Fall Off The Bone BBQ Ribs
These Fall Off The Bone BBQ Ribs are the best! Marinated in a dry rub for hours and baked in the oven on low. Smothered in BBQ sauce and grilled on the BBQ to finish. These ribs are so tender that they melt in your mouth on the first bite!
Save This Recipe!
Enter your email below and get it sent straight to your inbox. Plus, you get more tasty recipes every week!
My dad was such a huge rib fan, you would have thought him a rib fest judge. Having heard feedback on any and every rib he tasted since childhood, I am fairly certain I learned what makes a great rib better than a good rib recipe.
Fast forward many years, and wouldn’t you know it, I married a rib fanatic just like my dad! Lou, my husband, is also a huge BBQ Chicken fan. Pretty much anything BBQ is my husband’s territory, and he takes charge of this recipe every time. Pair these ribs with some Edamame and Corn Succotash or a Loaded Potato Salad, and you have the meal of champions!
All of this rib research and critiques have come to now, where I am pleased to share with you the only and best baby back rib recipe you will ever need!
Star Ingredients
- Baby Back Ribs – You can technically make these with any rib, but I find that the only type that gets truly fall-off-the-bone tender are baby back ribs. So much so that I think baby back ribs are mandatory for this rib recipe.
- Sauce – I used to swear by Sweet Baby Rays for this recipe, but I have started using homemade BBQ sauce like my tangy Memphis BBQ Sauce and prefer it hands down! If the sauce isn’t right, then really, what is the point of ribs at all, in my opinion?
What Ribs Are Best?
I have tried this recipe with other types of pork ribs, but baby back ribs are an absolute must. Look for ribs that are meaty and not too fatty.
I like to cut the racks in half for three reasons:
- They are easier to handle on the BBQ
- Half racks are easier to serve and portion out
- Smaller pieces fit better in a large foil tray and don’t hang over the edges so you can cover them properly with aluminum foil later
Step-By-Step Made Simple
- Start by making the BBQ ribs dry rub. Add the sugar, salt, black pepper, paprika, garlic powder and cayenne to a medium-sized bowl and use a spoon to stir it up to combine.
- Once you have the spices all blended up, use your hands to gently massage the dry rub all over the front and back of each piece of rib.
- Cover the ribs with foil tightly and marinate the ribs overnight in the dry rub or for at least 4 hours in the fridge. I like to do this the night before and let them sit overnight so they are ready to put in the oven early afternoon.
- If you are having them for dinner, I recommend getting them in the oven for about noon or 1 o’clock at the latest. Preheat the oven to 275°F and keep covered with foil.
- Once the oven is heated, place the ribs in the oven and slow cook the ribs on low heat for 4 hours or until the ribs are fall off the bone tender.
- When they are done baking in the oven, remove the ribs and then place them on a barbecue grill that has been preheated to medium heat. If you don’t want to grill them, you can continue to bake them in the oven.
- Now is the time to add the sauce! Whether grilling or continuing to bake, slather the entire rib. Top, bottom and sides with sauce.
I like to put the barbecue sauce in a bowl and use a basting brush to coat the ribs in the sauce. You need to move fast because barbecue sauce has quite a bit of sugar. If you take too long, the sauce will burn or char before you have finished basting the other ribs.
- As soon as you have basted one side, flip them over and baste the other side with the remaining barbecue sauce. The goal isn’t to cook the ribs because that was taken care of in the oven. At this point, you only want to heat up the ribs and caramelize the barbecue sauce a bit before serving. If you are grilling, turn the oven to broil and let it broil for 5 minutes on one side and then flip and broil 5 minutes on the other side to char the sauce a little and make sure the sauce is heated before serving.
How to know when ribs are done cooking?
Ribs are technically ok to eat at an internal temperature of 145°F; however, to get that fall-off-the-bone goodness, you need to get them to about 165°F at least.
I find the best way to test to know when they are done is to carefully use tongs to try and pull a rib away from the rack. If it tears away easily, that is a sign they are ready to go to the BBQ and get sauced!
Leftovers? No Problem
If you have leftovers, you can put them back in the foil tray you used to bake them in and then cover them tightly with foil. Store in the fridge for up to 3 days and reheat in the microwave or the oven.
To freeze, wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and then a tight layer of foil. Thaw them in the fridge overnight and reheat them in the oven.
I don’t recommend reheating them back on the grill if they are already sauced because the sugar in the barbecue sauce may cause them to char.
Fall Off The Bone BBQ Ribs
Equipment
- Large Foil Oven Safe Tray
Ingredients
- 4 racks baby back ribs
- 1 ½ cups white sugar
- ¼ cup salt
- 2 ½ tbsp ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp cayenne pepper
- 2 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 ½ cup BBQ Sauce
Instructions
- Clean ribs, trim any excess fat and remove membrane from back of ribs.
- In a medium bowl combine sugar, salt, ground pepper, paprika, cayenne pepper and garlic powder. Mix well.
