Recipes Ingredients Meat & Poultry Pork Recipes Smoky Baby Back Ribs 4.0 (108) Smoky, sticky, falling-off-the-bone ribs are easier than you think. Close Prep Time: 15 mins Total Time: 3 hrs Servings: 6 Jump to recipe Baby back ribs are irresistible. The smoky, sticky meat is falling off the bone tender and so tasty. Our recipe includes instructions for cooking the ribs on the grill or in the oven, so you can make them any time of the year. They're seasoned with a lively spice rub made with paprika, cayenne, and Cajun seasoning and cooked low and slow until tender. Then, it's time to brush on our quick smoky chipotle-in-adobo-based sauce and cook a short time longer, just until the ribs are charred. It's much easier than you might think; baby backs are a good place for beginning rib cooking. They are leaner, require less trimming, and don't have the cartilage that many people dislike. But they're also so meltingly delicious that they remain a favorite with seasoned rib cooks. 32 Cookout Sides for Your Next Summer Gathering Prepping the Ribs Depending on how the butcher has trimmed them, there may be a tough, rubbery membrane on the underside of the ribs. If so, score the meat between the bones (being careful not to cut the meat) and pull the membrane away. This recipe makes a double batch of the spice rub. Use the extra to season chicken, pork, or steak before grilling—or save it for next week when you make more baby back ribs! Directions Make spice rub: Combine brown sugar, 1/3 cup salt, 1 teaspoon ground pepper, Cajun seasoning, paprika, cayenne, and ground mustard. Reserve half the rub for later use (store in an airtight container, up to a month). Coat ribs with spice rub: Working with 1 rack at a time, lay a large piece of parchment-lined foil on a work surface, place rack on parchment, and liberally coat both sides with rub. Wrap ribs in foil-lined parchment: Fold foil and parchment around ribs, crimping the edges together to form a packet. Make sauce: Stir together chili sauce, chipotle chiles, and honey. Grill Method Set grill for indirect cooking: Set up grill for indirect cooking: arrange heat source (charcoal or gas) on one side of grill and heat to medium-high. Grill rib packets: Place rib packets on cooler side of grill, standing them upright on long sides. Cover grill and cook until a knife can pierce meat with no resistance, about 2 1/2 hours (if using a charcoal grill, add a couple handfuls of coals every half hour to maintain 300°F). Unwrap rib packets, brush with sauce, and grill: Remove ribs from grill, unwrap, and brush with chipotle sauce. On a charcoal grill, lift grate to carefully spread out hot coals. On a gas grill, place ribs directly over heat source. Grill until sauce is bubbling and ribs are lightly charred, 2 minutes per side, brushing with more sauce if desired. Oven Method Preheat oven and place packets on rimmed baking sheet: Preheat oven to 300°F. Place rib packets on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake: Bake until a knife can pierce meat with no resistance, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Heat broiler; unwrap ribs and brush with sauce: Remove ribs from oven. Heat broiler. Unwrap ribs, place on sheet, and brush with chipotle sauce. Broil: Broil until sauce is bubbling and ribs are lightly charred, about 5 minutes, brushing with more sauce if desired. 5 More Pork Rib Recipes to Try Oven-Roasted Ribs With Barbecue Sauce Tuscan Ribs Sour-Cherry-and Five-Spice-Lacquered Ribs Baby Pork Ribs With Soy Sauce and Hoisin Slow Cooker Sweet-and-Sour Country Ribs