How to Cook a Rack of Ribs
As I used to live in Texas, there is only one way to cook ribs and that’s to barbeque them! However, for those that are health conscious, I’ll also include how to bake the ribs in the oven.
To barbeque ribs:
- The first thing you have to do is
buy quality ribs. If you’re going to be grilling them, try to buy something like St. Louis cut pork square ribs. Now, you can get any kind you like, but the St. Louis cut has always had a decent amount of meat on the bones and has been of top quality. To pick the right kind of meat, be sure that you choose one with plenty of meat – you don’t want a lot of fat on the ribs. However, make sure there is some fat on there – that’s what makes the ribs tender and tasty when you cook them.
- Once you’ve picked some ribs, you may want to buy a pre-made dry rub. Dry rub is usually better than a sauce because it brings out the natural flavors of the barbeque and you don’t have to worry about watching it to make sure the sauce doesn’t burn or that the meat has caramelized.
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Apply an even layer of dry rub to the meat. You only want
to add it to the meat side of the ribs. The back side is just a film that helps seal in the moisture from the fat. When you apply the dry rub, be sure to gently rub it into the meat. You can do this the night before and let it sit to marinate – just be sure to have enough to go around if you do this!
- When you’re ready to cook the ribs, place them on the grill at a temperature of 270-300 and grill them for about 45 minutes. You’ll want to check them at this point. If you’re using an open grill, now’s the time to wrap them to keep that tenderness. Put the ribs back on the grill and leave them for another hour and a half.
- Once the ribs are finished, pull them off of the grill. Be sure that you do not overcook them as they will loose their tenderness and be a little tough and rubbery. When slicing the ribs, let the knife follow the rib bone to achieve the quality cut.
- Enjoy!
Making ribs in the oven is about the same, except it’s not barbeque and doesn’t taste the same. Cooking times and temperatures will vary depending on your oven.
- To start out, you will want to season your ribs. Again, a dry rub is usually better for flavor. Coat the meat side of the ribs with an even layer and gently rub it into the meat.
- Place the rack into a 9×9 baking pan (you can use a bigger pan for more ribs), bone side down. Place in the oven at 325 degrees and bake for 45 minutes.
- After 45 minutes, discard any grease in the pan and turn the ribs over. Bake the meat side up for another 45 minutes.
- At this point, the ribs should be done; however, as I said, cook time does vary. If they are not completely finished, cook them another 20 minutes to finish them off.
- Once they are finished, slice along the rib bone for best results.
- Enjoy!
Further Reading and Additional Resources
How to cook ribs in the oven — from Wikihow