It’s grilling season, right? At least in most places in North America, it’s grilling season. My husband is usually the grill master, but once in a while I hitch up my britches and wrangle The Beast. We keep it leashed outside on the patio– otherwise known as “the cement next to the house”. Not to be confused with the large cement rectangle located farther from the house that some people would call a “sports court”, but which we often call “the big cement pad out back”. In all honesty, I think that The Beast ought to be out there rather so close to the house; gas grills make me nervous.
Soooooo, what if you don’t have a grill? Or what if it is actually the middle of winter where you live and you want some barbecue and your grill is under a foot or more of snow? Or what if it’s 100 degrees outside, the sun is beating down on you, there’s no breeze at all, and the idea of firing up the grill seems ridiculously inhumane? Or what if you don’t trust your grill skills?
Silly you. Cook the ribs in the oven. Relax, put your feet up, take a nap, or watch Jeremy Wade’s River Monsters.
Periodically, winter or summer, we get hungry for barbecued ribs at my house. Sometimes it works out that we can cook them outside on the grill and sometimes we cook them inside in the oven. It all depends on planetary alignment and phases of the moon and other stuff that has absolutely nothing to do with cosmic phenomena.
Personally, I find cooking outside in 100 degree heat, with nothing for shade, quite unappealing (my all time most favorite shade tree died and we don’t have an awning). I just can’t bring myself to do it. On the other hand, I will cheerfully pop some ribs in the oven, especially with some great smoky seasonings on them.
Father’s Day warranted me wrangling ribs on the grill. I totally rocked it, by the way. Nyuck, nyuck, nyuuuuck. I even put together a wonderful smoky rub, which has turned out to be a definite keeper.
Many years ago a man who was standing near me at the meat counter took it upon himself to give me some very helpful instructions about cooking ribs on the barbecue. He said to start them in the oven, cook them on low heat until “they are about 80% done”, and then finish them off on the grill. He said that the same thing goes for chicken. My husband and I have dutifully followed his advice through the years, although I have to admit that the “80% done” instructions were a bit ambiguous. Of course, if you are not going to be using the grill, then cook the meat “all the way” in the oven. 
For best flavor, I highly recommend that the ribs spend the night in the fridge bathed in this rub. When ready to cook, sprinkle the ribs with more of the rub. “Low and slow” is a phrase that is often used with smoking or grilling, and I have found that it is very sound advice for successful oven preparation of pork ribs. The meat turns out succulent and tender.
Recipe by Terri @ that's some good cookin'
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons white granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon ancho chile powder
- 2 teaspoons granulated onion
- 2 teaspoons granulated garlic
- 1 teaspoon chipotle chile powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
- up to 5 pounds pork ribs
Instructions
- Mix all of the ingredients together (except the ribs) until well blended. The brown sugar has a tendency to clump. Break up clumps by rubbing them between your fingers or break them up by pressing them with the back of a spoon against the side of the bowl.
- Sprinkle the ribs generously with the rub. Press the rub firmly into the meat. Cover ribs with plastic wrap or put them in a large plastic bag, press out the air, and tie closed. Place in refrigerator overnight or for at least 8 hours.
- Cover the remaining rub in an airtight container or seal in a plastic bag. (I store mine in a jar.)
- Remove ribs from refrigerator about 30 minutes before cooking and allow to come to room temperature.
- Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.
- Line baking pan(s) with foil. Set aside. Unwrap ribs, place bone side down on baking pans and again sprinkle generously with rub.
- Bake, uncovered, for 1 1/2 hours. If using more than one pan, rotate pan positions after the first hour of cooking.
- If using barbecue sauce, apply it at this time. Finish the ribs off by cooking them under the broiler just until some of the rub (or sauce, if using) begins to caramelize.
- Remove from oven and allow to sit for about 5-10 minutes before cutting into individual ribs portions.
- Bake uncovered for 1 1/2 hours, rotating pans half way through the baking process if using more than one pan of ribs.
- Remove from oven. Heat outdoor grill to hot.
- If using barbecue sauce, apply it before grilling. Place ribs on grill, cook 5-7 minutes on each side; just enough to get a bit of caramelization in a few spots.
- Remove ribs from grill and allow to sit for 5-10 minutes prior to cutting into portion sizes.
- Store any leftover rub in an airtight container.
Notes
For best flavor development, it is important to season the ribs and allow them sit, covered, in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours prior to baking. If your oven has a convection feature, convect bake at 250 degrees F for 1 1/2 hours. If using a barbecue sauce with the dry rub, add the sauce prior to putting the ribs under the broiler or placing them on the grill.
Sprinkle the rub generously all over the ribs on both sides. Press the rub into the meat. It doesn’t require much pressure; just a simple “pat”.
Wrap the ribs in plastic wrap or store in a large plastic bags. I use long bread bags that I purchase at a local store. They are great for storing more than just homemade bread, although they are a perfect size for homemade bread such as French Bread or 100% Whole Wheat Bread. Store the ribs in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours. If you are in a hurry, I suppose that you could get by with only letting the ribs sit for an hour, but I really must tell you that they are infinitely better when allowed to hang out with the rub for the recommended amount of time.
