| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 4 hr 35 min |
| Prep: | 1 hr 10 min |
| Cook: | 3 hr 25 min |
| Yield: | 2 slabs ribs |
Ingredients
- 2 whole slabs pork baby back ribs
- 8 tablespoons light brown sugar, tightly packed
- 3 tablespoons kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon jalapeno seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon rubbed thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 cup white wine
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
- In a bowl, combine all dry ingredients and mix well. Place each slab of baby back ribs on a piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil, shiny side down. Sprinkle each side generously with the dry rub. Pat the dry rub into the meat. Refrigerate the ribs for a minimum of 1 hour. In a microwavable container, combine all ingredients for the braising liquid. Microwave on high for 1 minute.
- Place the ribs on a baking sheet. Open one end of the foil on each slab and pour half of the braising liquid into each foil packet. Tilt the baking sheet in order to equally distribute the braising liquid. Braise the ribs in the oven for 2 1/2 hours.
- Transfer the braising liquid into a medium saucepot. Bring the liquid to a simmer and reduce by half or until of a thick syrup consistency. Brush the glaze onto the ribs. Place under the broiler just until the glaze caramelizes lightly. Slice each slab into 2 rib bone portions. Place the remaining hot glaze into a bowl and toss the rib portions in the glaze.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 18 servings |
| Calories | 308 |
| Total Fat | 20 g |
| Saturated Fat | 7 g |
| Carbohydrates | 8 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 0 g |
| Sugar | 7 g |
| Protein | 23 g |
| Cholesterol | 82 mg |
| Sodium | 335 mg |
Reviews
These are the best ribs I’ve ever eaten. I’m not a griller so using the oven is bonus.
I have the rub on the ribs and they are in the frig. My question is – on the video Alton says to braise at 225 degrees, the written recipe says 250 degrees. What should the oven temp be?
My go to recipe for ribs although I don’t follow the rub recipe exactly as I have my own flavor profile I enjoy. The issue I keep reading about the sauce reduction is that in order to get it correct it takes at least an hour until you’re able to get that moisture out and start to see the big bubbles in the simmer. That alone, however, I found to be too salty and rich so I recommend having some ketchup and apple cider vinegar on hand to cut the reduction of its potency. Great ribs every time though.
I made this last night and followed the recipe closely – and like others I could not get the liquid to thicken. I watched the video again and maybe the problem lies in either the volume of liquid or the lack of collagen in it. We bought our ribs from Costco, pretrimmed, and had three racks. I doubled the rub and braising liquid amounts to be sure there was enough for the third rack. I only used about half the rub, but I used all the liquid. I added a little time to the braising. The liquid I poured out was about two or more cups. I reduced it by half, but it just never thickened. I think that was my problem – too much liquid. Thanks to comments from others who had this problem, I had a stand-by bottle of store bought BBQ sauce. Our ribs were tender and juicy and tasty anyway, but I would have preferred home made sauce.
I LOVE ribs. However, my husband doesn’t smoke meat ever. So, I found this recipe and have made them a handful of times. They are wonderful every single time.
My mom came home with pork ribs for the fourth, but they never made it to the barbecue. So, having NO experience with rib-cooking, I thought, “I will look up to see if Alton Brown has a recipe for pork ribs. His recipes are always awesome.” So, here we are. The ribs were so good my mom went out with her friends and declared, “Those were the best ribs I’ve ever had!”
When she shared what she told them with me, I said, “Yep! Alton Brown makes awesome recipes!!! He can make anyone who can follow instructions look like a fantastic cook!”
When she shared what she told them with me, I said, “Yep! Alton Brown makes awesome recipes!!! He can make anyone who can follow instructions look like a fantastic cook!”
Thank you!!! We will certainly have “Who Loves Ya Baby-Back” ribs again.
We ran out of time trying to thicken the braising liquid (we did remove the fat) so we just slapped on our favourite BBQ sauce. The ribs were absolutely phenomenal even though we broke the rules at the end.
I did make this recipe, in fact I have made it a lot of times (2 dozen plus) so you can probably tell I like it. Recently, I misplaced my printed copy (I have found it since) so I went to the website only to find the recipe has been changed! What gives Alton?
My older version calls for margarita mix and orange juice as the braising liquid…Now it’s wine, vinegar and Worcestershire? Looks like you have tried to combine the braising liquid and the homemade barbecue sauce from the original recipe. Based on the comments I’ve seen, I guess it wasn’t too successful. I honestly have not tried this version and will stick to the original since it makes the best ribs I’ve ever had. I was skeptical (at first) about making the barbecue sauce, but it turns out fantastic. Not too vinegary at all, a sweeter sauce that I like which comes from the brown sugar added. I usually make the three racks of St Louie ribs they sell at Costco. I increase the ingredients proportionally and end up with a lot more sauce that way (and leftovers!). Incidentally, the date of the original recipe on my copy is 2009 (copy righted 2015). My 5 star rating is based on the original version…
My older version calls for margarita mix and orange juice as the braising liquid…Now it’s wine, vinegar and Worcestershire? Looks like you have tried to combine the braising liquid and the homemade barbecue sauce from the original recipe. Based on the comments I’ve seen, I guess it wasn’t too successful. I honestly have not tried this version and will stick to the original since it makes the best ribs I’ve ever had. I was skeptical (at first) about making the barbecue sauce, but it turns out fantastic. Not too vinegary at all, a sweeter sauce that I like which comes from the brown sugar added. I usually make the three racks of St Louie ribs they sell at Costco. I increase the ingredients proportionally and end up with a lot more sauce that way (and leftovers!). Incidentally, the date of the original recipe on my copy is 2009 (copy righted 2015). My 5 star rating is based on the original version…
This is hands down the best rib recipe! I’ve been making it for years and when someone new tries it they always seem reluctant because the ribs aren’t smoked for hours and hours. However, when they taste them, they love them. Thank you, Alton!!
Have been making this recipe for more than 20 years, Wonderful in oven or on the grill. So good.