- Coat each rack of rib top and bottom with dry rub mixture massaging in so it is evenly and well coated. Stack in a large foil roasting pan and cover with foil to let sit in fridge for at least 8 hours.
- Preheat oven to 275°F and bake covered with foil for 3-4 hours or until ribs are tender and start to fall apart when prodded with a fork. Depending on the cut of the ribs it may take a little longer to get to this level of tenderness.
- When tender remove from oven. Preheat BBQ to medium heat.
- BBQ ribs a few minutes each side basting with Sweet Baby Ray’s Barbecue Sauce or your sauce of choice. Be careful not to let them sit for long because the sugar in the sauce may burn.
- Remove from barbecue and serve immediately.
Video
Nutrition
Notes
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Made these for a potluck. They were devoured within 20 minutes of being set on the table. Juicy, fall off the bone, and the best ribs I’ve ever made! Thank you!
First time making baby back ribs EVER… and these were a HUGE hit from our BBQ party yesterday. Guests wouldn’t stop raving about them! Just wanted to come on here and say thank you so much!! Too good for gate-keeping, I want everyone making these all summer long!!
OMG! From the first time I made these we were hooked! Can’t get over how wonderfully delicious these ribs are. I make them now as often as possible. They are so delicious I’m sure it something we will not get tired of. And I never have to worry about leftovers. Thanks for sharing.
I have made these three times now, and love how easy it is plus the spiciness. I have used brown sugar, and half and half; and this last time, I minced a generous tablespoon of fresh garlic and used that in place of the powder. I also highly recommend using the juice from cooking to coat sweet potato spears and roast those at 425 until tender (about 15 – 25 minutes depending on your oven and how thick you cut them).
The sweet potato spears idea is genius. I will have to give that a try next time!
These were very tender and delicious! Great recipe, thanks!
My pleasure Becky. Thrilled you enjoyed them!
These were the saltiest ribs I’ve ever made i had to throw $30 in the trash.
Hi Kodi, There are 47 reviews with close to 5 stars for all and this has been my most popular recipe on the blog since pretty much day one so I wonder if perhaps you did not measure correctly or perhaps you like less salt than most. Either way, this recipe can be easily adjusted. I would recommend cutting the salt in half. You still need salt to season but less won’t affect the texture or overall recipe if you prefer less. I do hope you give them another try.
Made this on Memorial Day, HUGE hit with everyone! Even my mother who hates anything with spice (aka flavor) enjoyed them and had seconds. So glad I found this recipe and it lived up to the description. Try it, you won’t regret it!
Next time I would love a plate Karen
We just finished eating our first batch of these incredible lip-smacking ribs, all we can say is (burp!) WOW!!
I am not an “easy sell” when it comes to baby back rib recipes, but that glorious photo caught my eye, and now I’m a believer!
These are everything you could ever want in a rib, easy, full of flavor, succulent and Fallin’ off the bone❤️
Rub is perfect, although I did cut back a wee bit on the cayenne pepper. This is now are go to recipe, wish I’d had this recipe years ago
Thanks for leaving such a fabulous review, Tracie. I am thrilled you love this recipe as much as I do!
This is my 2nd time making these FABULOUS RIBS! Having “Christmas in March” with the family. Perfect meal for togetherness!
At 4500 ft elevation, I bake for 45 more min overall.
That’s great to know Steph. I never considered elevation but I am glad you were able to adjust and loved the recipe!
This was simply amazing! Lip smacking!!! Thank you for sharing
So glad you loved them Al!
Made this yesterday (6/26/2021) for a large group of friends. The ribs were fall off the bone fantastic and everyone absolutely loved them! The look on each of my friends’ faces as they had their first few bites was priceless. BTW I used Sweet Baby Ray’s Honey BBQ sauce which was a perfect compliment for your marinade. Thanks so much for posting your recipe.
Yay! I love hearing this and love the reactions when my friends try them for the first time too!
I made these yesterday for Father’s Day and they were a HUGE hit!! They just fell off the bone and had excellent flavor! So glad I found your recipe!
I love hearing this and so glad my recipe was such a huge Father’s Day hit!
This is my very first time making ribs! They’ve been in the oven for 3 hours and my house smells sooo good! I can’t for dinner tonight! Thanks for the easy to follow recipe!
They do smell good all day baking don’t they! I would love to know how they turned out!
Thank you for sharing this recipe. First time cooking beef ribs and they were tender, full of flavor and delicious!!
Excellent! So happy to hear they turned out for you!
Can I substitute white sugar with brown sugar or does it HAVE to be white
Hi Vuc, Someone recently wrote me that they used brown sugar instead of white and they tasted great.
Can I use brown sugar instead of white sugar? This recipe looks wonderful!
Hi Linda, I have never tried it before in this recipe but I do not think it will be a problem in this case. Please let me know though if you do make the swap how it turns out. Enjoy!
I thought it tasted great! I don’t know how your original tastes, but it has to be similar. At any rate, it definitely tasted good to us!
So great to hear Linda!
These are so delicious! My family loved this recipe!
I am so happy to hear they were a hit Beth!