Baby Back Ribs
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These baby back ribs are the real deal: fall-off-the-bone tender, deep smoky flavor, and an irresistible caramelized bark. I’ve got instructions for the smoker, oven, and grill—so you’re covered no matter your setup.
Smoky, sweet, sticky, and savory—these baby back ribs taste just like the ones from your favorite BBQ joint, only you can make them right at home. They’re generously seasoned with a homemade spice rub, cooked low and slow until tender and juicy, then slathered with barbecue sauce and finished until the outside forms a flavorful bark.
I’ll walk you through how to make them whether you’ve got a smoker, an oven, or want to start them inside and finish on the grill. However you cook them, these ribs are seriously good and surprisingly easy.
“I don’t throw this word around, but there’s no other way to describe this recipe than AMAZING!”
What You’ll Need To Make Baby Back Ribs
- Baby Back Ribs: Also called back ribs or loin ribs, these come from high up on the pig’s back, near the spine, and are smaller and leaner than other rib cuts like spare ribs. Don’t let the “baby” part fool you—they’re not from baby pigs. They’re just shorter, extra tender, and not too fatty, which is why they’re the most popular cut for fall-off-the-bone pork ribs.
- 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.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Cooking Ribs: Smoker VS Oven (or Oven-to-Grill)
The best way to cook ribs is in a smoker. Like smoked brisket, ribs benefit from long, slow cooking in a smoky chamber—usually over 4 hours at a low temp. This gently breaks down the connective tissue and renders the fat, giving you juicy, tender ribs with deep smoky flavor. I use a vertical wood pellet smoker from Pit Boss.
If you don’t have a smoker or are short on time, the oven is your best bet. The ribs cook in about 2 hours, then get a quick blast under the broiler or on the grill to set the sauce. They won’t be quite as smoky as ribs from a smoker, but they’re still super tender—and the spice rub adds plenty of smoky flavor.
How To Prep Baby Back Ribs
Remove the membrane: Before seasoning the ribs, it’s best to remove the thin membrane on the underside. I usually ask the butcher to handle it, but it’s simple to do at home. Just slip a butter knife under the membrane at one end to loosen it. Once you’ve got an edge lifted, grab the membrane with a paper towel and peel it away—if you’re lucky, it will come off in one piece. (A paper towel gives you a better grip on the slippery membrane and makes the job much easier.)
Season the ribs: Coat the ribs evenly on both sides with about half of the spice rub. Let them sit for about 15 minutes so the rub starts to “sweat” into the meat (letting the rub sit before cooking helps draw moisture to the surface, which pulls the spices deeper into the meat as it cooks). Coat the ribs with the remaining rub. It might seem like a lot, but use it all!
Step-by-Step Cooking Instructions
Smoker Method: Preheat the smoker to 225°F and place the rubbed ribs directly on the racks. Smoke for 2 hours, until they’ve developed good color. Wrap each rack tightly in heavy-duty foil and return to the smoker for another 1½ hours—this helps them steam and stay juicy. Carefully unwrap (leave them on the foil), brush the tops with BBQ sauce, then loosely fold the foil around the ribs to form a tray. Return to the smoker and cook for about an hour more, until the ribs are tender and the sauce is set. To check doneness, lift a rack from the center with tongs; if it bends easily and the meat cracks on top, they’re ready.
Oven (or Oven-to-Grill) Method: Place the spice-rubbed ribs on a foil-lined baking sheet, cover tightly with more foil, and bake at 300°F for about 2 hours, until tender. To finish, brush with BBQ sauce and either broil for a few minutes until bubbly and caramelized, or grill for about 10 minutes, basting as you go until they’re nicely charred and heated through. (Don’t skip this step; it’s what gives the ribs that sticky, caramelized bark.)
Cooked baby back ribs can be refrigerated for up to 4 days or frozen for up to 3 months. Enjoy!
More BBQ Recipes You May Like
Best Baby Back Ribs
These ribs are every bit as good as the ones from your favorite BBQ place—and you can make them right in your own kitchen or backyard.
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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Comments
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Hello Jen
I just checked the ribs I bought in my Butcher Box after reading the comments here. They are the St Louis type. I have never cooked ribs before. Could you please recommend how much additional cook time I give them to reach an equivalent tenderness point?
Thank you,
Kristen
Hi Kristen, St. Louis ribs will likely take 2.5 to 3 hours. Hope you enjoy!
Hi. Once you line the pan with foil. Do you then put the ribs on top of the pan and cover the ribs with foil tightly or do you wrap the ribs in foil and put it onto the pan?
Thanks
Hi Karen, for the oven method, you just cover the pan with foil; you don’t wrap the ribs and foil. Hope that clarifies and that you enjoy!
Hi Jenn, My husband made your baby back rib recipe for July 4th. He absolutely loved the way they were so tender and fell off the bone! Another successful recipe from your site. I have used countless recipes of yours and am always happy with the results. Thank you!
Lynne
My spouse & I liked these ribs very much. I was glad to see your instructions for removing the membrane, I think it makes a big difference. Thank you.
This recipe was outstanding! I followed exactly as written for oven to broiler. Next time I am going to do oven to grill. I think that char will make it even better! 2 hours was perfect in oven, the ribs fell off the bone.
Jen, I have never made a recipe of yours I did not like! Your grilled chicken marinade and Caesar dressing have been passed on to so many friends!
Hi Jenn,
I received your email today and was inspired to make your baby back rib recipe tonight! I loved the taste of the rub and the ribs. I followed the recipe to a tee. The ribs were very tasty and tender but took some effort to get the meat off the bone. Just wondering how to make them “fall off the bone”. Did I need to cook them longer or did I over cook them? Not sure
Thanks for your advice. I love your recipes and continually refer to you and Ina Garten for almost all of my cooking.
Hi Karin, Happy to help troubleshoot. Did you remove the membrane? Did you by chance use St. Louis ribs instead of baby back?
I have made this recipe 2 weekends in a row with different friends. I used the oven option which makes it so easy and you don’t have to babysit them. Both times these were a huge hit. I omitted the cayenne only because I didn’t have any and they are so flavorful. This recipe is a keeper – will be having this again and again over the summer! Another no fail recipe – thanks Jenn.
I have reservations with using aluminum foil for anything except wrapping finished steak for resting. Will butcher paper work instead? FYI, I love your recipes and as a new person to cooking you are my go to source for the best recipes.
Glad to hear you’re enjoying the recipes! I’m assuming you’re using the oven method? If so, I don’t recommend butcher paper, but parchment should work.
Hi, Jenn! Question…can I bake these day before, finish on grill next day?
Yep definitely 🙂
This recipe is the best! I lost track of it, just as I was having friends over for a backyard bbq. I used most of the dry rub that was suggested but honestly you can use anything. Ribs weren’t exactly fall off the bone but pretty close.