Slow Cooked Baby Back Ribs
If you’re trying to enjoy some slow cooked baby back ribs, there are several ways you can prepare them. Keep in mind the goal is to slow cook those baby backs so they are soft yet firm enough to stay on the bone while you’re enjoying them.
There’s nothing worse than picking up ribs off your plate just to have them fall apart and either fall on the floor or plop right back into your plate; actually that’s not such a bad thing because Fido the dog will no doubt bum rush you and sweep up the fallen pieces with one lick and run away!
So, unless you want to make your feast a dinner for your dog, here are some proven tips to get you going:
1. Depending on your method of cooking, whether you pre-bake them in the oven then put’em on the grill, whether you simply bake them in the oven, or if you’re strictly grilling, approximately 2 1/2 hours is how long to cook baby backs.
2. If you’re using the bake in the oven then grill method, preheat the oven to 250 degrees, season your ribs with salt, pepper, and paprika, or use your favorite dry rub. Then wrap these babies in aluminum foil and and slow cook baby back ribs for 2 1/2 hours (oven times vary but use this approximate time as your guide).
After that, brush your favorite barbecue sauce or glaze, let them sit for 15 minutes, and slap them on the grill at a heat setting so they can get crispy but not burned.
I like using “Sticky Fingers Memphis Original” barbecue sauce mixed with 1 chopped onion and a half cup of Heinz ketchup. What you do is empty the barbecue sauce in a small cooking pot, add the ketchup, chop up the onion with a food processor so it’s almost “liquidy,” and cook on low heat for 5 minutes. Simply amazing sauce!
3. If you are using the oven baked method, now you know how long to cook ribs, don’t you? Simply bake them using the above bake method, pull them out and put ehem in a different pan to get rid of the juices, and brush them with your favorite glaze or barbecue sauce.
When you stick them back in the oven, put the setting on “broil” (medium) and let them get a nice crispy finish without burning them; make sure they don’t burn. Boom! Once again, lickety delicious.
4. Grilling them is the easiest method and possibly gives the best results. Using the above-mentioned how to and “how long cook babyback ribs” principles, make absolutely certain you cook them over indirect heat.
This means if you’re barbecuing with charcoal, you need to have a big enough barbecue to place all the charcoal on either side leaving a gap in the middle or by placing them all on one side.
By the way; slow cooked baby back ribs never require boiling; this is the easiest way to drain out all the flavor and a definite no-no in barbecuing circles!
