Baby Back Ribs (Smoker, Oven, or Oven-to-Grill)
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Smoky, sweet, savory, and pull-apart tender—these baby back ribs are a true crowd-pleaser.
Smoky, sweet, sticky, and savory—these baby back ribs taste just like the ones from your favorite BBQ joint, only you can make them in the comfort of your own backyard or kitchen. The ribs are generously seasoned with a homemade spice rub, then cooked low and slow until tender and juicy. Before serving, they’re slathered with a thick barbecue sauce and heated again until they form a nice outer bark. Whether you make them using the smoker, oven, or oven-to-grill method, these ribs are finger-lickin’ good and surprisingly simple to make.
What You’ll Need To Make Baby Back Ribs
Baby Back Ribs: Also called back ribs or loin ribs, baby back ribs are the most popular cut of pork ribs. They’re called “baby back” not because they come from baby pigs but rather because they’re smaller than other rib cuts and come from the section of the ribs closer to the back of the pig. While small, they’re full of tender meat and not too fatty.
Spice Rub: My homemade BBQ spice rub is made from sugar, salt, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, dry mustard, oregano and cayenne pepper. The recipe will give you exactly enough rub for two racks of ribs.
Barbecue Sauce: You can use my homemade sweet and tangy barbecue sauce or a good quality store-bought sauce, like Sweet Baby Ray’s.
Cooking Ribs: Smoker VS Oven (or Oven-to-Grill)
The best way to cook ribs is in a smoker. Smoking surrounds the ribs in a smoky chamber while cooking them for over 4 hours at a low temperature. Cooking the ribs gently allows the fat to render out slowly and the connective tissue to break down, ensuring the ribs are succulent, and the long exposure to smoke allows the meat to take on a distinctive smoky flavor. I use a vertical wood pellet smoker from Pit Boss (available through Pit Boss or Amazon), shown below along with my sweet chocolate lab, Gus.
If you don’t have a smoker or are short on time, the oven is the way to go. Oven-baked ribs cook for only 2 hours, followed by a few minutes under the broiler or on the grill to set the sauce. While the smoky flavor won’t be quite as intense as ribs cooked in a smoker, oven-baked ribs are just as tender and the spices in the rub still lend a generous amount of smoky flavor to the finished ribs.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Before seasoning the ribs, it’s best to remove the membrane that coats the underside of the ribs. I usually ask my butcher to do this for me, but it’s easy to do yourself if necessary. Using a butter knife, simply loosen the membrane around one of the end bones, scraping it away from the ribs.
Once you get under it, grab the membrane with a paper towel and peel it off. If you’re lucky, it will all come off in one piece. Removing the membrane allows the spice rub to better penetrate the meat and ensures the ribs are nice and tender.
Next, preheat the smoker or the oven and coat the ribs evenly on both sides with about half of the spice rub.
Allow the ribs to sit for about 15 minutes to “sweat” and absorb the rub, then coat the racks with the remainder of the rub. It will seem like too much rub but it’s not – use it all.
Smoker Method
Preheat the smoker to 225°F and place the spice-coated ribs on the racks.
Cook for 2 hours. The ribs should have nice color at this point.
Remove the ribs from the smoker and double wrap each rack in heavy-duty foil.
Return to the smoker for 1-1/2 hours.
Remove the foil-wrapped ribs from the smoker (hot grease may drip out of the foil, so be careful). Carefully unwrap, leaving the ribs on the foil, and brush to the top of each rack with about 3 tablespoons of the BBQ sauce.
Fold the edges of the foil around the racks, creating a makeshift “pan” for each rack. Place the racks back in the smoker on the foil and cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour more.
The ribs should be tender and the sauce should be set. To determine if they’re done, lift them from the center with tongs – if they bend easily and the meat “cracks” on top, they are ready.
Oven or Oven-To Grill Method
Place the spice-coated ribs on a foil-lined baking sheet, cover tightly with more foil, and bake in a 300°F-oven until tender, about 2 hours. To finish the ribs, brush them with the sauce and broil until the sauce just starts to bubble and caramelize, 2 to 4 minutes. Alternatively, skip the broiler and finish the ribs on the grill for 10 to 15 minutes, brushing occasionally with the BBQ sauce until charred in spots and heated through.
How to Store & Reheat Leftover Ribs
Cooked baby back ribs will keep in a covered container in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days, or they can be frozen for up to 3 months. To reheat, thaw the ribs overnight in refrigerator if necessary, then place on a foil-lined baking sheet. Brush the ribs with another layer of BBQ sauce and cover tightly with foil. Warm in a 250°F oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until warmed through. Remove the foil and continue cooking for 10 to 15 minutes to allow the sauce to set and the bark to crisp up.