The next day, take the ribs out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes before cooking time so that the meat can come to room temperature. Leave the ribs wrapped during this time. When ready to cook, put the ribs on a foiled lined shallow baking pan. Sprinkle generously with more rub on both sides of the ribs. No need to rub or press.
After baking and a quick visit to the grill (or a few sizzling moments under the broiler) the ribs will be all tantalizingly beautiful. Let them them rest for 5-10 minutes so that the juices can redistribute. Slice into individual ribs for serving. Ring the dinner bell and get out of the way.
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Proof the yeast in the warm water with a pinch of sugar. I nearly always do this, even if I am using an instant yeast. There have been too many times when I have had yeast that did not activate in dough. So, I want to make sure that I get the yeast going before I add it to all of the other ingredients.
Add the pineapple juice. I used a brand of pineapple juice that comes in a jar. I like the flavor better than pineapple from a can…no metallic “can” taste in it.
This is the coconut oil. It is typically a soft solid at temperatures below 76 degrees F. I slightly liquified it in the microwave for about 15 seconds on high. There are a mixture of solids and liquids at this point. Perfect.
Add the honey. I used honey from a local farm. This is really good stuff. Utah bees definitely know their business.
Now for the chicken ovum. Two of them. Yay for chickens!
The yeast did it’s thing, rose and got all foamy. You can see the foam lingering behind the liquid.
Make sure you get the foam added to the bowl as well. No yeast left behind.
Add the salt. I used sea salt…paradise…sea salt…the sea…a quiet Caribbean beach…sigh.
Add four cups of flour…or was it three? Whatever I said in the directions…add that much flour.
Now plop in the ginger. It’s good.
With the paddle attachment(s) for your style of mixer, get things all mixed up. Knead for about 5 minutes. Look how this dough is coming together already. I’m telling you, this is truly the best bread or roll dough with which I have ever worked. It must be the coconut oil!
Switch to the dough hook. Time for some more flour. Add about 1 cup.
Turn on the mixer and start kneading the dough.
With the mixer running, continue adding flour, sprinkling it in 1/2 cup at a time, just until the dough comes together and leaves the side of the bowl. Once this happens, STOP adding flour!
See how the dough is not sticking to the sides of the bowl? It’s okay to have small a bit of dough that doesn’t join the party. There are always wall clingers at every party. You can scoop them off the sides at the end of the kneading. Knead the dough in the bowl for 7 minutes until….
You get a masterpiece that looks like dough satin—-or silk—-or satiny silky perfection. I LOVE this dough! It is amazing to handle it. This picture is with with the machine turned off, by the way. See how the dough sheets? And look at those bubbles just beneath the dough surface!
Gather the dough into a ball. Place it in an oiled or greased bowl and turn the dough over once. The dough will have collected some of the oil off of the bowl and will have a lightly oiled surface. This helps to keep the dough from drying out while it rises.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put it in a warm place to rise. I like to turn on my oven for a minute or two, just until the temperature is about 100 degrees F, then turn it back off and leave the oven light turned on. I then put the bowl of dough in the warm oven to rise. Leaving the oven light on helps to keep the oven warm. Allow the dough to rise until it is double in bulk.
This rose a good deal more than double. Try not to let this happen because the yeast can become exhausted (all used up) and not rise well when formed into rolls. However, the brand of yeast that I use (SAF instant yeast) is an excellent yeast and had plenty of umpf left to raise the rolls. Whew!
This is another shot of the dough after I removed the plastic wrap. Generally speaking, when I remove the plastic wrap off of other doughs they will start to collapse. Not this dough. It hung out all happy and glorious.
Punch the dough down. Usually a good punch will instantly deflate the dough; not with this dough. I punched it and it just sat there with my fist in the middle of it and its sides still all puffy and proud, sort of like it was laughing at me like a jolly Buddha.
I kept working the dough, punching and squeezing until I finally got it somewhat deflated. I finally resorted to gathering it into a ball (sort of) and tossing it against the counter a few times and then kneading it. _I felt guilty at having to work this joyful dough so hard. Honestly, I have never worked with such a resilient dough. What a good self image this stuff had._ Gather the dough back into a ball, cover it, and allow it to rest for 5-10 minutes. You might need to take a rest, too.
Once both you and the dough have rested for a few minutes, melt some butter (1 stick) and place in a bowl near your work area.
Working with half of the dough at a time, divide each half into 20 equal-sized pieces. _I have just enough OCD left over from my early youth to have used my kitchen scale for weighing each roll so that I was sure to get them equally sized. If you are a free spirit who doesn’t need to weigh and measure, congratulations. Live long and prosper._ Form each piece of dough into a ball, dip in the melted butter, and place in the prepared pan. For some tutorial pics on forming this type of roll, see 
Aaaaaaand another shot of these exciting rolls before rising and baking.
Cover the rolls loosely with plastic wrap. Return them to a warm place to rise until almost double in bulk. If you choose to put them in a softly warmed oven, be sure to remove them from the oven and remove the plastic wrap prior to baking.
Preheat the oven to 350-degree F. Put the rolls in the oven (remember to remove the plastic wrap!!!!) and immediately turn the oven down to 325-degrees F. Bake for about 30 minutes or until golden brown. Take them out of the oven, snap a couple of quick shots of them, and move out of the way or else the track team will run over you trying to get to the rolls. Sure wish I had a smell-a-blog app so that you could be going crazy right now.
