To-die-for Pork Ribs recipe with fall apart meat slathered in a sticky homemade barbecue sauce! These oven Pork Ribs are rubbed with a spice mix, slow cooked until fall-apart-tender then basted generously with the tangy, sweet sauce. Can’t-stop-eating it, finger-licking’ good!
This is a reader-favourite recipe included by popular demand in my debut cookbook “Dinner”!
Pork Ribs recipe
If you nibble daintily at a rib, holding it delicately between 2 fingers, and wipe your fingers clean with linen napkins, you and I will probably never be friends.
If you grab them with your hands, devour with gusto, get sauce all over your mouth, smearing up towards your cheekbones, then drop the bones sucked dry of every fibre of meat and sauce so they clatter dramatically on your plate, then noisily suck each and every one of your fingers clean of all that sticky barbecue sauce….
….if that’s you, then you are my kind of people.
And welcome to the pork ribs of your dreams!
These oven baked pork ribs recipe are:
super easy
the meat is tender
ribs are infused with flavour from a rub AND braising the ribs in apple cider;
finished with a simple but incredibly tasty homemade barbecue sauce.
These Oven Pork Ribs are fall apart tender and slathered with an incredible homemade barbecue sauce!
How to make Oven Pork Ribs
Here’s how I make pork ribs in the oven. There’s a few key things here:
Rub for the pork ribs – to add flavour;
Liquid for cooking – this is a key step for this pork ribs recipe! It creates a steamy situation while the ribs slow cook in the oven to keep them nice and juicy. My liquid of choice is alcoholic apple cider (also known as hard apple cider) because as with many things, alcohol adds extra layers of flavour. But there’s loads of other options: beer, apple juice, broth or even water;
Homemade barbecue sauce – Ribs are a bit of an occasion around these parts so using store bought Barbecue Sauce doesn’t even cross my mind. It’s also one of those sauces that’s astonishingly simple to make at home and really is that much better than store bought because it tastes pure and real and doesn’t have that slight artificial edge of store bought. Try it once and you’ll be converted for life!
Baste, bake, baste, bake! The more you baste-bake, the better your sticky barbecue sauce coating on the ribs.
Type of ribs to use
Oven Pork Ribs are ideal for Baby Back and St Louis Style Pork Ribs. It will also work for Pork Spareribs but the oven cook time should be reduced by 20 minutes (as they are less meaty).
🇦🇺In Australia, we do not (yet!) distinguish between various cuts of pork ribs (most are a Baby Back / St Louis style hybrid or they are very skimpy Spare Ribs). There’s also a great deal of inconsistency with how pork ribs are cut between butchers and the big grocery chains (Costco, Aldi, Woolies, Coles).
Just look for meaty pork ribs that are nice an fatty. Avoid the ribs that are cut so close to the bone on both sides there’s barely any meat – miserable eating experience plus it’s criminal to pay for 70% bone!
What you need for Oven Pork Ribs with Barbecue Sauce
And here’s what you need. Nothing unique here, except perhaps the molasses in the barbecue sauce.
I can’t remember where I first saw it, but I added it to my barbecue sauce once then I never looked back. It adds colour and intensity of flavour that can’t be replicated! Truly worth using if you can get your hands on it. If not, don’t fret – substitute with golden syrup or use dark brown sugar instead of normal brown sugar. Similar result!
Barbecue Sauce for Pork Ribs
The barbecue sauce in this recipe is used for both glazing and serving. It is literally a plonk and simmer job. Low maintenance and effortless, and really tastes of pure flavour compared to store bought (says she who has done side-by-side taste testing!).
It will look like we’re making a LOT, with the recipe calling for 1 1/2 cups of ketchup. But trust me when I say you want to have more rather than too little. There’s nothing worse than being stingy when glazing the ribs – you want to slather generously with abundance without worrying about saving some for serving!
(PS And if you’re a sticky BBQ Sauce lover, try this BBQ Brisket and BBQ Beef Ribs next…)
What to serve with Pork Ribs
In the spirit of a Southern barbecue feast, serve up your sticky oven pork ribs with a side of Macaroni Salad and corn on the cob (try the most amazing GRILLED Buttered Corn!).
Other favourites include:
Potato Salad – Classic creamy Potato Salad or for lighter options, no-mayo Lemon Potato Salad and Red Potato Salad with Charred Corn and Bacon
Corn Bread or Corn Bread Muffins (or try these Cheese Muffins)
And for something fresh, try this Tomato, Corn and Avocado Salad or a cooling German Cucumber Salad.
