I’ve always been intimidated by cooking a rack of ribs. After all, ribs are the product of expert, smoker savvy, trophy winning Southeastern barbecue gurus with secret rubs and trademarked mops.
But Yoder Meats has changed all of that for me. I subscribe to their newsletter and on Friday a recipe came through for sheet pan oven tender spare ribs. After studying the instructions, I confirmed that I most certainly, in my oven, in my kitchen, could cook that! And as it turned out, I could and I did.
Spare Ribs vs. Baby Back Ribs
Spare ribs and baby back ribs are really just two pieces of the same slab of meat. Baby back ribs are cut from the top of the rib cage, near the backbone. Spareribs are cut from the bottom of the rib cage, and sometimes include the brisket, which is a bony piece of meat that hangs from the bottom. The farther down the rib cage you go, the meatier the ribs get. That is essentially why spareribs take longer to cook.
Recipe for Spare Ribs In The Oven
These oven tender spare ribs were everything I expected out of a rib. Fall off the bone tender, a crispy crunchy edge here and there, and a flavor that I would be proud to serve to my expert rib grilling friends. I now know how to make ribs in the oven.
And aside from wrestling sheets of foil the size of bed sheets, the ruckus was minimal.
In a rib tickling mood? Take a look at this easy recipe where ribs are boiled then grilled Campfire Ribs, Country Style Ribs
Let’s take a look.
An overnight soak in a flavorful rub, a slow cook in the oven and you’ve got oven tender ribs without much of a ruckus.
- 2 racks spare ribs
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup fajita seasoning
- 2 Tablespoons Hungarian sweet paprika
- 1 cup beer
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 Tablespoon honey
- 3 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 Tablespoon Brown mustard
- Mix the brown sugar, fajita seasoning, and paprika in a bowl.
- Rub both sides of the spare ribs with the brown sugar mixture.
- Place the spareribs in a 9×13-inch baking pan; cover and refrigerate overnight.
- Preheat an oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C).
- Whisk together the beer, garlic, honey, Worcestershire sauce, and mustard in a bowl.
- Set aside.
- Tear off 2 large sheets of heavy duty aluminum foil and lay them shiny-side down.
- Place a rack of spare ribs on each sheet, meaty-side up.
- Tear off 2 more sheets of foil and place them on top of the ribs, shiny-side up.
- Begin tightly folding the edges of the foil together to create a sealed packet.
- Just before sealing completely, divide the beer mixture evenly into each packet.
- Complete the seal.
- Place the packets side-by-side on an 11×14-inch baking sheet.
- Bake in the preheated oven until the ribs are very tender, 3 hours and 30 minutes to 4 hours.
- Carefully open each packet, and drain the drippings into a saucepan.
- You may only need the drippings from one packet.
- Set ribs aside.
- Simmer the drippings over medium-high heat until the sauce begins to thicken, about 5 minutes.
- Brush the thickened sauce over the ribs.
- Preheat the oven’s broiler and set the oven rack about 6 inches from the heat source.
- Place the ribs back into the oven and broil until the sauce is lightly caramelized, 5 to 7 minutes.
Serve, and enjoy!
Sheet Pan Oven Tender Spare Ribs … It’s What’s For Dinner
Larry says
February 21, 2017 at 5:21 amHard to beat a good rack of ribs, wherever they are cooked.
Lea Ann Brown says
February 26, 2017 at 8:11 amYou got that right.
John/Kitchen Riffs says
February 22, 2017 at 8:47 amI love oven ribs! Not quite as good as slow-cooked over live fire, but really close. Lately I’ve been rubbing my oven BBQ with some liquid smoke (a teaspoon or two) before applying a rub — gives it just a bit of extra flavor. Anyway, really nice — thanks.
Lea Ann Brown says
February 26, 2017 at 8:11 amI love liquid smoke and use it often. I should have added a drop to this sauce.
Vickie says
February 23, 2017 at 9:27 amI’m going to save this as Lea Ann’s Ruckus Free Ribs. ?
Lea Ann Brown says
February 26, 2017 at 8:10 amruckus free is a good thing some times. 🙂
Kathryn @ anotherfoodieblogger says
February 23, 2017 at 3:25 pmYah baby, bring these on! Yum!
Lea Ann Brown says
February 26, 2017 at 8:09 am🙂
Karen (Back Road Journal) says
February 24, 2017 at 9:42 amThe ribs certainly do look good. Even though I grill often, there are times I would much rather use an oven for ribs. I can’t wait to give these a try.
Lea Ann Brown says
February 26, 2017 at 8:09 amThanks Karen. We really liked this oven version.
Abbe@This is How I Cook says
February 24, 2017 at 3:18 pmThese ribs sound fab! Just the thing for when it’s cold outside and you can’t grill. And yes, I would love to have lunch. Tell me when. And last but not least…can’t wait to hear about your next adventure. Congrats on retirement!
Lea Ann Brown says
February 26, 2017 at 8:09 amI’ll email you about a date – maybe next week.
Debra Eliotseats says
February 25, 2017 at 7:31 amThe Hubs is the rib cooker here and he will only do it in our ceramic smoker. I think I could fool him with these.
Lea Ann Brown says
February 26, 2017 at 8:08 amI’d love to have one of those ceramic smokers.
Adam J. Holland says
February 25, 2017 at 6:21 pmLow and slow is always the ticket. As much as I pride myself on being an outdoor cooking guy with a custom pit, truth is, the oven works fine and dandy. Excellent stuff!
Lea Ann Brown says
February 26, 2017 at 8:07 amSeemed to work fine and dandy for this recipe. Still wishing for grilling season however. 🙂
gerlinde @ Sunnycovechef says
February 27, 2017 at 10:51 amMy husband thinks he is the Grillmeister when it comes to barbecuing ribs. I love ribs and your recipe looks great. I have to try it.
Susan says
February 28, 2017 at 10:33 amThere is nothing like a slow-roasted rack of ribs! One of my all-time favorites. Would you believe I’ve never tried spare ribs? I always make baby back ribs but I’m sure ruckus free would work for those as well. They look delish! Congratulations on your retirement!!!
Ann --The Fountain Avenue Kitchen says
March 1, 2017 at 9:19 amI love the use of fajita seasoning!
Doreen Simpson says
March 1, 2017 at 9:28 amCan’t wait for my next BBQ. They look tremendous ♥
Lynn Elliott Vining says
March 1, 2017 at 11:45 amThose ribs look delicious!!!
Kiki says
March 1, 2017 at 11:57 amI love classic grill/BBQ recipes that you can turn into an oven version. Living in an apartment I can’t have a BBQ, so discovering recipes like this makes me happy 🙂 . Bookmarked it and will hopefully soon have guests to try this out on.
Mary Marshall says
March 2, 2017 at 7:36 amLove the rub/sauce recipe! They look and sound so delicious, and low and slow is the way to go!
ally says
March 2, 2017 at 12:05 pmLove that this recipe loads up on paprika! Perfect! Thanks, luv!
Marc says
March 3, 2017 at 2:10 pmThese look incredible! I know what we are having this weekend.
Abbe@This is How I Cook says
March 4, 2017 at 9:35 amWhoa baby! These look amazing! And I love the sauce! Count me in!