I picked up some baby back ribs at my local grocery store for the July 4 weekend – buy one get one free – can’t beat that! Turns out these were the meatiest, juiciest, and tastiest ribs – baked right in my oven! Just shows that you don’t have to go to a fancy butcher shop, or pay a lot, to make your own amazing ribs at home.
I used a simple homemade dry rub – but there are plenty of prepared rubs on the market that are good as well.
DRY RUB (This will coat 2 racks of ribs)
Ingredients:
2 T of each: Garlic powder, Onion powder, Chili powder, Cumin, Smoked
paprika, brown sugar. Combine in a small bowl. Add 1 T salt, 1 T black
pepper, and 1 tsp dry mustard. Stir together.
Add more chili spices if you like it HOT! This is fairly mild, but full of flavor.
Prepare the ribs by removing the thin membrane underneath the ribs. This is controversial I’ve read, but I prefer to do it. I think the dry rub gets into the meat on the bottom better when this is removed.
Sprinkle the dry rub generously over the top and bottom of the ribs, rubbing into the meat well with your hands (yes, I use latex gloves for this!) Set the ribs on a large piece of foil, wrap, and let them “marinate” in the refrigerator for about 1 hour before baking.
While that was going on, I made the barbecue sauce.
PEACH BOURBON BARBECUE SAUCE
Ingredients:
* 1 Tbsp olive oil
* 2 tsp minced fresh garlic
* 1/2 of a small onion, chopped (about 1/3 c)
* 1 1/2 tsp ancho chili powder
* 2 tsp smoked paprika
* 1 tsp ground mustard
* 4 c peeled and diced fresh peaches (about 6-8)
* 1/3 c bourbon (if you don’t like bourbon, you can replace with Cola or
Dr Pepper)
* 1 c ketchup
* 3 T apple cider vinegar
* 2 T worcestershire sauce
* 1/3 c light brown sugar
* 1 tsp salt
* 1/2 tsp black pepper
* 3/4 c water
Add olive oil, and onions to a large pot over low heat. Saute for about 5 min. Add garlic, and saute for another minute. Add chili powder, paprika and mustard. Stir to blend flavors. Add diced peaches, Stir to coat. Add Bourbon (or cola), and bring to a simmer, stirring frequently.
Add ketchup, vinegar, worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, salt and pepper, and water. Stir to combine. Bring to a low boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for about 15 min. Peaches will soften, and mixture should reduce by 1/3, and thicken.
Remove from the heat, and allow to cool.
Pour mixture into a standing blender, or use an immersion blender to puree completely. Add a bit more water if you want a thinner sauce.
Pour into a bowl, and refrigerate.
Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Bake ribs, wrapped in foil, for 2 hours.
Remove from the oven and open the foil. Brush with some of the BBQ sauce. Return to the oven to char the outside, for about 30 min on the top oven rack.
Alternatively, you can place the ribs on your grill, heated to medium/low. Watch them closely, as you don’t want them to burn. Turn them a few times til charred.
Remove ribs from the heat and foil, onto a cutting board. Slice between the bones. Serve immediately with additional BBQ sauce.