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Baby Back Ribs (Smoker, Oven, or Oven-to-Grill)
Smoky, sweet, savory, and pull-apart tender—these baby back ribs are a true crowd-pleaser.
Ingredients
For the Spice Rub
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1½ tablespoons smoked paprika
- 1½ teaspoons garlic powder
- 1½ teaspoons onion powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon ground mustard
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
For the Ribs
- 2 racks baby back ribs
- About 6 tablespoons homemade or store-bought BBQ sauce, plus more for serving
Instructions
- Make the Spice Rub: In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, salt, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, oregano, ground mustard, and cayenne pepper.
- Preheat the smoker to 225°F or the oven to 300°F. (If using the oven, set one rack in the middle position and one rack in the top position.)
- Remove the membrane that coats the underside of each rack of ribs: Using a butter knife, loosen the membrane around one of the end bones, scraping it away from the ribs. Once you get under it, grab the membrane with a paper towel and peel it off. If you’re lucky, it will come off all in one piece. (Alternatively, ask your butcher to do this for you.)
- Coat the ribs evenly on both sides with about half of the spice rub. Allow the ribs to sit for about 15 minutes to "sweat" and absorb the rub, then coat the racks with the remainder of the rub. It will seem like too much rub but it's not – use it all.
- Smoker Method: Place the spice-coated ribs in the smoker and cook for 2 hours. Remove the ribs from the smoker and double wrap each rack in heavy-duty foil. Return to the smoker for 1½ hours. Remove the foil-wrapped ribs from the smoker (hot grease may drip out of the foil, so be careful). Carefully unwrap, leaving the ribs on the foil, and brush to the top of each rack with about 3 tablespoons of the BBQ sauce. Fold the edges of the foil around the ribs, creating a makeshift “pan” for each rack. Place the racks back in the smoker on the foil and cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour more, or until the racks are tender. To determine if they're done, lift them from the center with tongs – if they bend easily and the meat “cracks” on top, they are ready. Let the ribs cool for about 10 minutes, then slice and serve.
- Oven or Oven-to-Grill Method: Line a baking sheet with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Place the spice-coated ribs on the prepared pan, cover the pan tightly with foil, and bake until tender, about 2 hours. Turn the oven to broil. Remove the foil from the ribs and brush each rack with 3 tablespoons of the barbecue sauce. Broil until the sauce just starts to bubble and caramelize, 2 to 4 minutes. Keep a close eye on the ribs while they're under the broiler; because of the sugar in the rub and sauce, they will quickly go from nicely caramelized to burnt. (Alternatively, you can skip the broiling and finish the ribs on the grill. Preheat the grill to medium and grill the baked racks for 10 to 15 minutes, brushing occasionally with the BBQ sauce until charred in spots and heated through. Adjust heat as necessary to prevent burning.) Let the ribs cool for about 10 minutes, then slice and serve.
- Reheating/Freezing Instructions:The cooked ribs will keep in a covered container in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days, or they can be frozen for up to 3 months. To reheat, thaw the ribs overnight in refrigerator if necessary, then place on a foil-lined baking sheet. Brush the ribs with another layer of BBQ sauce and cover tightly with foil. Warm in a 250°F oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until warmed through. Remove the foil and continue cooking for 10 to 15 minutes to allow the sauce to set and the bark to crisp up.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (4 servings)
- Calories: 1,298
- Fat: 88 g
- Saturated fat: 31 g
- Carbohydrates: 23 g
- Sugar: 18 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 103 g
- Sodium: 1340 mg
- Cholesterol: 369 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Oh Jenn, I have to tell you this was divine tonight. We smoked (with hickory chips) them on our Napoleon Grill at 300° using your oven to grill instructions, we have found our new summer rib recipe
AMAZING!!!
Can’t wait to try this. What’s the difference with using white sugar as opposed to brown sugar? If none, can I use brown sugar and how much and will it affect the outcome?
Hi Renee, it’s fine to use brown sugar here. It won’t significantly impact the results. Enjoy!
Best ribs I’ve ever made. Excellent method keeps ribs juicy, tender and full of flavor, I did the oven and broiler. Highly recommend!! thanks \jenn
I was looking for a NEW baby back rub recipe and stumbled across your site, read the recipe and decided I’d try it for our 4th of July supper. YUM! It was so easy, I had all the ingredients on hand and it was the perfect amount, like you said. I used KC Masterpiece sauce and it was so good. Next night, a thinned down some sauce in a saucepan, added the leftover ribs, covered and heated gently…..oh my, they tasted even better! Will use this recipe again for company coming in a couple of weeks….served with your classic coleslaw and my baked beans….thank you for sharing! I will be back for other recipes LOL
Most oven recipes say to wrap and seal each rack of ribs in foil. Is tightly covering the with foil better than wrapping in foil?
