Oven Baked Ribs

Oven baked ribs are juicy, flavorful, and fall-off-the-bone delicious! Coated in a homemade dry rub and baked until tender, then brushed with sticky-sweet caramelized barbecue sauce.

Perfect for anyone without a grill or smoker - give oven roasting a try! You'll be adding these easy oven baked ribs to your weekly dinner rotation.

Baked low and slow until juicy and tender, these ribs are topped with a simple rib rub and a layer of caramelized, sweet and sticky barbecue sauce.

Included is my favorite (and simple!) rib rub recipe. Made with everyday spices, you probably have the ingredients in your kitchen already.

Serve these ribs for a fuss-free weeknight meal, to celebrate Father's Day, or while watching the Sunday game.

Ingredients and substitutions

For this recipe, you'll need a rack of ribs - St. Louis ribs or baby back ribs will work. My rack is cut in half (in the photo above) to easily fit onto a baking sheet, but yours can be left whole.

If you have a favorite rib rub, feel free to use that instead of the listed spices in the recipe.

Lastly, you'll need barbecue sauce - I highly suggest using your favorite brand. Whether sweet, spicy, or smoky, any type of barbecue sauce will work in this recipe.

Removing the silver skin

The only prep work your ribs may need today is the removal of the silver skin/membrane. (Note: If you purchased your ribs from a butcher, they may have removed this for you already. If so - hooray! You can skip this step.)

Flip your ribs over. You should see a tough, shiny layer covering the bones.

Using a knife (or even a spoon), slide it just underneath the silver skin to loosen it. Once you can get a grip on it, use a paper towel to peel off the tough membrane. Using a paper towel will give you a better grip (it can be slippery).

It should come off in a single piece. If not, continue until all of the silver skin is removed.

Do I need to remove the silver skin?

While the silver skin is technically edible, it will add a tough, chewy texture to your ribs. It will also prevent the meat from fully absorbing any seasoning you add to the outside of your ribs.

It is very easy to remove, and takes only a minute to do. I highly recommend taking this extra step to make your ribs more tender and flavorful.

Low and slow cooking

There's a reason why we want to cook our ribs low and slow today. Though you may be tempted to turn up the heat and decrease the time - don't do it!

Ribs are a tough cut of meat. Tough meats need to be cooked for longer periods of time at a lower temperature. Doing so breaks down the tough connective tissue and the collagen between the muscle fibers. This results in a juicy, fall-apart tender meat.

You'll also want to make sure your ribs are covered in foil while baking. This helps steam them, keeping them nice and moist.

What to serve with ribs

A few of my favorite side dishes to serve with ribs:

• Creamy Mashed Potatoes
• Oven Roasted Corn on the Cob
• Creamy Jalapeño Corn
• Green Beans and Onions
• Jalapeño Cheddar Cornmeal Biscuits
• Buttermilk Cornbread Muffins
• Creamy Stovetop Mac and Cheese
• Southern Macaroni Salad

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