medium high heat. Remove ribs from oven. Generously coat both sides of the ribs with about 1 cup of the barbeque sauce on each side. Place ribs onto grill and cook about 5 minutes on each side, or until sauce is thickened and a light crust begins to form.
Remove ribs from grill and let cool for about 5 minutes. Cut into pieces by separating each rib using a heavy knife. Serve warm. You can brush on more barbeque sauce if desired.
Recipe adapted from : Foodie Crush
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Perfect timing! We’re having company over next weekend & were thinking about ribs for dinner. I know I can count on any recipe you throw my way!
Can I ask what the vinegar does if it simply sits below the ribs and never touches them? Am I missing something?
As the ribs cook in the oven the vinegar evaporates and leaves a slight tangy flavor to the ribs. I had never tried this until I saw the method used on Foodie Crush (link at the bottom of the post). It really does add a depth of flavor and keeps the ribs from becoming too dry.