Hi Sheryl, It’s essentially the same – either way is fine.
Do you pull straight out of the fridge to season or should these be placed on counter to warm up before season?
Hi Brian, no need to warm them up before seasoning. Enjoy!
This is my go to dry rub recipe for ribs as well as chicken wings! I typically do oven to BBQ grill or broiler for the ribs. I just served 4 racks to family and friends. Everyone loved them! For wings I do not finish them with bbq sauce I don’t think
it’s necessary, they are always juicy and flavorful.
Thank you!!
Glad to see someone else recommending use of foil! I know that “real BBQ” people eschew that, call it a “crutch”: they insist that ribs should “have some chew” to them. We LIKE them fall-off-the-bone tender! De gustibus…
Jenn, we live in Southern Arizona, with temps in the 100’s every day. Needless to say, we don’t use the oven in the summer months. Can this recipe be cooked on a gas grill? My husband it the griller in the family and is good a regulating the temp.
You definitely get more control over the heat using the oven but I think you can get away with the grill. You’ll need to keep an eye on the temperature and keep it as close to 300°F as possible. I’d wrap the ribs in foil for the first two hours and then follow the rest of the instructions for the oven to grill method. Make sure to cook them over indirect heat. Please LMK how they turn out!
I’ve used this as my go to rib recipe for years. Only change I’ve made is for swapping brown sugar for white sugar. I just did six racks for Fathers Day for our family of 8 grandsons. This is a no fail recipe.
Does it matter the size of racks of ribs? The ribs I see at the store range from 1 1/2 lbs to almost 4 lbs.
Based on the weight, I’m wondering if you may be referring to St. Louis ribs. If so, you can use them — they will take longer to cook and won’t be quite as tender, but will still be good.
Jenn, after the baking time, there was a lot of liquid in my pan- perhaps a mix of fat and water from the ribs? Should I drain that before adding the BBQ sauce? Thanks.
Hi Cecile, I’d only bother to drain off the liquid if it’s excessive and would be covering the ribs (so you don’t dilute the sauce). Other than that, no need to drain it.
I always take the ribs out of the foil and back on to the grill grate, covering with sauce. That eliminates the liquid issue.
Delicious! This was my first time making baby back ribs and they turned out great. I used the oven-to-grill method and the directions were perfect… such an easy dinner! Thank you for the recipe Jenn…so nice to be able to make these at home, without special equipment. 😊
This recipe resulted in the best tasting home cooked ribs I’ve ever made. It was also better than most BBQ Restaurant ribs. I have one suggestion. I did the Oven to Grill version-
carefully following your instructions. I wish you had said to use a rimmed baking sheet. I almost did, but I ended up using a flat sheet pan. I should have checked when there was a burning smell, but I didn’t open the oven for the full two hours. The bottom was full of a large amount of burned on grease. The foil wrapping seemed intact, but somehow the grease escaped. The relatively new oven is not the same, even after cleaning. I think a foil lined rimmed baking sheet would have solved the problem. Recipe rating reflects the above. Otherwise a 5 star.
Hi Dennis, glad you liked the ribs but sorry about the mess in the oven! I think I’ll update the recipe to mention the baking sheet should be rimmed.
I have always pressure cooked my ribs and then finished them off with the sauce on the grill. They have always come out moist and tender! What are your thoughts on pressure cooking ribs?
Hi Tess, I’ve never used a pressure cooker, so I really can’t say – I’m sorry I can’t be more helpful!
Tess, I use my pressure cooker too, and finish on the grill with smoking wood. I use about 1/2″ of water, put the ribs on a rack, and cook under pressure for 12 minutes, and they’re ready for a few minutes on the grill. It’s too hot in summer for my oven to be on.
awesome
Could you put these in the crockpot to cook then finish off on the grill or oven? How long would you cook them for?
Hi Christine, I’ve never tried it so I can’t say confidently one way or the other — sorry I can’t be more helpful!
Christine, I’ve done them in the crockpot with a little liquid and it works well. I would leave them until the ends of the bones start to poke out from the meat, and then grill them for long enough to get a nice sear.
This is an incredible recipe! I have made these several times (oven method) and the ribs are always tender and flavorful. Thanks for sharing, this one is a keeper!
I’ve made my ribs in the oven for years, no foil to top (personal preference) but last night was my first time using Jenn’s seasoning – LOVED it! Will be my go-to seasoning from now on. For BBQ sauce, can’t go wrong with Stubb’s.
