Dry Rub Baby Back Ribs Oven Baked
Need a foolproof recipe for Keto Ribs Recipe in the oven? Here ya go. With a simple dry rub, you can make smokey ribs right in your oven that taste like they spent the day in a smoker.
We love our smoker and love smoked ribs, but it takes an entire day to smoke a rack of ribs, and we don’t always have enough time. I wanted an easy way to get that nice smoke flavor and have tender dry rub ribs just by cooking in the oven.
Cooking the ribs slowly and in the oven is still a TON faster than smoking them. Plus, they are so tender and juicy it’s hard to believe they were made in the oven. The key to making them extra gorgeous and locking in that moisture is broiling them for the last few minutes. It is a real game-changer!
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Now you can make ribs in the dead of winter and not even put your shoes on to head outdoors. Talk about a HUGE win. Game days and dinner just got a whole lot more simple, and the taste is going to blow your mind.
How to Make Dry Rub for Baby Back Ribs
How to cook ribs in the oven
Top Tips For Making Keto Ribs
- When you are at the market, look for ribs that have the meat distributed pretty evenly among them. Steer clear of any that are loaded with lots of fat.
- Make sure to remove the membrane on the ribs. If you don’t, they will be tough to eat and separate. Removing that membrane is a game-changer. You can take a sharp knife and press it between the membrane and the bone of the rib. Then move it around, so it begins to separate from the bone. Pull it off the rest of the way, and you are all set.
- When making ribs in the oven, you don’t have to worry about them flaring up as you do in the smoker. But you want to make sure you don’t overcook them.
- It’s important to take your time cooking the ribs. If you attempt to toss them in the oven and cook quickly, they will be tough and chewy instead of falling apart.
- Let the ribs rest a few minutes before serving them. This helps keep the meat nice and juicy.
What to Serve with Ribs
Is It Okay To Add Barbecue Sauce?
Certainly! Don’t skip the rub, and add your favorite sugar-free barbecue sauce right before you broil the keto ribs. This will give you some added flavor and make them finger-licking good. You can also dip the meat into the sauce as you are eating them as well.
What Temperature Do I Need To Cook The Ribs To?
The ribs need to be cooked to at least 145 degrees. Now, keep in mind that for most meats, I am not going to tell you to cook past the required cooking temperature, but when it comes to ribs, I am. They are way more tender and falling apart when you cook them to reach anywhere from 180 degrees to 200 degrees. This allows them to become off the bones easily and makes them more enjoyable. Typically, other meats should come out of the oven when they hit temperature, or they become dry. Ribs don’t do that unless you go above 200 degrees. I highly recommend a digital thermometer, so there isn’t any doubt what the temperature is.
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Dry Rub Baby Back Ribs
Ingredients
- 4 lb baby back ribs
- 1/4 cup smoked paprika rub
- 2 cups water
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
Smoked Paprika Rub:
- 2 tbsp smoked paprika
- 2 tbsp garlic powder
- 2 tbsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 225. Rub the paprika rub on the ribs and place them on a stainless steel rack. Pour 2 cups of water and 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar in the tray. Bake for 3 hours uncovered on the rack.
- Remove the ribs from the oven and wrap in foil. Cook for an additional 2 hours at 225.
- Uncover the ribs, turn the heat up to 400 and bake for 1 hour.
- Optional: Broil on high for 5-10 minutes at the end to brown the ribs. Watch closely as they can burn.
worked perfect for me….loved! made Keto rub on one portion and non Keto for the rest. YUM! Tender!
I’ve been playing with some keto recipes – especially during parties when I tend to over do it on carbs. These baby back ribs are perfect to take a party! No one even recognizes it’s on my diet! lol!
So good and so easy! Thanks for another great recipe!
Sorry. This was a big disappointment. Very dry when prepared per recipe. Didn’t fall off the bone. Liquid gone after the first 3 house. Maybe should have added more as it dried up? Had to throw them out even after cooking again with liquid under foil for another hour at 225 degrees. Recently checked oven with thermometer and it’s spot on. I admire you for posting recipes you believe will help others. This was just a miss for me.
Hi Carolyn, I’m not sure why that happened. It seems very strange to me that your liquid was gone so quickly. What size pan did you use? I’m sorry it didn’t work for you.
The nutrition data is “Per Serving”. What is the serving size?
At the top of the recipe card it says there are 8 servings.
How many ribs are a serving size? When you cover them do you cover the whole pan in foil or the ribs individually? Do you lay them meet side up or down??
Take the number of ribs you have and divide by 8. It is probably 2-3 per serving. Wrap them all together. Meat side up.
When you wrap the ribs for the second portion, do you wrap each rack individually or just cover the pan, rack, ribs and all with foil for 2 hours? Thanks
I just tented everything with foil.
These are delicious! Perfectly cooked. Mine weren’t as tender as you described but they pulled apart nicely. How do I get them to fall off the bone?
It might just be a difference in the ribs themselves. Or your oven temp might be off. To get them to go from pull apart easily to fall off the bone they need to be cooked longer.
These ribs turned out great. Thanks for the recipe.
Hi..is that 225 degrees Celsius or Fahrenheit?
Fahrenheit
Is the smoked paprika rub composed of other spices as well, or simply smoked paprika?
It is smoked paprika plus onion powder, garlic powder, and salt. https://joyfilledeats.com/smoked-paprika-rub-perfect-pork-tenderloin/
I am making these in one day, I put the dry rub on the ribs and put them in the fridge. Can they sit for a day? Also, I want to make them in the slow cooker what liquid can I use in the. Bottom of the cooker. I eat keto. Thank you.
You can put the rub on and let them sit for a day. You actually don’t need to add any liquid in a slow cooker. The ribs release enough liquid. But if you prefer to add liquid a little water or broth is fine.
I make a rib that is very similar to this. It’s yummy!
I love ribs and I can’t wait to try your recipe! I really like the idea of trying a dry rub.
Baby Back ribs are my favorite and the flavor on these ones is Amazing!!
Above in your blog you mention the 3-2-1 method which states 3 hours low covered then 2 hours medium covered.
In the recipe it states 3 hours uncovered at 225° then cover for 2 hours, but it doesn’t say a new temperature.
Will you please clarify this for me. Is the first part covered or uncovered? Do we change the oven temp for the 2nd part?
Thanks Taryn!
Sorry that’s so confusing. We changed the 3-2-1 method slightly for the oven. It is at 225 for the first two parts. 3 hours uncovered, 2 hours covered.
I’ll edit the recipe to clarify. 😀
This looks yummy, I think I will try it! One question- I counted up the hours of bake time and got 6. Cook time at the top says 4. Can you explain this? Thanks!
It is 6. That’s a typo. Sorry! I’ll edit asap.