Having so many little cooks trying to help means I'm always on the look out for easy to prepare dishes that appeal to everyone's tummies. This recipe for oven-baked ribs happens to be one of them. It's straightforward, doesn't require much preparation or monitoring, and the steps are simple enough for the kids to help (that's them in the photo mixing up the rub for the ribs)! I always get requests for the recipe every time I post a photo of these on Instagram (you can follow our family cooking exploits over @justtey), so I decided I should just write up the recipe here. Our recipe is adapted from this one, and is the main reason why we no longer order baby back ribs when we are dining out (because it's much cheaper to cook your own!).
Ingredients
1 kg of baby back ribs
1/3 cup of brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon of salt
4 cloves of garlic
3/4 cup of BBQ sauce
Method
1. Preheat oven to 160ºC.
2. Mince the garlic. (We usually use the chopper that comes with our hand-held blender, and the kids love blitzing the garlic!)
3. Mix garlic, sugar, and salt together to make the rub. Apply rub on all sides of the ribs.
4. Place ribs, meaty side down, in a cast-iron pot (we use our Le Creuset buffet casserole, but a French oven should work too).
5. Bake with the cover on, for 2 hours and 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and drain the excess liquid. Increase the oven temperature to 180ºC.
6. Brush on the BBQ sauce on top, then flip the ribs and brush the other side.
7. Return the ribs to the oven, and bake uncovered, for another 20-30 minutes, depending on the size of the ribs (just keep one eye out to see that they do not get burnt!).
8. And you are done! Serve with pasta or potatoes (in this case we paired the ribs with hasselback potatoes and steamed veggies), and enjoy!
Some points/tips to note:
1. On buying ribs: It would be best to use baby back ribs for this recipe, as those are more tender. We used a different cut in the pictures, and we find that the meatier and leaner cuts tend to become dry during the cooking process (you can read more about the different cuts here). We purchase our ribs from the wet market, as we find that the pork ribs from the supermarket tend to have a strong smell. I usually ask our butcher to chop the ribs into individual pieces, as I want the flavour of the rub to go in during the cooking process. However, you can also cook the ribs together as one slab, and cut them into individual pieces later, before brushing on the BBQ sauce.
2. On the cooking process: The original recipe required the ribs to be wrapped in aluminium foil, but I was cautioned by some readers about the use of aluminium foil in cooking. Hence, I adapted this recipe to use our Le Creuset buffet casserole instead, and it does a good job sealing in the moisture and flavour during the cooking process. I have yet to try it, but I think a French/Dutch oven would work as well. For those without, you can use a baking tray and cover the top with aluminium foil, however, do note you would probably need to lower the initial baking temperature to 150ºC.
3. On the use of garlic: The original recipe calls for the use of garlic powder, but we've stopped buying garlic powder, as I find it clumps up quickly in storage due to the humidity in SG. I love how freshly minced garlic gives more flavour to the ribs!
4. On brushing the sauce: If your kids are helping out, a basting brush with a longer handle would be preferred, as the ribs are very hot! Brushes with silicone bristles are also better, for the same reason, and our Venus basting brush is perfect for the job. The boys love brushing on the sauce, saying that it is like "painting with BBQ sauce"!
PS: This post is the first in a series of posts written in collaboration with Le Creuset Singapore. We were sponsored products for purpose of these posts, and no monetary compensation was received. Do stay tuned for more easy recipes to try with your kids!
EASY BBQ PORK RIBS
(Serves 4)
1 kg of baby back ribs
1/3 cup of brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon of salt
4 cloves of garlic
3/4 cup of BBQ sauce
Method
1. Preheat oven to 160ºC.
2. Mince the garlic. (We usually use the chopper that comes with our hand-held blender, and the kids love blitzing the garlic!)
3. Mix garlic, sugar, and salt together to make the rub. Apply rub on all sides of the ribs.
4. Place ribs, meaty side down, in a cast-iron pot (we use our Le Creuset buffet casserole, but a French oven should work too).
5. Bake with the cover on, for 2 hours and 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and drain the excess liquid. Increase the oven temperature to 180ºC.
6. Brush on the BBQ sauce on top, then flip the ribs and brush the other side.
7. Return the ribs to the oven, and bake uncovered, for another 20-30 minutes, depending on the size of the ribs (just keep one eye out to see that they do not get burnt!).
8. And you are done! Serve with pasta or potatoes (in this case we paired the ribs with hasselback potatoes and steamed veggies), and enjoy!
 |
| They really love the ribs, and this kid can eat 2 to 3 ribs in one sitting! |
Some points/tips to note:
1. On buying ribs: It would be best to use baby back ribs for this recipe, as those are more tender. We used a different cut in the pictures, and we find that the meatier and leaner cuts tend to become dry during the cooking process (you can read more about the different cuts here). We purchase our ribs from the wet market, as we find that the pork ribs from the supermarket tend to have a strong smell. I usually ask our butcher to chop the ribs into individual pieces, as I want the flavour of the rub to go in during the cooking process. However, you can also cook the ribs together as one slab, and cut them into individual pieces later, before brushing on the BBQ sauce.
2. On the cooking process: The original recipe required the ribs to be wrapped in aluminium foil, but I was cautioned by some readers about the use of aluminium foil in cooking. Hence, I adapted this recipe to use our Le Creuset buffet casserole instead, and it does a good job sealing in the moisture and flavour during the cooking process. I have yet to try it, but I think a French/Dutch oven would work as well. For those without, you can use a baking tray and cover the top with aluminium foil, however, do note you would probably need to lower the initial baking temperature to 150ºC.
3. On the use of garlic: The original recipe calls for the use of garlic powder, but we've stopped buying garlic powder, as I find it clumps up quickly in storage due to the humidity in SG. I love how freshly minced garlic gives more flavour to the ribs!
4. On brushing the sauce: If your kids are helping out, a basting brush with a longer handle would be preferred, as the ribs are very hot! Brushes with silicone bristles are also better, for the same reason, and our Venus basting brush is perfect for the job. The boys love brushing on the sauce, saying that it is like "painting with BBQ sauce"!
PS: This post is the first in a series of posts written in collaboration with Le Creuset Singapore. We were sponsored products for purpose of these posts, and no monetary compensation was received. Do stay tuned for more easy recipes to try with your kids!
Would the dish turn out well if we don't cover with lid? Eg just use le creuset grill skillet in oven.
ReplyDeleteHi Crystal! No, it's essential that you bake the ribs covered for the first part, and then uncovered later. If you don't have a lid, just wrap with aluminium foil, or you might burn the ribs.
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