Ribs

Ribs are one of my favorite barbecue cuts. However, ribs are often done on a grill or in a smoker, which can be inconvenient. I'm also not always a fan of a lot of the really sweet barbecue sauces often used on ribs.

After trying a number of different recipes, I found this recipe, which has a nice sauce that's spicy and slightly sweet from chipotle peppers and pineapple. It's also cooked in the oven, which is convenient. The one change I made is reducing the amount of sauce - I found that the original recipe produces way more sauce than is needed.

Ingredients

• 1 rack of baby back ribs
• 1/2 cup orange juice

Dry Rub

• 2 tbsp chili powder
• 2 tbsp smoked salt
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 2 tbsp smoked paprika

Barbecue Sauce

• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 8oz can crushed pinapple
• 2 tbsp chipotle peppers, crushed
  • This is roughly 2 peppers from a can
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tbsp white vinegar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
2. Combine the dry rub ingredients.
3. If you can, remove the membrane from the underside of the ribs. Thoroughly coat with the dry rub.
4. Create a pouch with foil, large enough to contain the ribs and be sealed without any openings, on top of a rimmed baking sheet (in case it leaks). Put the ribs inside along with the orange juice and seal the pouch.
5. Put the sealed ribs in the oven for 2 hours.
6. While the ribs are in the oven, heat the olive oil in a saucepan on medium. When hot, add the onion and garlic and saute for 4-5 minutes.
7. Add the brown sugar and vinegar and cook until the sugar is melted.
8. Add the chipotles and crushed pineapple.
9. Bring to a simmer and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
10. Remove the sauce from heat and let cool for 10 minutes. Blend with a blender until smooth and set aside.
11. After the ribs have cooked for 2 hours, remove from the oven. Transfer to a clean tray and discard the foil. Turn the oven up to 375 degrees F.
12. Brush the ribs with sauce.
13. Bake the ribs for another 30 minutes, applying a new coat of sauce every 10 minutes.
    • You want a decent amount of sauce on each coat, but try to keep each sauce layer thin enough to turn into a glaze after 10 minutes and not retain too much moisture.
14. Optionally, cut apart the ribs before serving with your favorite barbecue sides.