Baby Back Ribs with Sweet and Tangy Homemade Barbecue Sauce

What would you say if I told you that you don’t need a backyard barbecue pit or even a smoker to make lip-smacking, smoky-sweet, melting-off-the-bone baby back ribs?

So I know what you’re thinking.  I live in Connecticut, and we’re not famous for our barbecue up here.  I’m not going to claim that these baby back ribs are better than the pit masterpieces that slowly smoke for an entire day.  If you’ve got the setup for that, and come from that tradition, I’m in awe.  This recipe is for the rest of us, and for anyone who thought they’d never be able to make transcendent ribs at home.  These ribs will blow you away.

The process starts with a big batch of easy Sweet and Tangy Homemade Barbecue Sauce.  The cider vinegar and lemon juice in the sauce help to tenderize the ribs as they marinate in it, and then later when the ribs are painted with sauce for the grill, the molasses and brown sugar char and caramelize to a thick and sticky glaze.  I love the sweet and sour contrast in this sauce, so complex and multi-layered you’d never guess how easy it is to make. And it marries perfectly with the mellow meaty flavor of the pork.

After an overnight soak in the marinade, the ribs bake for several hours until the meat literally falls off the bone.  At this point all they need is a thick layer of the tangy sauce on top, and 5 to 10 minutes on the grill – sauce side up so they don’t stick.  Handle them very carefully so they don’t fall apart – don’t even turn them on the grill, that’s how fragile they’ll be at this stage.  Now, dig in with your hands, keep plenty of napkins nearby, and don’t worry about the sauce on your chin. Everyone else is too busy eating ribs to notice.

A Few Very Important Tips:

• Look for a rack of baby back ribs that’s relatively flat, meaning without a very pronounced curve in the bones.  A flatter rack of ribs will allow all the meat to sit submerged in the marinade, and then in the braising liquid, keeping everything nice and tender – whereas with a curved rib, much of the meat will be standing up above the liquid.  Those exposed portions of the ribs will bake instead of braising, and will come out tough and dry.  If you have no choice and end up with very curved ribs (as I did for one of the batches I made for this post), use a deeper dish and double the amount of marinade and braising liquid to compensate. (If you’re using the Instant Pot method, described in one of the tips below, do not double the amount of cooking liquid in the pot.)

• Before you start marinating you must remove the membrane from the bone side of the ribs.  This is essential to achieving that falling-off-the-bone tenderness, so DO NOT skip this step!  Here’s what to do:  Turn the rack of ribs over with the meat side down.  You’ll see that all along the bone side there’s a translucent whitish membrane.  The easiest way to get going is to start right on a bone at one end of the rack.  Work a thin, flexible knife between the bone and the membrane until you’re able to raise the membrane up and pull it away from the bone.  At this point, work one index finger under the membrane and pull it up until it starts to tear away from the meat on either side of that bone.  Keep pulling until the membrane breaks free of the end of the rack.  Now all you need to do is rip it off like a long Band-aid:  grab the end of the membrane and peel it off in one sheet, all the way down.
• To make these ribs in an Instant Pot instead of using the oven:  Marinate the ribs and coat them with the dry rub as directed in the recipe.  Mix the barbecue sauce and water together and pour the mixture into the inner pot of the Instant Pot.  Place a trivet in the pot.  Arrange the ribs around the edge of the inner pot so they’re standing on end, with the meaty side facing the wall of the pot.  Pressure cook the ribs on high for 32 minutes.  Let the pressure release naturally for 15 minutes, then release the remaining pressure manually.  Grill the ribs as directed in the recipe.
• What if you don’t have a grill?  These ribs can be finished off under the broiler.  Arrange the racks on a foil-lined baking sheet, paint them with the sauce, and broil close to the heating element for 5 minutes or until the edges of the ribs are charred and the sauce is bubbling and thick.
• One rack of baby back ribs makes two very generous (barbecue joint-sized) portions, but realistically will serve four people if you’ve got smaller appetites or are serving lots of sides.  For one rack, you won’t need to use all of the barbecue sauce, so save some for another use.
• You couldn’t multiply this recipe and fit it all in an Instant Pot, but if you’re using the oven method it would be easy to multiply to feed six or eight.  (To serve six, cut each rack into thirds instead of quarters.) For double the amount of ribs, the entire recipe of the barbecue sauce should be just enough.
• There’s nothing like the melting, tender, saucy, sticky, crispy-charred, porky goodness of baby back ribs when they’re hot and fresh off the grill.  But leftovers are still pretty great.  They can be reheated in the microwave and eaten off the bone, or the meat pulled off and enjoyed as pulled pork in sandwiches, tacos, or sliders.

For a complete summer menu that features this dish, see my post for Saturday August 8, 2020.

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