Easy Baked BBQ Country Ribs with Homemade Sauce
Easy Baked BBQ Country Ribs with Homemade Sauce
Cooking 101
Not in the mood to grill? Try this simple, yummy BBQ Country Rib recipe without having to go outside... or they can be grilled too if you prefer! Still super easy and a great dinner choice!
Easy Baked BBQ Country Ribs with Homemade Sauce
Yield: 4 – 6 servings
Ingredients:
Sauce:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 – 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Dash salt
Dash or two cayenne pepper, to taste
Country Ribs:
2 1⁄2 - 3 pounds country style pork ribs
1 small onion, chopped
2 – 3 cloves garlic, minced
Water to cover ribs
Vegetable spray or olive oil for pan
Equipment needed:
Small sauce pan for sauce
Cutting board
Chef knife
Measuring spoons
Dry measuring cups
Rubber spatula
5 – 6 quart pot with lid, for ribs
Tongs
Soup spoon
Pastry brush
Half sheet baking pan
Aluminum foil
I love BBQ country ribs... meatier than regular ribs and not quite so messy! Often in the winter, I don’t want to fire up the grill and stand out in the cold. That to me is reserved for warmer days. I prefer to turn on the oven and warm up my home with the smell of ribs cooking permeating the air. Makes your mouth water... doesn’t it? I usually make my own sauce as the ribs cook too, but if you want to make the recipe even easier, you can use a bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce too... whichever works for you. One evening I a few years back, I found myself in a heated discussion with a gentleman over the proper way to cook ribs. He insisted you could only cook ribs for hours over coals and I disagreed that they could be parboiled and baked. Everyone has their way of cooking! Grab your ingredients, make this simple recipe and you decide if my recipe will do the trick too!
Homemade BBQ Sauce Prep
Sauce is so simple to make and inexpensive too! All of the ingredients are always in my kitchen so why not make it from scratch? I usually begin the sauce before I parboil the ribs... then they are ready together. To begin the sauce making process, finely chop the onions and mince your onions. These two fresh ingredients I find make any recipe so much better. If you prefer to use dry ingredients, that’s fine too. Substitute a teaspoon of garlic and onion powder instead. Place the small 1-quart saucepan over medium heat with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Heat for ~3 minutes. Stir and saute the onions and garlic until translucent and light yellow in color, being careful to adjust the heat, if needed, to avoid burning.
Basically, from this point on, BBQ sauce is a dump all the ingredients in and cook recipe. Add the ketchup, honey, brown sugar, vinegar, worchestershire sauce and seasonings into the saucepan and stir well. Taste the sauce to adjust to your level of sweetness or spice too. Bring sauce to a low simmer and cook for 15 – 20 minutes.
Country Rib Prep
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Parboiling the ribs is the start to creating tender, flavorful meat and reducing the fat content of the meat at the same time. Begin by placing the country ribs in the bottom of a large pot. Place chopped onion and minced garlic and cover meat by one inch with water. Bring the water to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cover the pot with a lid and simmer for 12 – 15 minutes. Meat might appear slightly pink when removing from the simmering liquid. Don’t overcook meat, as this might toughen the meat fibers. I often use the broth for making soup after it has been cooled and excess fat removed.
While the meat is cooking, check and stir your BBQ sauce and cover the baking sheet with aluminum foil. The foil will definitely help with the cleanup... unless you enjoy scrubbing and soaking a pan with baked on sauce. Lightly spray or oil the foil. Using tongs, remove the ribs and shake excess liquid from ribs. Place the ribs on the prepared pan and coat with a thin layer of sauce. Turn the ribs over with the tongs and spoon or brush sauce on the second side. Bake sauce covered ribs in a preheated 350 F oven for 45 minutes or until browned and bubbly. If you prefer to grill your sauced ribs, make sure they are cooked over a very low heat to maintain a tender texture and to prevent premature browning of the meat. Turn ribs at least once during grilling.
Don’t your ribs look and smell amazing? Country ribs are much meatier that other ribs and easier to eat. More meat and less fat ... double win if you ask me. Serve your BBQ ribs with your favorite slaw, or try my Creamy Cole Slaw, and/ or a potato side dish.