There is nothing more juicy and finger licking than ribs slow cooked in the oven with a sticky and spicy barbecue sauce and garlic flavor. If you like to eat meat, you may agree with me that ribs are like meat treats. Cooking ribs in the oven may sound tricky and complex, but it is actually very easy to do.
You don’t need to spend hours in the kitchen, just marinate the ribs, put them in the oven at low heat and leave. When you get back in 3 hours, the ribs will be almost ready to eat. If you are not sure how to cook ribs in the oven, follow my easy recipe and I promise you will get sticky, fall-off-the-bone ribs and spicy barbecue sauce.
Jump to RecipeHow to cook ribs in the oven
You don’t need to remove the membrane to get the fall-off-the-bone ribs. If you buy fresh cut ribs there is no need to remove anything or to cut the ribs additionally.
I prefer ordering my fresh ribs online from the Chicago Steak Company. They always deliver them to my door and their meat is always fresh and neatly packed.
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These are the two most important things to have in mind when cooking ribs in the oven:
- Seasoning the ribs is very important, don’t skimp on spices
- Wrap the ribs tightly in the aluminium foil so there is no air left
Seasoning the ribs
If you have time you can marinate the ribs the night before, but I usually do it the same day. You need to brush the ribs thoroughly with sea salt and black pepper. Don’t worry they won’t be salty, even if you put a generous amount of salt.
After you put salt and pepper, you should do the same with paprika and chilli flakes. Season the ribs with sweet and hot paprika and sprinkle some chilli flakes. If you don’t like spicy food, you can put less chilli flakes and hot paprika, but don’t skimp on sweet paprika. Add some olive oil as well.
Then add gyros spice mix or if you don’t have it, add some other meat spice mixture. If your spice mix doesn’t have any greens, add oregano. Finally, sprinkle chopped garlic on the ribs.
Wrapping ribs in aluminum foil
Ribs should be completely covered in foil. Depending on the amount of ribs you prepare and the size of your baking pan, you can put one piece of rib on the other, if you don’t have enough space. Put the ribs in the oven and start preparing the barbecue sauce.
How long to cook ribs in the oven
I recommend you to cook the ribs wrapped in the foil for about 3 hours in the oven at 160 degrees Celsius. Then uncover the ribs, put the barbecue sauce and cook it 20 additional minutes at higher temperature (220 degrees Celsius).
Homemade barbecue sauce, sweet and spicy
Making barbecue sauce at home is easy, you just need a saucepan and some patience for stirring the sauce. Put all the ingredients in one deep pan and cook the sauce at medium heat, on the stovetop. The barbecue sauce will be ready in about 35 minutes. Leave it to rest and it will thicken up even more. If it is not thick enough, you can cook it a few more minutes before you put it on the ribs.
Ingredients for the barbecue sauce:
- ¼ cup of vinegar
- A cup of ketchup
- ¼ cup of water
- ¼ cup of brown sugar
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
- a tbsp chilli powder
- 1 tbsp Hungarian sweet paprika
- 1 tsp cajen pepper (optional)
- 3-4 cloves of chopped garlic
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- Put all the ingredients in a saucepan and cook on the stovetop for about 30 to 35 minutes at medium heat.
- Stir all the time, if the heat is too high and you see the sauce is about to burn, lower the temperature. The sauce is ready when it is thick or almost thick. It usually gets even thicker when it rests.
How to eat ribs
As you know, ribs are very sticky and you can get dirty easily. You can eat ribs with a fork and knife, but believe me, you should eat ribs with your hands, it will be much tastier. So, just cut off one rib from the rib rack with a fork and knife and then eat the rib with your hands, from all sides.
If you are inviting guests to dinner here are some practical tips for eating ribs:
Put paper towels and wet wipes on the table. Ribs with a barbecue sauce can make a lot of mess and you need all the paper supplies at your hand.
Place at least one or two finger bowls, full of water. This can be very convenient, especially if you are having guests. You can also add some fresh lemon juice.
Don’t forget the drinks. Spicy ribs require some beverage. Beer is my first choice, but you drink any carbonated beverage or red wine.
How to serve ribs
You can serve ribs with any type of salad, roasted or grilled veggies, and some bread. Ribs are the main dish and whatever you make as a side dish won’t throw them out of the spotlight.
Here are some ideas for perfect side dishes for ribs:
- Greek salad
- Tomato and cucumber salad
- Green salad (romaine lettuce, lamb’s lettuce, rocket)
- Green salad mix with cherry tomatoes
- Roasted potatoes and yellow onions
- Grilled/baked/cooked corn
- Mashed potatoes
- French fries
- Fried or grilled baby potatoes
- Ciabatta
- Corn bread
- Fresh white bread
Ribs in the oven wth homemade barbecue sauce
Ingredients
Ingredients for the ribs:
- 2 kg pork baby ribs (cut in half racks)
- 2 tbsp salt
- 1 tbsp pepper
- 1 tbsp sweet paprika
- 2 tsp chilli flakes (optional)
- 2 tsp hot paprika (optional)
- 2 tsp gyros mix (or rib grill mix)
- 3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Ingredients for the barbecue sauce
- ¼ cup vinegar
- 1 cup ketchup
- ¼ cup water
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp soya sos
- 1 tbsp chilli powder
- 1 tbsp sweet paprika
- 1 tsp hot paprika (optional)
- 3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 tsp pepper
Instructions
Seasoning the ribs
- You need to brush the ribs thoroughly with sea salt and black pepper. Don’t worry they won’t be salty, even if you put a generous amount of salt.
- After you put salt and pepper, you should do the same with paprika and chilli flakes. Season the ribs with sweet and hot paprika and sprinkle some chilli flakes. If you don’t like spicy food, you can put less chilli flakes and hot paprika, but don’t skimp on sweet paprika.
- Add some olive oil as well.
- Add gyros spice or rib grill mix. If your spice mix doesn’t have any greens, add oregano. Finally, sprinkle chopped garlic on the ribs.
- Ribs should be completely covered in foil. Depending on the amount of ribs you prepare and the size of your baking pan, you can put one piece of rib on the other, if you don’t have enough space. Put the ribs in the oven and start preparing the barbecue sauce.
Preparing the barbecue sauce
- Put all the ingredients in a saucepan and cook on the stovetop for about 30 to 35 minutes at medium heat.
- Stir all the time, if the heat is too high and you see the sauce is about to burn, lower the temperature. The sauce is ready when it is thick or almost thick. It usually gets even thicker when it rests.
