Oven-baked ribs and barbeque sauce

on Jul 31st, 2008Oven-baked ribs and barbeque sauce

Oven baked boneless ribs with barbeque sauce from scratch - healthier than anything in a bottle.

Most people enjoy barbecued ribs but there are potential deterrents: not everyone can cook outdoors and ribs can become a project, what with starting them indoors in the oven or a pressure cooker and moving them outdoors to the grill. Marinate them before cooking and we’re looking at a meal that makes us wait most of a day. Weather permitting.

No thanks. I’d rather have the meal wait for me, especially during our busy and too-short summer. I have several versions of sauce and oven ribs, all from my no-grilling days in New York. This is my favorite, though, and not just because it’s the simplest with the fewest ingredients. It’s also the tastiest, not cloyingly sweet, and that’s how I prefer barbeque sauce.

It’s also a favorite because it’s not fussy and is flexible enough to wait for me. If I’m not ready when the stated cooking time is up, I just turn down the oven by 25 or 50 degrees and leave it alone. If I’m facing a hectic day I can put it in the slow cooker and forego the basting or just assemble it to the point of going into the oven and park it in the fridge to marinate while it waits.

I also appreciate the fact that by doing it all in the oven, I can line a pan with wide foil and eliminate cleanup. And the weather is no longer a factor. Ribs during a day-long downpour? Why not?

Ella’s Oven-baked Ribs and Barbecue Sauce

4 pounds of ribs, bone-in or boneless
coarse salt
freshly-ground pepper
1 medium or large onion, diced, or to taste

Barbeque Sauce
3/4 cup/12 TB water
3/4 cup/12 TB ketchup
2 TB cider vinegar
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 - 2 tsp chili powder, to taste

Set a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350F/180C/Gas 4.

Place the ribs in a baking pan, lined with foil if you wish, and sprinkle on the salt and pepper. Scatter diced onion in the pan and onto the ribs.

Mix together all the sauce ingredients and pour over the ribs, reserving about 1/4 for basting. Cover the pan — if using foil just bring it up and pinch together – and bake for 90 minutes, basting every 20 - 30 minutes.

After 90 minutes, uncover the ribs and pour or brush on any remaining sauce and bake uncovered for another 20 - 30 minutes.

Eat with fingers!

Ella’s notes: I like bone-in country-style ribs for the extra flavor from the bones but I also use boneless. With food prices what they are, I’ll let a sale dictate my choice. If you use this sauce outdoors, it won’t blacken as quickly as a sauce with added sugar.