Sunday Supper: Oven Baked Baby Back Ribs

Oy, it’s been quite a week.  Ups, downs, a very sleepless night and now, a new world.  With all this turmoil, I need some comforting.  I need to believe that the world will right itself and that in the end; everything is going to be just fine.  So, I’m going to start with a very delicious, comforting meal that helps me brave the uncertain days ahead.

This recipe is one of my favorite inventions.  It shows that your oven is a magical place and sometimes, minimal effort can still produce maximum results.  I’m a huge fan of ribs and never liked the fact that once summer ended, so did my enjoyment of a good plate of ribs.  I stumbled upon a rib recipe that gave an oven variation.  I tried it and it was ok, but not great.   I still missed the grill.

A few years later, I found another recipe that was pretty complicated but touted one simple practice that I thought was genius.  So, I grabbed that, made a few tweaks and came up with a killer recipe that produces the juiciest, fall of the bone ribs you will ever make.  You can also keep it simple with my sauce or slather on bbq sauce, teriyaki or whatever you please.

If you keep it simple, you can have this in dish in the oven in five minutes and let the oven do the rest.  The most important part is to wrap the ribs in parchment paper and then aluminum foil, that’s your golden ticket.  

So, crack open some nice wine, put a moratorium on political conversations and try my oven ribs.  I promise, at least for this dinner, everything will be great again.

Lemon Thyme Oven Baked Ribs

Makes

Serves
Prep time:        Total time: 

2 slabs of ribs, baby back preferred
2 lemons
1 tablespoon kosher salt
freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon granulated garlic
1 tablespoon granulated onion
5 to 6 spigs of thyme
juice of 1 lemon
1 sprig of thyme
1 tablespoon Cornstarch
1/8 to ¼ cup water

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Season ribs with salt and pepper, onion and garlic powders.
2. Cut two large pieces of parchment paper and two large pieces of aluminum foil.  Place the two foil pieces down with the parchment on top. Place the rib slabs on top.
3. Slice up the lemon and place them on top of the ribs.  Lay the thyme sprigs down over the lemon.  Wrap up the ribs in the parchment lined foil, seal and place them on baking sheets, seam side up.
4. Place them in the preheated oven for 21/2 hours.  Remove from the oven and open the package up.
5. Transfer the ribs to a cutting board and carefully pour the lemon juice and pork drippings to a small saucepan.
6. Heat the pork/lemon juice in the pan and add a few thyme leaves.  If you have a nice amount of juice, pour 1/8 of warm water into a small bowl and mix in the cornstarch.  Once its combined, add it to the pan and stir.
7. Continue to stir until a smooth, thickened gravy appears.  Add salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste.
8. Cut up ribs, garnish with the cooked lemon slices and pour the gravy all over them.  You won’t miss the summer grill one bit!

Buon Appetito!

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oven baked baby back ribs, step by step.