Are you looking for a quick and easy oven baked BBQ spare ribs recipe? Napkins at the ready! These tender and fall-off-the-bone BBQ spare ribs are marinated overnight and ready in just about one hour. And all you need for the marinade can be found in your kitchen.
Spare ribs are just one of those dishes that are fun to eat. You know, with your hands. Yes! I can’t imagine eating ribs, chicken wings or pizza with fork and knife. What kind of fun is that? Wink. So, grab a pile of napkins and get dirty.
Marinating the spare ribs overnight or up to 3-4 days makes them a perfect make-ahead dish for a get-together or a simply amazing meal for two. Furthermore, the trick of how to get tender ribs is to remove the silver membrane covering the back of the ribs. Make a cut and pull it off (if it hasn’t been already done).
Besides removing the membrane, marinating them and baking them at a low temperature for about one hour, will make them slide off the bones. Wink.
Marinate, bake slow and low
So, remember, peel the membrane, marinate them and bake slow and low. Also, the cooking times vary, depending on the size of the ribs. The bigger and meatier the longer the cooking time. Wink.
These are the best ribs ever! They are sticky, moist and crazy tender. BBQ sauce is just perfect for meat or fish dishes (by the way, check out this bbq salmon). It adds that sticky, sweet, spicy, smoky layer which brings the spare ribs to another level.
I love sticky BBQ sauce. Do you buy it or do you make your own? I like the BBQ sauce from the supermarket. However, instead of a store-bought bottle, try to make it yourself. It’s easy and quick. Also, a homemade BBQ sauce tastes delicious, sweet and it has a personal touch.
Now, maybe you are used to the grilled spare ribs. But, have you ever made them in the oven? Baking them in the oven is super easy and you barely need to “move your finger”. Wink. In fact, all you need to do is put together the sauce, rub it on the ribs, marinate and bake. The rest of the time you can use to relax.
Ingredients for BBQ spare ribs (for 2 people):
- ca 1000 g spare ribs
- salt and pepper
- thyme
- 2 handfuls of lamb lettuce
- 2 Tbsp of sweet corn
For the BBQ sauce:
- 1 Tbsp of olive oil
- 1 Tbsp of apple vinegar
- 3 Tbsp of honey
- 1 tsp of chili flakes
- 2 tsp of smoked paprika powder
- half a tsp of soy sauce
- 1 tsp of mustard
- 3 Tbsp of ketchup
- 1 orange (juice and zest)
- 1 Tbsp of brown sugar
To begin, I suggest preparing the marinade a day ahead and marinating overnight.
Prepare the BBQ sauce (or use a store-bought one and skip this step). In a medium pot, combine all of the ingredients and cook on medium heat until thickened. Then let it cool down.
Meanwhile, remove the tough membrane or silver skin covering the bony side of the ribs. Simply make a cut on one edge and then peel it off. Rub the spare ribs with salt and pepper on both sides and place them on a baking tray or a glass dish covered with parchment paper. Wrap with cling foil and place in the fridge until the BBQ sauce is chilled.
Then, take the ribs out of the fridge, remove the foil and use half of the BBQ sauce to marinate the ribs. Spread one spoon of the marinade on the bony side and the rest on the meaty side. Try to spread it evenly to completely cover all of the pieces. Place the spare ribs (meat side up) back in the baking tray, cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.
On the next day bake the marinated spare ribs
On the next day, take the ribs out of the fridge an hour prior to cooking. Preheat the oven to 250º C. Then, remove the foil, place the ribs (meat side down) in the baking tray and put in the oven for about 15 minutes (on the top rack).
Furthermore, flip the ribs around, place the tray on the middle rack, reduce the temperature to 170º C and bake for 1 hour covered with alu foil. At half time, take the ribs out of the oven, generously spread the rest of the BBQ sauce on top of them and add the thyme. Put back in the oven, without the foil, and bake until tender. Keep checking on them from time to time. If you suspect they will get dry, place a piece of alu foil on top.
Minutes before the BBQ spare ribs are ready, wash and drain the lamb lettuce. Combine it with the sweet corn in a small bowl, add the apple vinegar and olive oil and toss.
Finally, put the salad on the serving plate, take the ribs out of the oven and carefully cut them into single pieces. Arrange the BBQ spare ribs on the lamb lettuce and serve while still hot and sticky. And, of course, eat them with your hands.
Enjoy!
