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close up of plated bbq ribs with zucchini salad in background

How To Make Fall Off The Bone BBQ Ribs

Print Recipe
This oven baked method results in perfect, fall-apart tender ribs you can finish on the grill or under the broiler
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours
Total Time 3 hours 5 minutes
Author Breathing and Cooking

Ingredients

  • pork spare ribs or St. Louis style ribs see notes*
  • seasoning rub of choice 1 Tbsp per pound of ribs
  • liquid of choice beer, apple juice, etc 1/4 cup per slab
  • BBQ Sauce of choice

Instructions

  • Place ribs, meaty side up, on rimmed baking sheet lined with heavy duty foil. You want the foil to be long enough that you'll be able to enclose the ribs completely inside.
  • Rub seasoning onto all sides of ribs, concentrating the majority of it on the meaty side. Pour liquid around the ribs and pull up the rest of the foil, enclosing the ribs inside and folding and pinching foil to seal tightly.
  • Place in a preheated 300° f oven and bake for 2 1/2 hours. After 2 1/2 hours place pan of ribs on top of stove and carefully open foil (be careful- hot steam will come out!). Using a fork placed between the center ribs, pull meat away from the bone gently. If there's any resistance reseal the foil and cook an additional 30 minutes. Ribs are done when they pull apart easily and there's no resistance.

Drain liquid from pan and cut ribs into 3-4 sections per slab. Finish in oven or on grill:

  • Finish on Grill-Brush ribs with sauce and grill a few minutes on each side, brushing with sauce and turning as needed for desired charring and caramelization of sauce.
  • Finish in The Oven-Brush both side of ribs with sauce and broil 6-7 inches from flame, for 3-5 minutes, until desired caramelization of sauce is achieved. Check often because broilers can be tricky and you don't want to burn the ribs. Alternatively you can also place in a very hot (450 °f) oven for 5-10 minutes, checking every few minutes.