Baby back ribs (also called pork ribs) come from high on the back of the hog, where the loin muscle meets the backbone. This lean cut of pork is extremely tender and flavourful. Baby back ribs can be smoked, grilled, or baked. They’re usually seasoned and often served with a sweet and savoury barbecue sauce.
Ingredients
- ½ cup ancho chile powder
- ¼ cup white sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup salt
- 2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground dried chipotle pepper
- 1 rack baby back pork ribs
- 1 cup barbeque sauce
Directions
Gather ingredients and preheat the oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C).
Make the Marinade
Mix ancho chile powder, white and brown sugars, salt, black pepper, cumin, dry mustard, cayenne, and chipotle pepper in a small bowl until combined.
Season the Ribs
- Place rib rack, meat-side down, on heavy-duty aluminium foil. Prick back of the rack several times with a knife. Generously apply a coating of dry rub to all sides of the rack. Store any remaining dry rub in an airtight container for future use.
- With the meat facing down, fold foil around the rack to create a tight seal. Transfer to a sheet pan.
Cooking the Pork Ribs
- Bake in the preheated oven until tender and slow cooked through, about 2 hours. Remove and cool 15 minutes.
- Increase oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- Open foil, drain and discard any accumulated juices and fat. Brush barbeque sauce on all sides of the rack.
- Turn the rack on the foil so the meat is facing up. Return to the oven, leaving the foil open and bake for 10 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and brush another layer of barbeque sauce on the meat side only.
- Repeat baking and brushing with sauce 4 more times, for a total of 50 minutes baking time.
Rest and Serve
Cut rack into individual rib segments and serve with more barbeque sauce. You can recreate the same recipe with Pork Spare Ribs as well.
