My family grew up with overcooked ribs. Over the years I have, I think, found the perfect solution to grilling the bestest most tenderest ribs ever.
Falling off the bone tender, tasty, juicy Ribs - the easiest method ever!
My family, like many, grew up with overcooked ribs. Dad used to put them on the BBQ raw, cook them until they were charcoal, and then slather on some sauce – dinner is served. It was hard to tell what was bone and what was meat.
My friend Dennis made tender ribs, he did this by boiling them for an hour in water first; and while they were more tender, they also lost a lot of their flavor. But they were tender.
Over the years I have, I think, found the perfect solution to grilling the bestest most tenderest ribs ever.
Grilling, of course, is different than smoking or slow-cooked Kansas or St. Louis style ribs. That method is a completely different animal and takes hours to get them done just right.
My method takes MUCH less time and yields excellent, tasty, and tender fall-off-the-bone results.
Make it a meal with one of these great side dishes
Pasta Salad with Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Coleslaw with Sriracha Dressing
Cabbage-Fennel-Apple Slaw
Texas Ranch Style Beans
The Bestest Most Tenderest Ribs Ever
Ingredients
- 2 racks of baby back ribs
- Spice Rub I’ll share my favorite, but you can use whatever you like, even one of the commercially prepared rubs
- BBQ Sauce again, I’ll share my fav, it comes from Chicago for Ribs, but use whatever you like
- For the Rub
- ¼ cup paprika
- 1 tablespoon firmly packed brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon celery salt
- Prepare: Mix all the ingredients together. Store in an air-tight container.
- Chicago for Ribs BBQ Sauce
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon garlic salt
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1 cup catsup
- ½ cup water
- 2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
- ⅛ teaspoon liquid smoke
- few drops of lemon juice
- Prepare: Mix all the ingredients together in a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Shake until well blended. Refrigerate for a few hours at least best overnight. Store refrigerated.
Instructions
- Tear two sheets of heavy-duty aluminum foil large enough to tightly wrap a rack of ribs in. Turn the rack over and with your finger, find the “membrane” that covers the back of the ribs; starting at the short side of the ribs loosen the membrane with your finger; once loosened, take a paper towel and get a firm grip on it; then pull across the back towards the large end. The membrane should zip off. If the whole thing does not come off the first time, find where it tore and do it again.
- Place the rack on the center of the foil and season liberally on both sides with the seasoning mix.Take both edges up along the ribs and fold down; roll up the sides. You want a leakproof package. Repeat with the other rack.
- Place the wrapped ribs on a cookie sheet (rimmed baking pan) and place in a 325º F oven for 1 ½ to 2 hours.
- Remove the pan from the oven and allow to cool slightly, you can refrigerate overnight if desired.
- When ready to finish, remove the ribs from the foil; cut into 2 – 3 rib pieces, then grill over medium-high heat until heated through, basting with your favorite sauce once the ribs are hot. These are tender, melt in your mouth ribs.
G-man!
This sounds great! I love Masterpiece BBQ sauce, but will have to give yours here a try. I do something similar and can attest... this process makes great tasting, melt-in-your-mouth ribs. Here's my spice rub...
1.5 Tbsp Onion Powder
1.5 Tbsp Garlic Powder
0.5 Tbsp Smoked Paprika
1 Tbsp Paprika
1.5 Tbsp Kosher Salt
1.5 Tbsp Coarsely Ground Pepper
1 Tbsp Red Pepper
I don't bother with the BBQ sauce it's so tasty, but may add it at some point. Also, I loosely wrap my ribs (still air tight) and throw in some aromatics (lemon slices, garlic cloves, rosemary sprigs, onion wedges) to add some depth.
One thing I've always been meaning to try is precooking in a pressure cooker, maybe using beer as the liquid. Would love to see you do something on this method if you're incline (hint hint).
Keep cooking the good meals! Love the share and the site! Thanks 🙂
LindySez
Sound delish G-Man, I'll have to try your method...Beer braised ribs also sounds like something I could tackle...look for a future recipe...
Cher
Oh, Linda... You have made my day!! Matt will definitely grill these for me (he just doesn't know it yet!)