This is a forgiving pork ribs recipe – and it’s loaded with plenty of flavour!
As long as you get nice juicy, fatty ribs (which they typically are), it will be pretty hard to stuff this recipe up! Ribs are a tough cut of meat so they’re made for slow cooking until it’s nice and tender.
It’s quite forgiving with the cook time, unlike some other types of proteins like poultry. So even if you cook it 30 minutes too long, it will still be juicy and delicious.
There is simply no way to look elegant eating pork ribs. Just accept you will have very sticky fingers, sauce smeared on your face and a huge goofy grin! -Nagi x
Watch how to make it
This is a reader-favourite recipe included by popular demand in my debut cookbook “Dinner”!
More rib recipes
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
Oven Pork Ribs with Barbecue Sauce
Ingredients
Barbecue Rub for Ribs:
- 2.5 tsp paprika powder
- 2 tsp garlic powder (sub with onion powder)
- 1.5 tsp onion powder (sub with garlic powder)
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper (omit for not spicy)
- 1.5 tsp dried thyme
- 1.5 tsp dried oregano
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 0.5 tsp black pepper
Ribs
- 2 – 2.5kg / 4 – 5lb pork ribs (2 racks)
- 3/4 cup sweet alcoholic apple cider (hard cider) , or apple juice (Note 2)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Homemade Barbecue Sauce
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar (Note 3)
- 1 1/2 cups tomato ketchup (or Aussie tomato sauce)
- 1/2 cup water (or use remaining apple cider!)
- 1 1/2 tbsp molasses , orginal (not blackstrap, Note 4)
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 2 tsp mustard powder
- 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp Tabasco or cayenne pepper (optional, for spiciness)
Instructions
- Combine the Rub ingredients and rub onto both sides of the ribs (most on meaty side). Set aside to marinate for 20 minutes (or overnight).
- Preheat oven to 160°C/320°F (all oven types).
- Place ribs on a tray in a single layer. Pour apple cider underneath the ribs, cover with foil then bake for 1 hour 30 minutes or until the meat is pretty tender (Note 5).
- Remove from oven, turn up to 180°C/350°F. Remove foil, drizzle with olive oil, then return ribs to oven for 15 minutes or until rub becomes nice and crusty.
- Line a new tray with foil then baking / parchment paper (you'll thank me later).
- Remove ribs from oven, transfer to lined tray. Pour any juices from tray over the ribs.
- Flip ribs so the bonier side is up. Slather with Barbecue Sauce, then bake 10 minutes.
- Remove from oven, then turn ribs over so the meaty side is up. Slather with Barbecue Sauce, bake 5 minutes. Repeat 2 or 3 more times until you've got a thick glaze on the ribs.
- Cut ribs into individual or multiple rib portions and serve with remaining Barbcue Sauce!
Barbecue Sauce
- Place all ingredients in a saucepan and simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 45 minutes or until thickened.
- Adjust to taste: sweetness with brown sugar / honey, salt and sour with vinegar. Use for glazing ribs and as a sauce for serving.
Recipe Notes:
- Follow recipe to end of Step 4 (ie 2nd baked uncovered to make Rub crusty)
- Brush bony side of ribs with sauce, then cook on BBQ indirect heat on high (bony side up) with lid down for 5 minutes.
- Flip so meaty side is up, baste, cook with lid down for 5 minutes. Repeat 3 times until you have a nice caramelised glaze!
Nutrition Information:
Pork ribs recipe originally published January 2016. Updated August 2019 with new photos, improved recipe, brand new video and new Life of Dozer section added!
Life of Dozer
He doesn’t need a 4 leaf clover for luck. He was BORN lucky….. at least, from the moment he became MINE!! #spoiltbrat #wantfornothing #PrinceDozer
This is the best ribs recipe. I didn’t put the vinegar in the bbq sauce because I don’t like my ribs being too tangy but it was soooo good! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
That’s great to hear Wendy!! N x
I was a bit nervous about how this would turn out because it was my first time making ribs… but it was AMAZING! The ribs were very tender, and the sauce was deliciously tangy and had a great kick to it!
For some reason I needed extra rub and had excess bbq sauce! (and i actually had less ribs than the recipe asked for).
