About two years ago, I made a call to Uncle Sam of the famed Chicago Rib Joint and asked this silly question. "Sam, how would I make ribs in the oven?" Sam was ever so diplomatic and replied, "I wouldn't know how to do that". Now, I have to explain why I would even think of committing such a mortal sin or asking a Famous Rib Master such a question.
I lived in the Haight Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco at the time in a very nice apartment where you could gaze down upon the constant wave of characters parading down Haight Street. From the Naked Cyclists to the remains of Bay to Breakers to the everyday colorful people who forgot that the 60's were over 40 years ago. I had no BBQ Grill and no place to put one.
So, I decided to read everything I could about the process of barbecuing baby back pork ribs. I learned about the prep to the rack of ribs themselves. I learned about spice rubs. I learned about the importance of slow cooking. I read recipes for BBQ sauce and learned what flavors were exciting. Then one day I put all my research to work and went to Costco and purchased three racks of fresh pork ribs. It is an ominous sight to be sure, these racks are nearly three feet long. It reminds me of a Nutratrim Commercial I saw once where this character goes to the fridge and pulls out this enormous piece of meat and proceeds to devour it in seconds.
The Meat
I brought the meat home and removed it from the wrapper and proceeded to remove the thin layer of iridescent tough tissue from the back side of the rack. It actually comes off all in one piece once separated from the meat/bone if gripped with a paper towel. This accomplishes two things; it helps the rub season the meat evenly on the back side of the rib and makes for a more tender rib when cooked.
The Dry Rub
Now, as some of you know I'm not one to follow a recipe. I love to read recipes and watch cooking shows for ideas and concepts. Cooking for me is like painting, it comes from my heart and my creativity. We all have that creative streak within us that needs to be expressed. We all express it in different mediums. Some use clay, some stone. For me, it is channeled through food.
I decided to make my own spice rub using fresh spices that speak to me. Many years ago, I learned to grind my own fresh spices in a coffee grinder. I keep a coffee grinder in the house that is dedicated to grinding spices. I knew I liked the flavor of Fennel Seed and Korean Chili Flake, Cinnamon and White Pepper. I ground my white pepper and fennel seed and mixed that together with Korean chili flake and some cinnamon and then added some brown sugar, smoked paprika, salt and pepper. It's important to taste while you're cooking so dip a wet finger into your mixed dry rub to taste and see if it has the flavors that appeal to you. If not, play with the flavor by adding more of a spice or adding a new spice. When you're happy with your rub, you're ready to rub a dub, dub.
The Technique
I cut each rack in half for ease of storage and handling. I then put two half racks in one gallon freezer zip-loc bag. Sprinkle a generous amount of dry rub in each bag over the ribs to cover all the surfaces of the rack. Squeeze any air out of the bag and seal. Massage the ribs with the rub inside the bag until the ribs are completely covered with rub. This step is clean and simple. Once complete place the ribs in the fridge to marinate in the rub for 3-8 hours.
Preheat the oven to 275. Get some heavy duty aluminum foil. Take the ribs out of the fridge and remove them from the zip-loc bags and place each rack in a large sheet of the aluminum foil and fold well to create a tight package with any seams facing upwards. Place all packages in a sheet pan in the oven in case they leak during the slow cooking process. Cook the ribs in their cocoons for 1.5 to 2 hours until the meat has pulled away from the bones slightly, but is still a solid entity. Remove the packets from the oven. Now these ribs are ready for their second trip to the oven. You can let the ribs cool and put in the fridge for a day or two or complete them immediately.
Decisions, Decisions...
There is a fork in the road. You need to make a decision about which path to follow to reach your own personal pork rib nirvana. Most folks like to massage BBQ sauce into their ribs before giving them their final trip into the oven to bask in the sun until fully shellacked. I tend to be a pork rib purist, after investing a lot of time and flavor building in my dry rub to cover it up with an overpowering sauce. I prefer to serve my sauce on the side and dip each rib as needed into my own homemade sauce, so that I can savor the taste of the well seasoned pork as well as have that extra bonus of sauce without it overpowering the meat.
The Sauce
- Thai Chili Sauce
- Teriyaki Sauce (Soy Veh)
- Tomato Paste
- Soy Sauce
- Oyster Sauce
- Chili Sauce (Sriracha, Tabasco or Trader Joes)
- Brown Sugar
- Pineapple Juice
- Ground Ginger or Minced Fresh Ginger
- Orange Juice
- Japanese Seasoned Rice Vinegar
- Lemon Juice
- Chili Powder
- Hoisin Sauce
- Ketchup
Gilding the Ribs
Preheat your oven to 395. Remove the ribs from their foil cocoons. Line the sheet pans with foil and lay the racks of ribs on the foil convex side up without crowding them.
If you like your ribs sauced, paint them liberally with sauce all over. If you're like me and like the sauce on the side, simply let them do their thing and heat your sauce in a saucepan on the stove top.
Bake for 30 minutes until browned and ready to eat. Remove from the oven and cut the ribs apart with a knife between each rib bone. Stack them up like Lincoln Logs on a plate and smile at your achievement.
Serve extra sauce on the side in a bowl for each plate and an elegant roll of paper towels, because you're not trashing my nice linens with those dirty hands. Silver finger bowl with lemon slices optional.
Excellent Barbecued Ribs are possible, even in the oven.
