“Oven Barbecued” Pork Spare Ribs
While not true barbecuing, this is still a delicious and nearly fool-proof way to get barbecue flavor in an oven roasted pork rib.
This is the second spare rib recipe I’ve posted on Kitchen Tapestry and the third dish with the moniker of “oven barbecued.” In my recipes “Oven Barbecued” Beef Brisket and “Oven Barbecued” Pulled Pork, I presented the facts about the oxymoron of “oven barbecue,” which I admit isn’t barbecuing at all. I won’t repeat myself here.
In the first spare ribs recipe I posted, Chinese Pork Spare Ribs, I discovered the perfect way to cook ribs in the oven—something I have tired over the years and was never able to successfully accomplish. It took the son of a fifty-year Chinese restaurant chef to post his father’s method of cooking spare ribs, which I have adapted to this recipe using the same technique but with a barbecue flavor profile. No, it isn’t true fire-kissed, wood-smoked barbecue, but it is still a good recipe, nearly fool-proof, that delivers a tender, juicy, delicious rack of ribs.
For the sake of education, there are four kinds of pork ribs generally sold on the market in the U.S.: Country-Style Ribs, Baby Back Ribs, Spare Ribs and St. Louis Style Spare Ribs.
Country-style Ribs are not ribs at all. They are cut from the blade-end of the loin close to the pork shoulder in a rib shape. They are meatier than true pork ribs because they have no rib bones. The market drove this product likely in the ‘50s and the FDA allows use of the term since it is widely accepted as a specific cut of pork in spite of the misleading name.
Baby Back Ribs do not come from baby pigs, or piglings, as some people seem to think. They come from the upper part of the hog’s rib cage where it attaches to the spine. They are smaller, leaner, and cook more quickly than Spare Ribs.
Spare Ribs are not “spare” in the sense of the word that means “leftover,” and in fact are anything but. Spare Ribs make up the bulk of pork ribs from the sides and belly of the hog and are the go-to choice for most rib dishes. Etymology of the word “spare” is debated to a degree but generally accepted among food historians to have come from the Middle English word “sparren” used in medieval Europe, meaning to “cut off” or “divide.” This is in fact what butchers do; they cut the Spare Ribs from the rest of the rib cage, leaving the Baby Back Ribs behind.
So, which rib is best for this recipe?
Get St. Louis Style Spare Ribs
St. Louis Style Spare Ribs are simply spare ribs that have been trimmed to a rectangular shape with the chine bone removed. They therefore cook more uniformly and are easier to carve and serve than regular Spare Ribs. Some packers will remove the “sinew’’ in preparing the St. Louis cut; others won’t, in which case, as with all pork ribs, it must be removed before cooing. Sinew is connective tissue that does not break down when cooking and can render a tough, chewy product if left on.
This recipe uses a five step method.
Step 1: A spice rub is applied to the ribs which is then placed on a wire rack (for circulation), uncovered in the fridge for six to twelve hours. This dries out the meat to give you a better crust and allows the meat to soak in the flavors.
Step 2: The ribs are dry roasted for an hour in a hot oven (375°F).
Step 3: The ribs are tented with aluminum foil and steam roasted in apple cider vinegar for one and a half hours.
Step 4: Both sides of the the rack is sauced and roasted an additional thirty minutes.
Step 5: The rack is placed meat side up under the broiler for 2-3 minutes to pick up a little char.
You can use whatever barbecue sauce you prefer for Step 4, but as I have said elsewhere in this online cookbook, I’ve tried every commercially prepared, nationally distributed barbecue sauce on the market and even make my own, which can be found here. But Stubb’s Original Bar-B-Q Sauce is without question the best on the market and recommended for this recipe.
This roasting technique works with other sauces and rubs, and it produces a genuinely tender rib with a good “bite” to it. If you prefer a “falling off the bone” texture to your ribs, add an additional thirty minutes to an hour of cooking time once the foil goes on.
"Oven Barbecued" Pork Spare Ribs
While not true barbecuing, this is still a delicious and nearly fool-proof way to get barbecue flavor in an oven roasted pork rib.
Ingredients
- 1 rack (about 3 lbs) St. Louis style pork spare ribs
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp smoked salt (like, San Francisco Salt Company Cherry Wood)
- 1 tsp seasoned black pepper (like, Lawry's)
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp ground mustard (like, Coleman's)
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- 1/4 tsp Chipotle chili powder
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 - 1/2 cups cold tap water
- 1/2 - 1 cup BBQ Sauce (like, Stubbs)
- non-stick cooking spray (like, Pam)
Instructions
- Mix the paprika, smoked salt, seasoned pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, ground mustard, brown sugar and Chipotle chili powder in a small bowl and whisk to thoroughly combine.
- Remove the sinew from the back of the ribs. Place a wire rack on a sheet pan lined with aluminum foil and spray with the non-stick spray.
- Coat each side of the rack of ribs with the spice rub, rubbing it into the meat as you go along. Place the sheet pan in the fridge uncovered, bone side up, and allow to sit for 6 to 12 hours.
- Remove the ribs from the fridge two hours before cooking.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Set a rack in the top third of the oven.
- Place the ribs on the wire rack bone-side up. Cook for 30 minutes.
- Remove the ribs from the oven and turn the rack over. Cook for 30 minutes.
- Pour the apple cider vinegar and 1 to 1-1/2 cups water into the sheet pan, and cover the whole sheet pan with aluminum foil. Cook for 1-1/2 hours.
- Remove the sheet pan from the oven. Carefully remove the aluminum foil and slather the barbecue sauce on the bone side of the rack. Roast for ten minutes.
- Turn the rack bone side up, slather with more barbecue sauce, then roast for another ten minutes.
- Remove the ribs from the oven and turn the broiler on high.
- Place the sheet pan with the rack of ribs, bone side up, under the broiler for 2-3 minutes to pick up a little char. Watch carefully and do not burn.
- Tent the ribs with aluminum foil for ten minutes before carving and serving.
Notes
- St. Louis style ribs are a special cut of spare ribs where the chine bone and the tips of the ribs have been cut for a uniform rectangular shape, and make for easier carving.
- YouTube has instructional videos in how to remove the sinew from the back of the rack of ribs. Depending on the purveyor, St. Louis style ribs may or may not have removed the sinew for you.
