You bake these baby back ribs in the oven with beer until it becomes so tender and juicy that they literally fall off the bone. Effortlessly delicious and perfect for indoor barbecue parties.
See how succulent the meat is? This is the kind of stuff your barbecue rib dreams are made of. You can easily achieve this if you follow some simple steps.
Cooking baby back ribs in the oven with beer.
Using beer to simmer accentuates the richness of the meat and adds an earthy flavor to the baby back ribs that are great for barbecues. Beer also works as a tenderizer when used in the marinade.
As beers differ in flavor, the type of beer to use depends on you. Normally, the beer that you like to drink is a good choice.
Will it taste like beer? Not really, maybe just a little hint of beer taste can be detected, especially if a strong beer is used, but after cooking it for a long time the beer taste disappears.
What is silverskin and how to remove it?
You see, at the back or the bone-side of the rack of the ribs is a white membrane called silverskin.
If not removed, this lining will prevent the seasonings to penetrate the meat from this side and it will also turn tough and leathery when cooked.
To remove it,
- Look for an opening at the edge or use a blunt knife like a table knife and slide it under the silverskin then lift it to separate the silverskin from the meat.
- Grab the edge with your hand or use a paper towel if it is too slippery.
- Pull the silverskin off in one piece. If it breaks, just repeat the process.
How to cook baby back ribs in oven?
- After removing the silverskin, rub the ribs with salt, brown sugar and coarse ground pepper.
- Place it on top of the onion and garlic slices on a roasting pan. Drizzle with soy sauce and pour the beer all over the ribs.
- Cover the pan with foil and let it marinate for at least 15 minutes. Bake for one and a half to two hours.
- Remove from pan and transfer to the grill rack, bone-side up. Baste with barbecue sauce liberally.
- Grill for 10 minutes then turn and baste again and finish off with another 5-minute grilling.
This baby back ribs in the oven recipe includes a barbecue sauce to use for basting and brushing before serving. You make it from the sauce or juices left from simmering the ribs.
As it contains the same ingredients (and some) used for the rub and simmer, it enhances the flavors from inside out!
Run the sauce through a sieve to separate the solids from the liquids. Mash the solids to extract the garlic and onion to be added back to the sauce.
Add the rest of ingredients and bring to a simmer then add the cornstarch mixture to thicken the sauce.
You see nothing is really wasted in this recipe. You can even keep the excess barbecue sauce if any, and store it in the fridge for some days for later use.
Fall-off-the-bone Baby Back Ribs in Oven
Ingredients
- 2-3 racks baby back ribs - silverskin removed
- 4 tablespoons muscovado or brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground pepper
- 4 tablespoon s soy sauce
- 1 head garlic - cut across into half
- 1 medium onion - cut into 4 rings
- 1 can beer
BARBECUE SAUCE
- 1 cup leftover sauce - more or less a cup
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon ground pepper
- dash paprika powder
- dash hot chili powder - optional
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons water
Instructions
- Spread garlic and onions at the base of a roasting pan.
- Rub each baby back ribs rack with salt, sugar and ground pepper. Place the ribs on top of the garlic and onion slices, bone side down. Drizzle the ribs with soy sauce and pour beer over the ribs.
- Cover the top of the roasting pan tightly with aluminum foil. Let it marinate for at least 15 minutes then bake at 170°C/340°F for 2 hours.
- Remove ribs from the roasting pan and transfer to a grill rack, bone side up. Brush with barbecue sauce and grill about 10 minutes. Flip ribs over, brush with sauce and grill for another 5 minutes. Serve white hot
TO MAKE BARBECUE SAUCE
- Skim some of the fat from the sauce that is left on the roasting pan from baking the ribs, leaving about 2 tablespoons of fat.
- Pour the rest of the sauce through a sieve into a bowl. Press the solids through the sieve until completely mashed. Scrape the bottom of the sieve to take the remaining mashed onion and garlic and add this to the sauce.
- Add brown sugar, ground pepper, paprika powder, and hot chili powder. Transfer sauce to a saucepan and bring to a simmer.
- Dissolve cornstarch in water and pour into the sauce, cook while constantly stirring until it thickens. Transfer sauce to a bowl or a jar.
I tried this last night…it tastes sooo good. Would definitely try it again! Thanks for the recipe.
I’m not a big fan of ribs, but my husband LOVES them. I tried your recipe a few years ago, and we both agreed that it was fantastic! I’ve come back to it over and over, and we’ve even served it to guests. It’s always a hit! Thank you for making ribs something that my whole family can enjoy. Definitely an A+.
Aaawww, that is such a nice comment and I am happy that your whole family likes it!
Hi, I like your recipe. My question is, how do you grill the ribs in the oven and how many degrees? Thanks Lulu Del Rio
Hi Lulu, it means you have to use the grill option, usually available on a gas oven. It does not give you a specific temperature. For electric oven just use the top heat at about 200°-250°C.
Hi! What can we substitute for the beer? 😊
Red wine would be a great option.
Coke
I made this for New Year's Day this year and it was so amazing I had to make it again today! I used a fabulous rub (Rudy's Rub) & added Famous Daves BBQ sauce, a mixture of Devil's Pit & Sweet & Sassy. I cannot stand to smell it and know I have to keep waiting to taste it again! SOOO delish! The onions & garlic marinade makes it so tasty! So glad to have this option for ribs during the off season!
Glad you like it, Maria and thank you for sharing your rub and sauce of choice and for the 5 stars, of course😘.
I don't have an oven, can I use Turbo Broiler instead? Cooking time and temp? thanks a lot 🙂
Sure you can, Rhea. USe the same temp just watch over it to see when it is done.
A+ on falling off the bone!! I'll make this again, but I need more spice.
Thanks for the perfect score, Maria.
I have cooked this recipe numerous and it is honestly the most wonderful thing I have ever made! I am hoping to make a large batch this weekend and I’m wondering if the cooking time would vary.
If you have a large pan and oven that you do not need to pile them over the other then it should be cooked with almost the same time.
I must tell you that we grill often and tried this recipe recently. I will never use another! Absolutely the best ribs ever.
Hi Anna, that is so nice of you to say! Thanks for the perfect review and hope you all stay safe and well.
it was good, but most of the sauce burned and dried up. i added water to pan to get some juice. and had to use store bought
sauce. maybe i missed something.
April
Hi April, do you mean while baking the ribs on a pan covered tightly with foil? Make sure that the top of the pan is fully covered with foil so the liquid will not evaporate that much.
I just started cooking this and realized that it needs to be grilled for a few minutes but I don't have a grill. Is there an alternative to the grilling?
Hi Monie, I mean oven grill (broiler) in this recipe using the top heat to get some grill effect. If your oven does not have that function, you can actually skip it and just bake it a little longer and it will still taste good.
Can the beer be substituted with something else? Maybe japanese sake instead?😅
That is an idea...but I have not tried it so I am not sure. The beer goes well with the ribs and adds a subtle flavor to it.
These ribs are tasty for sure. Used Sweet Baby Rays instead of making it. I might try it next time but both eating companions discussed “When I make it the next time!” So it’s definitely a hit.
That is great Vivian! I am happy your companions liked it.