Ribs Done Right

Years ago, I had ribs at my dear friend Bekah’s.Tightly covered and baked for hours before throwing them on the grill to caramelize the edges with a generous slather of BBQ sauce, the meat was literally falling off the bone.

Seriously, who doesn’t love a great BBQ meal? Indoors, outdoors, all seasons, these ribs are amazing. What’s more, they are surprisingly low maintenance, which makes them perfect for events where you have a hundred other things to do. I love to pile the ribs high on a platter and serve them with baked beans, coleslaw, cornbread, and a Caprese salad.

2 racks of baby back pork ribs 

The best BBQ sauce you can find!

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 300°F.

Step 2: Cover a sheet pan with tinfoil and place the ribs bone side up.

Step 3: Cover the ribs with tinfoil and pinch the top and bottom together so the ribs are wrapped tightly in the foil.

Step 4:Bake 3-4 hours until you can separate the ribs from one another. Step 5:Brush with your favorite BBQ sauce.

Step 6: Place on a medium heat grill. (I use an extra long spatula to move them to the grill or else they will fall apart.)

Step 7: Brush with more sauce, flip after a few minutes, repeat, and add more sauce. The sauce should be caramelized.

RUTH’S PRO-TIP

Serve these ribs with warm moist napkins. They are a little messy, and your guests will thank you. Twenty minutes before serving, I take damp cloth napkins and roll them up, placing them on a baking tray in a warm oven until the ribs are ready to serve. Right before everyone digs in, I pass them out using metal tongs so I don’t burn my fingers! (And because it makes my dining room feel like a rib restaurant in Tennessee...)