Thanks so much for a delicious, easy to follow recipe! (I made your apple crumble on the same night but I was actually so full from demolishing the ribs that I couldn’t touch the apple crumble!)
Woah, sounds. divine Tracy!! N x
Great recipe Nagi! The best home cooked ribs I’ve made. However the end to end cooking process takes up a lot of time. Are there any shortcuts you can recommend? I.e. not having to take the ribs in and out of the oven so many times etc?
Hi Mils, you need to baste to make sure the sauce caramelises and they are full of flavour. You can skip basting the ribs but you’ll miss out on the flavour too! N x
Hi Nagi followed your recipe to the letter and these ribs totally blew back my family’s hair 😀😀 served them with roasted sweet potatoes and corn…OMG so so good
We have just demolished these delicious ribs.
Thank you Nagi for another great recipe
You’re so welcome Carol! Thanks so much for letting me know! N x
Yum! Another winner from recipetineats! Delicious.
Thanks so much for letting me know Cate! N x
This recipe was the easiest and definitely the besting tasting I have ever cooked. It is tangy, but I and my family loved it.
My hubby was very skeptical about OVEN made ribs, he always uses the smoker. Kinda hard to smoke ribs with 3 feet of snow on the ground. These were FABULOUS. Made a believer out of him.
YES! I love hearing this!!! N x
I had some doubts about the apple cider under the ribs initially but I decided to trust you. I’m glad I did and I’m happy to report the ribs turned out really tasty!
The sauce was a little tangy so I added some sugar and paprika for some smoke as you suggested and BAM, best ribs ever!
How are all your recipes so good all the time! Thank you Nagi!!!
Wahoo, I’m so glad you loved it!!!
Hello, is there any way to partly pre cook these and finish off later, or could they be reheated?
Hi Tammy, you can definitely cook these the whole way through and then simply reheat 🙂
Thanks Nagi.
This was the best easiest no fail way to cook ribs. We ate one rack hot for dinner, just two of us, and I ate the other rack cold for lunch during the week. Really over two days. No one was around to see me raiding the fridge and giving the dog dirty looks when she was looking at me and wondering why I wasnt sharing. I used the left over bbq sauce to flavour other sauces it worked beautifully. Added a lovely gtang. Served with a very simple creamy coleslaw perfect dinner. Thank you for this wonderful recipe and your instructions.
I love hearing this Peta!!
Hi Nagi, this is a great bbq sauce, but I must admit I amped it up just a bit. My Mother in law seemed to be partial to whiskey she put in so many things from chili to baked beans and it really kicks it up. I thought why not so I added it to your bbq sauce. And I must admit my m in l was right as usual. Thought I would share.
Sounds great Wendy, I’ll have to try it!! N x
I REALLY like smoky ribs and I don’t see anything about using smoky paprika or smoke liquid. Would it be a problem to add some liquid smoke or use smoked paprika to the recipe? Ribs in the oven are almost always more tender so avoiding the BBQ is fine but I think I would really miss the smoky taste. Have you tried adding smoked paprika or using liquid smoke in this recipe?
Hi Dianna, you can definitely add smoked paprika and liquid smoke to the BBQ sauce if you want to get that smokey flavour! N x
Love It
Thanks so much Diandra! N x
Great!
Clear described!
Tasty! Very Tasty!
Thank YOU, Nagi!
Great!
sorry when you say 1.5 ts spoon how much is that or 2.5 tsp spoon thank you
Is there any way you could possibly give me the recipe for the older bbq sauce? My family Really LOVED It. 🙏🏼
Hi, I’ve used This recipe a couple
Times and am supposed to make these for The Super Bowl. Everyone LOVES them, I was wondering though did some ingredients for the sauce change? I remember using honey and molasses, Large chunks of onion and Dijon mustard
Hi Gesselle, I’ve updated the ribs with an easier recipe that’s even better then the first! Enjoy N x
Is there a way to get the old recipe with the onions and when you had basalmic vinegar?
This was soooooo good! I will never cook ribs any other way again (unless it’s another of your recipes)! I had no cider, no juice and used water and it was still delicious! Thank you Nagi! xx
I’m so happy it still worked out for you Serene! N x
Second time I’m making these, using pale ale as no cider, works well. Last week made the beef and pork meatballs with sweet and sour sauce and adding a few extra ingredients to leftover sauce to make the BBQ sauce.
Perfect Danielle!!