Name: Easy Oven Baked Ribs
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 3 h
Total time: 3 h 5 min
Ingredients: 5-6 pounds pork spare ribs; 1/4 cup brown sugar; 1.5 tsp kosher salt; 1.5 tsp cayanne pepper; Chili Powder 1.5 tsp; 2 tsp cumin; 1.5 tbsp garlic powder; 1.5 tbsp onion powder; 2 tbsp Grillmates Applewood Rub

Looking for an easy recipe that can impress and feed a crowd or please the family? My Easy Oven Baked Ribs recipe is the answer to your weeknight dinner slump with a dry rub for oven ribs that’ll keep them asking for more!

Dry Rub for Oven Ribs

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I’ll admit, I had never made ribs in the oven. To me, ribs cooked on the bbq with lots of smoke were the only way to go. Once, I made them in the pressure cooker, and I’ll admit they were good, but I don’t often use the pressure cooker. When I made them in the slow cooker I didn’t enjoy the texture. My family really enjoys ribs, and I wanted a way to make them that wasn’t labor intensive or time consuming. Hence, a dry rub for oven ribs was going to be the answer to my rib prayers.

BBQ Sauce or Dry Rub?

This is a big debate, and one that I have no hard stand on. I love them both ways. However, I wanted to try to use a little less sugar in this recipe so I went with a dry rub. During the cooking process they develop such intense flavor that you won’t miss the sugary sauce. However; if you really enjoy barbeque sauce, add some at the end before broiling, or mop a little over the ribs before you eat them. Always do what you like! These ribs are delicious either way.

What kind of ribs to use?

Originally, when I placed my grocery order I asked for St. Louis Ribs. Well, the grocery store was out of those and substituted “pork spare ribs”. Nowhere on the package did it describe which “type” of ribs they were, so I just went with it.

There are different kinds of ribs, and what type of ribs they are depend on where on the pig (if using pork) they are located. Baby Back ribs are closer to the top of the pig, near the spine. St. Louis ribs are around the mid secion, and “spareribs” are a bit of a longer secion from the mid to lower pig on the other side. The baby back are the ribs that seem to be most commonly served, especially in restaurants, because they are meaty for their size. However; with the right cooking method any rib you choose can be super tasty!

How to prepare ribs for cooking:

Removing the membrame from the ribs is the only step that takes a tiny bit of time. Personally, I’d rather just ask the butcher to do it, but the ribs I used this time came pre-packaged, and this meant I needed to do the work myself. Check out this video from BarbequeWeb.com which explains how to remove the membrames yourself.
Next, you’ll want to prepare your dry rub for the oven ribs. Simply mix together the following ingredients:
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2.5 tbsp smoked paprika (it’s important that it’s smoked paprika for the complexity of the spice)
- Chili powder – 1.5 tbsp
- 1.5 tsp kosher salt
- 1.5 tsp cayenne pepper (more if you like it spicy)!
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1.5 tbsp garlic powder
- 1.5 tbsp onion powder
- Grillmates Applewood Rub – 2 tbsp (this infuses some smokey taste into the ribs – I love it).
Dry off your ribs with paper towel, and place on a piece of tin foil large enough to come around the ribs on all sides. Next, place the ribs on the still open foil on a cookie sheet.
Spread half of the dry rub on one side, and half on the other.
Leave the ribs meat side up and make a package around them with the foil.
Place the ribs into a 300 degree pre-heated oven and set your timer for 3 hours.
After 3 hours you will remove the tin foil and broil for 5-7 minutes.

What do you need to make these bone-in ribs recipe?

What to serve with your Easy Oven Baked Ribs

There are some pretty standard sides you think of when you are figuring out what to serve with your ribs. Potato salad, corn on the cob (that’s what I served), or cole slaw are the first ones that come to mind. Here are a few different sides that would go really nicely with this recipe:

Easy Roasted Stuffed Tomato Side

Easiest Vegetable Side Dish Ever

Easy Stuffed Mushroom Appetizer