The best ribs we’ve ever made! We did the smoker route and they were perfect.
Oven-to-grill method left the ribs tough. Thoroughly disappointed.
Remember garbage in = garbage out,get the best product you can afford. This recipe is spot on delicious.
I would suggest that perhaps it was the ribs because this recipe is super good! Try it again with better quality ribs………….you won’t be disappointed!
Yes the actual animal/ribs are usually the culprit.
I came up with a neat little trick for the oven only method that imparts some smoky flavor. In a pan or foil lined dish, bot not ‘wrapping’ the meat in foil, a little beer and liquid smoke in the pan and under the 300 or so degrees, not wrapped in the foil so as to let the toasting liquid move around. Seemed to work just fine.
Hi! Im just curious why it says 4 hours and 30 minutes cook time at the top of the page?
I’m gonna try this recipe but was a little confused about that.
Thanks
Heidi
Hi Heidi, If you’re using a smoker, the ribs will take around 4 hours, however, if you’re using they oven or oven-to-grill method, the total time would be about 2.5 hours. Hope that clarifies and that you enjoy the ribs if you make them!
Hi there, Jenn! I’m trying your oven method today! I have a gas oven, not sure that matters, but, St. Louis style ribs so I’m so glad I saw this reply! I have 2 racks I’m making and both will fit on one of my big trays/pans in the oven. If the baby backs are 2 hours, how long do you think the St. Louis style would take? They aren’t super thick but definitely a bit thicker than baby back.
Hi Rebecca, I may be weighing in too late to help, but the St. Louis ribs would likely take 2.5 to 3 hours. If you already made them, I hope they came out nicely!
Quick question – I made three racks before and they came out incredible! Amazing recipe! If I can fit them in one oven, do you think it would work to make 6 racks at one time? How would you adjust the baking time?
Hi Alisa, Glad you’ve enjoyed the ribs! If you can fit them all in the oven, you could certainly try to make six racks at once. I’d rotate them on their racks halfway through the baking time. They will definitely take a bit longer as your oven will be more crowded, but I am not sure by how much. You’ll know they’re done when they’re fork tender.
Do you recommend adding liquid smoke to the BBQ sauce, if you’re cooking the ribs in the oven?
You certainly can, but I don’t think it’s necessary.
I’m so sorry, I never rate a recipe this low. I used the oven/Broil method, to the tee and the ribs were so dry. We were so disappointed… waited 2 hours to dig in. They smelled amazing but were so dry to the point they needed to be thrown out. Not sure why… I’m an accomplished cook, and make 6-8 recipes weekly. I think 300 degrees for 2 hours is way too Long.
I think you can go as low as 225 degrees for that amount of time.
I’ve used this recipe countless times now. I have to eliminate the cayenne pepper due to allergies. I sub garlic salt w/parsley. My ribs always come out amazing. My hubby loves them as do I. Thank you once upon a chef.
Made the ribs for dinner last night—oven to broiler method. Also used your BBQ sauce recipe. RECIPES WERE AMAZING! Better than any ribs I’ve eaten at a restaurant. Will be making these again real soon!
Hi! I plan on making these this week and will be using the oven method. Do I need to rotate the pan at the hour mark, or just leave as is? Thank you for your help, and for providing these amazing recipes!
Hi Lori, no need to rotate the pan. Hope you enjoy the ribs!
First of all, let me state that I use your site all the time, and love, like, 99% of your recipes. However, these ribs did not come out well at all. I used the 100% oven preparation, and they were very tough and chewy. Difficult to eat. I used your rub, but Sweet Baby Ray’s bottled sauce, which we love. I went back and read, and re-read the instructions. I have no idea what I did wrong, or how to do better next time. This was the first and only time I have attempted to make ribs. Any feedback would be very appreciated.
Hi Paulain, So sorry these didn’t turn out well for you! I honestly can’t imagine why they’d be tough unless they were undercooked. Did you use baby back ribs or were they by chance St. Louis-style ribs? St. Louis-style ribs require a longer cooking time.
They were labeled baby back ribs. I want to try again, and will probably speak with the butcher about the process. Those guys know a lot about cooking meat. Thanks.
I made these yesterday. Doubled the recipe. Like every recipe of yours I have tried, it was stellar! The ribs were perfectly done, not overdone & falling off the bone but tender and delicious. A friend of mine who never eats my food even tried them & was complimentary. I did the smoker method but did not make my own BBQ sauce bc at that point I was exhausted. (We were entertaining a crowd) but next time I will make that in advance. Thanks for sharing your food knowledge.