Anne's Baked BBQ Baby Back Ribs (2012 - Week 5)

2012 Week 5 Mystery Ingredient: Liquid Smoke


I was reading a book called Cooking for Geeks and it mentioned Liquid Smoke, so I wanted to give it a try.  Since it serendipitously fell on the week of the Super Bowl, I thought Baby Back Ribs would make an good football game type of food.  We don't own an outdoor grill yet, so I made an oven-baked version and made my own little BBQ sauce recipe using the Liquid Smoke and other ingredients I already had in my pantry.  I don't know if the Liquid Smoke really added anything, but the ribs and my sauce sure were finger-licking good!

Anne's Baked BBQ Baby Back Ribs

Serves: ~6 

Ingredients:
2 racks of baby-back pork ribs 

Dry Rub:
8 TBSP light brown sugar
3 TBSP kosher salt
1 TBSP chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon onion powder

BBQ Sauce:
1/2 large yellow onion, minced
1/2 TBSP minced garlic
1/4 cup water
1 cup ketchup
5 TBSP molasses
2 TBSP Dijon mustard
2 TBSP cider vinegar
2 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
1 TBSP whiskey
1 TBSP honey
1&1/2 teaspoons liquid smoke flavoring
1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper


Directions:
 Preheat oven to 300ºF.  In a bowl, combine all the dry ingredients and mix well.  Place each slab of baby back ribs on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil, shiny side down.  






Sprinkle each side generously with the dry rub and pat the rub into the meat.  Let it sit for 30 minutes at room temperature.  Put another piece of foil over the ribs (meat side up) and bake for 30 minutes to start.


In a medium saucepan, combine all the BBQ sauce ingredients.  Bring to a slow boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 35-45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens a bit.  Pour through a mesh strainer into a bowl to remove the onion and garlic pieces.  Let sauce cool to room temperature.


Remove the ribs from oven and brush about 1/4 cup of  sauce over the tops of each rack.  Put foil back over the top and continue to bake another 30 minutes.   Every 30 minutes, remove ribs and brush sauce over each rack.  Repeat until ribs have been cooking 2&1/2 hours total.  


After the last glaze, turn up the heat to 350º and bake for 15-20 minutes without foil.  Cut the ribs in 1/2 or 1/3's and serve with any leftover sauce if desired.