Baby Back ribs are pretty easy to cook, but what's the easiest way to cook them? Well, after getting a lot of e-mails about ribs it seems there are a lot of folks that want good results the first time out, don't want to spend a lot of time cooking them, and also want a very tender almost fall-off-the-bone type of rib. Now, it's only fair to point out that in barbecue circles, the general opinion is that finished ribs should have a slight "tug" to the meat, while at the same time, leave the bone clean after each bite. But hey....you can figure out how you like them because you're the one eating them right? With this in mind, here is a good method to try. You will get consistently good ribs and there is room for some personal changes so you can dial them in to your tastes. I may bend a few of the rules, but that's okay.....Anyway, I call these EZBB Ribs.
Remove the membrane from the bone side of the ribs. Season your ribs with your favorite rub, as a minimum use salt and pepper. Keep the ribs in the refrigerator, they should be cold when they go on the pit. I like cherry wood for flavor. Set up your cooker for an indirect cook, I like to use a raised grate, drip pan and a second grate to hold the ribs. You can also use a pizza stone or a plate setter to baffle the heat with a drip pan on it. Use a 275° to 285° pit temp. Make sure that your rack will not overhanging the heat shield (you can see that I cut the small end off the rack above because they were so long) Let your fire stabilize for about 45 minutes, this also will let the smoke settle down a bit. Don't worry about that higher pit temp, the "high on the hog" cuts like loin, tenderloin and BB ribs can take higher heat. They are naturally more tender to start with and are leaner than say belly ribs or a butt.
Place the ribs on the grate above the drip pan, bone side down. This part of the cook will require about 2 or 2-1/2 hours. If you want to baste or spray the ribs, do this at the one hour mark, then again twenty minutes later. If you want to turn the ribs do this at the one hour and twenty minute mark. At two hours of cook time, check them for color and check the tenderness with a toothpick poked between the ribs. You should feel some resistance and you should notice the meat starting to pull back on the bones. You can leave them on another half hour if you have some really meaty ribs.
For the second step of this cook, (the tenderizing step) make a double layer of heavy duty foil large enough to make a pouch for the ribs. Warm up some thinned (with water or broth) BBQ sauce and some apple juice. I like to either use some some honey or agave nectar for sweetness, or some squeeeze Parkay. I guess you could use both honey (or the agave) and Parkay if you want... Anyway, make a figure 8 pattern on the foil with either the Parkay or the honey. Add a couple tablespoons of the apple juice inside the figure 8, it works like a dam to hold the liquid. Then paint the meat side of your rack with the warm sauce and put the meat side down on the foil. Do the same thing on the up side of the ribs (paint that side with sauce, add Parkay or honey, add some apple juice. (You can substitute other liquids for the apple juice. Broth, wine, beer, etc., will work too).
Then seal the foil. Put the pouch into a 260° oven. If you are doing more than one rack, put each rack in a separate foil pouch. Put the pouches on a baking pan just in case you have a leak, then into the oven with the top seam up. These will cook for one hour. Carefully sneak the top seam of the pouch open, watch out for the steam. Lift with tongs and test for tenderness using the toothpick, be careful not to poke a hole in the foil. They should be tender. Reseal the pouch and let the ribs rest about 20 minutes. You can place them into a cooler with some newspaper for insulation if you need to hold them longer. You can go back to the oven for 2o more minutes, but that extra time may make them too tender. You will notice that they are not super saucy, just sort of sticky. So have some sauce on the table....just do me a favor and try one without any sauce first.
Here is what the sliced ones will look like....
