This Simple Oven Trick Makes Perfectly Smoked Ribs Every Time
Smoky Ribs Without Stepping Outside
Introduction
Oven Baby Backs, Finished With a Smoked BBQ Sauce
What's up BBQ fans! Ever had a craving for ribs, but it's been so damn cold outside you just couldn't do it? It was 10°F (about -13°C) with 60 mph winds when I filmed this. In full transparency, I was filming two other cooks outside, but I know not everyone is as crazy as me.
So today, I'm making a rack of ribs with real smoke flavor, all inside, without a smoker. And no, it's not liquid smoke. Let's get into it.
The Ribs
These are Berkshire baby backs. Berkshire pork is more flavorful and more tender, and the fat is ridiculously tender. It's like the Wagyu of pork.
Trim the extra fat. The butcher must have been half asleep on this rack. Outside on a smoker with more moving air, I might leave it to render. In the oven, there's not much airflow, so trim it.
Take off the membrane (this time). I didn't remove it for at least 15 years, and on the smoker I still don't. But in the oven, there isn't enough convection to render it properly, so off it comes. Slide a knife under it in the center, get a finger under there, and pull.
The Rub
I kept it super simple, because I wanted to taste the sauce.
Salt and fresh cracked pepper from the Pepper Cannon (use code: RUMANDCOOK to save 10%) for a coarser grind
A little onion powder and a tiny bit of garlic
No binder. A little water on top goes a long way if you're worried about the rub sticking.
Pro tip: since you're not smoking these, you won't get that reddish color. Add some paprika if you want more color. Even a little cinnamon isn't bad, but use more paprika than cinnamon.
This gets messy, so I wear nitrile gloves (the discount shows at checkout). I use them for everything: cooking, gardening, cleaning the cars and the grills.
The Cook
Treat your oven just like a smoker, with very similar temperatures.
Put the ribs on a rack and squish them together.
275°F for about 3 hours. You could go 225°F and stretch the cook out. I wasn't feeling that.
At 2 hours 40 minutes, the Typhur InstaProbe read about 198°F in the oven and 190°F after they sat on the counter. They were bending and starting to crack, but not quite done, and they didn't have much color yet.
Then 450°F for about 15 minutes to add color and finish them off. They came out nice and tender, exactly what we're looking for.
Where the Smoke Comes From
I tried a sauce I'd ignored for years: Blues Hog Champion Blend. It's in every grocery store and felt too mainstream for me, but I kept reading reviews, so today I fixed that. It's fairly runny and already has a little smoke in it.
To add more, I used my Breville Smoking Gun. Mine is 5 or 6 years old. It has a little hopper, much like a pellet grill, and it burns real wood.
Pour the sauce into a container and cover it tightly with plastic wrap.
Slide the tube under the wrap and run the gun on speed 2 (high) to get it going. It doesn't take much in a small container.
Let it sit until the smoke dissipates, about 15 minutes. For more smoke, fill it again.
Stir the sauce well, since the smoke sits on top.
The same gun works on wings in a bowl before I fry them. I've even made crock-pot pulled pork and smoked it every 15 minutes for about an hour and a half, stirring as I went. I fooled about 20 people who swore it came off a smoker.
Saucing and Finishing
Line the pan with foil. Sauce that drips on a bare pan will burn.
Sauce the bottom, flip them, then sauce the top. This sauce is light and runny, perfect for coating a rack of ribs.
Back in the oven for 2 to 3 minutes only. Don't walk away, or you'll burn the sauce.
Rest them for 15 minutes. Mine went closer to 20.
Quick tip: if you've got a nice butcher block, put a barrier under anything hot straight out of the oven.
Taste Test
Great color, and the sauce really pops. No smoke ring, obviously. But the smoke comes through right away.
They were cooked perfectly: tender with a nice bite-through, not fall-off-the-bone and mushy. The seasoning was basic, and that's all you need on a good piece of pork. Kudos to Blues Hog. I should have tried it sooner, and I'll be playing with it on a full smoke.
Honestly, the meat itself doesn't carry much smoke. Is it the same as a smoker? No. But the smoked sauce scratches the itch and reminds you it's barbecue.
Final Thoughts
If it's the middle of winter and you don't want to go outside, or you don't have a smoker yet, this gets you phenomenal ribs in about 3 hours inside. Keep the rub simple, run the oven like a smoker, and put your smoke in the sauce.
Thanks For Watching
Whether you're a seasoned pitmaster or a novice, these tips will enhance your cooking skills and leave your family and friends raving about your delicious, smoky creations. Don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel for more step-by-step videos, and let's together become the barbecue heroes we were meant to be!
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