This easy recipe for pork ribs can be customized with your favorite flavors. Wild Fork Foods takes the guesswork out of choosing the best ribs for indoor or outdoor cooking.

Ribs are typically the star attraction of summer cookouts, but you can enjoy them year-round. While you need no excuse to feast on ribs during a Memorial Day or July Fourth cookout, here is an easy recipe for ribs you can make at home any time. The beauty of ribs is that they are a blank canvas. While traditional barbecue is the most common flavor, you can get creative with customized rib rubs and sauces. Try a sweet and spicy or an Asian flavor profile. How about a coffee-based rub? The only limit is your imagination.

The two most common types of ribs are spareribs (aka St. Louis style). These ribs are longer and meatier and have a higher concentration of fat. Spareribs are what you typically find served at a BBQ joint or prepared on the outdoor grill. Baby back ribs and smaller and leaner. They are also more expensive than spareribs. To take the guesswork out of choosing the right ribs, visit Wild Fork Foods. Wild Fork specializes in home delivery of quality meat, seafood, and poultry that is farm fresh and flash-frozen. You’ll find a variety of spareribs, baby back ribs, chops, and other pork products without leaving the comfort of your home. Wild Fork is also a purveyor of other food products include sides and seasonings.

Many home cooks shy away from preparing ribs at home because of the belief that it is: 1) difficult and 2) messy. We can easily dispel 1) because cooking ribs is quite easy, and regarding 2), well, yes, ribs are messy, but that’s part of the fun! The main obstacle to preparing ribs is removing the silvery membrane attached to the backside of the slab. What this is, is connective tissue which you will need to remove first. Otherwise, as it cooks, it will toughen and be difficult, if not impossible to eat. And who would want to, anyway?

To remove the membrane, you will need a sharp knife such as a paring knife. Pierce the membrane with the tip of your knife and make a small incision. Then slide the tip of the knife under a corner of the membrane and lift it. At this point, you can peel the membrane off with your fingers, then dispose of it. That is part of the convenience of ordering your ribs from Wild Fork Foods. Their butchers have done all of the prep work for you. You just need to thaw them, season them, and stick them in the oven.

A few more tips for cooking ribs to perfection are to not cut them prior to cooking. The ribs will cook more evenly if the slab is left intact. Also, don’t baste them too soon. Otherwise, if your sauce contains any sugar, it may burn, which will leave a bitter aftertaste. Ribs should be basted with sauce at the very end of the cooking process. If you plan to cook your ribs on the grill, cook them in the oven first and finish them off with the basting on the grill. If you try to cook raw ribs on the grill, you will end up with undercooked meat and burned sauce. Low and slow is the secret to tender succulent ribs.

Prep time: A few minutes
Cook time: 3 hours, 15 minutes

Equipment

Paring knife Use code TRAIL for 10% off
Rimmed baking sheet
Heavy-duty aluminum foil
Basting brush

Ingredients

Pork ribs
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Coconut or avocado oil, for greasing the foil on the baking sheet
1 serving of Barbecue Sauce

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 275 F (135 C).

2. Flip the ribs so they are bone-side up and check to see if there is a silvery membrane that needs to be removed. If it is still attached, use a knife to remove the layer and expose the bones.

3. Season the ribs with salt and pepper to taste.

4. Tear off a piece of the foil and grease it with some coconut or avocado oil. Place the ribs meat side down in the center and wrap the foil tightly around them so that no air can escape. Place on a rimmed baking sheet and cook in the oven for 3 hours.

5. When the ribs are almost ready, make the barbecue sauce

6. Remove the ribs from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 425 F (200 C). Open the foil carefully and allow the steam to escape before opening it up completely.

7. Using a basting brush, brush the barbecue sauce over the ribs. Return the ribs to the oven for 10 -15 minutes until the glaze becomes sticky. You can put the oven on broil for the last 1-2 minutes but keep a close eye on them.

8. Slice between each bone to separate the ribs.

9. Serve the ribs with a side salad, greens, or Thyme Roasted Carrots.