Oven-Baked Pork Ribs That Fall Off the Bone

I’m from Texas, and I typically smoke my ribs. However, sometimes when the wind is too strong and the dust is kicked up, you don’t want to risk seasoning your precious meat with sand. That’s when I fall back on the oven for ribs. Now, you may not be in Texas, but nevertheless you’ll enjoy these oven ribs. Just keep in mind that this is a dry rub recipe, but they’re juicy, tasty, and the bones come right out. Don’t let the weather stop another rib meal! So, prep your ribs, pick out some movies, open a beer (or not), and relax until it’s done.

Ingredients:

• St. Louis Style Pork Ribs
• Salt
• Pepper
• Your Favorite Dry Rub
• 1/2 Cup of Brown Sugar
• Good Quality Foil

Directions:

1. If you marinate your ribs, now is the time to do it. You can marinate overnight or 24 hours ahead. 
2. Heat the oven to 275 degrees (F).
3. If the ribs still have the thin membrane (also known as silver-skin) covering the back of the rack, go ahead and remove it. 
4. Lay out a piece of foil longer than the whole rack of ribs, then place the ribs on top of the foil.
5. Generously season both sides of the ribs with the salt, pepper, and brown sugar to taste. If you’re not using a custom seasoning blend to your liking, I’d recommend Alamo seasoning. You can find it here. You’ll want to season until the ribs are fully red and seasoned.
6. Once fully seasoned, take another piece of foil roughly the same size as the first one and place it on top of your ribs, fold the two foil pieces together in such a way that the rack will be totally enclosed.
7. Next, bake for 2 ½ to 3 ½ hours or until the bone comes clean out from the meat. I tend to check the rack at the 2-hour mark to see how it’s coming along and judge how much more time from there. (To do this I simply cut the foil across the middle length wise to expose the ribs and check. Don’t worry about re-wrapping the racks.)
8. Once the ribs are cooked through and tender or fall off the bone, remove from the oven, and discard the aluminum foil. Now, I’m more of a dry rub person when it comes to the oven, but if you must have barbecue sauce – Go ahead and brush it on both sides generously.
9. Optional: If you added barbecue sauce move an oven rack to near the top of the oven. Turn broiler to high and broil the rack for about 3-4 minutes, just until the barbecue sauce begins to caramelize. (You’ll need to keep a very close eye on the rack while it boils to avoid the barbecue sauce burning.) 

Side Note:

The easiest way to remove the membrane is by placing the rack meat side down on a clean cutting board. You’ll find a thin membrane covering the rack. This membrane can be a little tough to remove using just your fingers, instead use a sharp knife to gently slide in between the membrane and the bones. Once you’ve got a good corner pulled up but not taken off, use a paper towel or dry towel to get a good grip with one hand, and with the other hand hold the rack down. With your hand holding the membrane and paper towel, pull upwards or away from the corner you started cutting with a knife, and the rest should pull off relatively easy. Serve this up with your favorite coleslaw, baked or mashed potatoes, some buttered corn on the cob, a glass of ice-cold lemon tea, and you’ve got yourself one fulfilling night!