Barbecue Pork Ribs without a grill or smoker

While grocery shopping today, the day before Labor Day, I found a great sale on bone in spareribs.  They were $1.99 a pound which is a great price.  The ones I bought had already been trimmed of the silver back, a fine layer of fat on the back of the ribs which takes on a silver color in appearance.  However, if you buy some ribs that still have the silver back on the ribs, just gently pull a corner of the fat up and trim.  Once you can get a grip on the fat, just pull off.  Simple right?

I have a charcoal grill in my backyard but since I live near the water, there is always a breeze in the backyard which unfortunately makes it hard to get a fire going.  Because of this, I rarely use the grill.  I also don't have a smoker although I found a simple way to make one using cheap items found at a Big Lots! or a Walmart.  Will write about that in another post.

Now the decision is this?  If I can't light the grill, and I don't have a smoker, what is the best way to cook these ribs to make them soft and fall off the bones good?  Easy, cook them low and slow in the oven.

Always make sure to preheat the oven before you put the ribs in.  This way, it is hot.  Below you will find a step by step instruction on what I did to make my ribs so soft, they just melted off the ribs.



Barbecue Pork Ribs

1 half rack of ribs (Your choice although I use spareribs)
barbecue sauce of your choice (I use Sweet Baby Ray's Hickory)

1.  Baste your ribs with barbecue sauce.  (remember to use a separate bowl for basting because you don't want cross contamination.)

2.  Put your ribs into a baking pan with a little water in the bottom.

3.  Cover the pan with tin foil and cook at 300 degrees for 1 1/2 hours.

4.  When time is up, flip the ribs, baste the other side and put back in for 1 1/2 hours.

5.  Take the tin foil off after 3 hours and cook an additional 10 minutes on each side to caramelize the barbecue sauce and give it a crunch.

6.  Let the ribs rest a few minutes before cutting up and enjoying.  Serve with a bowl of extra barbecue sauce and plenty of paper towels.

I didn't post pictures this time, but I will later as this is a great recipe that I will use over and over again.  My husband really liked these ribs too, so I consider that a winning dinner!