Mouthwatering Pork Spare Ribs (Recipe)
posted on
April 21, 2021
Mouthwateringly delicious and wonderfully flexible. Make them for a nice meal at home or follow my make-ahead tips and take them to a picnic.
This recipe is an absolute customer favorite. If you haven’t tried it yet, now’s the time.
And you don’t need to be a grill master… this is an oven friendly recipe. Grill optional😉
Whether you’re hosting a summer soiree or travelling to a potluck, this easy make-ahead dish will have people filling their plates and coming back for seconds.
No parties planned? No problem. Really, these delicious ribs are perfect for any meal.
Barbecue Spare Ribs are so fall-apart tender and delicious, everyone will think you slaved for hours, tediously tending to each juicy morsel.
But the reality is, you gave them a quick rub and popped them in the oven to let low, slow heat do it’s work while you enjoyed the afternoon (or, perhaps, spent that free time getting your house ready for guests)!
The best part is, you can make these many days in advance, leaving yourself plenty of time for all the last-minute things that need doing.
While it takes some planning ahead to make these ribs happen, you can leave most of the hard work to the oven. The long, slow cooking time makes these ribs fall-apart tender, and gives you time to enjoy a book and a beverage in the sun, or perhaps a little time puttering in the garden.
➡️ The recipe is great for parties and picnics and includes several tips for making them ahead.
➡️ The ribs can be finished on the grill or under the broiler in the oven.
➡️ You can marinate the ribs in the dry rub for just a few minutes, or overnight if you want to break up the prep time.
➡️ Use our Barbecue Dry Rub (recipe included) or, if you’d prefer to let the delicious pork flavor play the leading role, simply rub with olive oil, salt and pepper.
➡️ Try our Homemade Sweet and Spicy Barbecue Sauce recipe or use your own favorite.
Any combination of these options will lead to deliciousness!
FAQ: A common question we receive is “how many pounds of ribs do I need per person.” The answer depends to some degree on the appetites of your guests and how many other dishes you are serving. However, for a sit down meal where the ribs are the centerpiece, we suggest 0.75 lb per person. So a 3 lb rack will feed about 3-4 people. For a picnic with lots of dishes you could plan one rib per person. There's about 5-6 individual ribs on a half rack. If you’re unsure, make a bit more than you think you’ll need because the leftovers are delicious!
Ingredients
2-4 lb Pork Spare Ribs
Dry Rub (recipe below)
Homemade Barbecue sauce
For the Barbecue Dry Rub
2 ½ T chili powder
2 T cumin
2 T coriander
1 T salt
½ T smoked paprika
½ T brown sugar
1/2 tsp black pepper
For the Simple Rub alternative – brush with olive oil then rub with salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Initial Oven Roasting: Mix up the dry rub in a small bowl. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Rub a generous amount of Barbecue Dry Rub onto all surfaces of the ribs. Be lavish with the rub – the goal is for the spices to form a crust of deliciousness. Save leftover rub in a jar for future use. Let the seasoned ribs stand for at least half an hour, or up to 24 hours, in the refrigerator. Place in a roasting pan and cover tightly with foil. Roast for about 3 hours. You want them to be tender and starting to fall apart, but if you're going to finish them on the grill you want them still firm enough to manipulate with tongs. The ribs are tasty right out of the oven after this first step, but continuing with the finishing directions gives them an added burst of flavor.
Finishing: To finish, remove from oven and turn on the broiler or pre-heat the outdoor grill. Optional but recommended, brush ribs with Homemade Barbecue Sauce, or your favorite barbecue sauce. Grill or broil to a nice caramelized finish, turning once to crisp up both sides. Allow to stand for a few minutes, then cut between each rib and serve. Make sure to provide lots of napkins. Enjoy!
🎉 Party Tips: There are two great ways to finish these ribs to make it easy to work with your party schedule or travel plans.
#1 For a completely ready-to-serve finished dish: Finish the ribs all the way by brushing with barbecue sauce and broiling in the oven. Let them cool, cut them into individual ribs, place them in the tray you want to serve them in, and then place in the fridge until you’re ready to party! These wonderful ribs don’t have to be hot to be delicious, but they’re best served warm or at least at room temperature, so plan just a couple minutes to pop them in a warm oven or microwave immediately before serving.
#2 For the dramatic flare and extra flavor boost of serving hot off the grill: Complete the ribs through the initial oven roasting stage. Take them out of the oven, allow them to cool, and refrigerate until party time. When the grill is hot, brush with barbecue sauce and grill to a beautiful caramelized finish.
Make sure to check out our favorite homemade barbecue sauce recipe! If you enjoy barbecue sauce but don’t like the typical preservative-filled ingredient list on bottled sauce, you’re going to love the simple ingredients and amazing flavor in our homemade version.
Click here to order Spare Ribs now.
