Fall Off The Bone Ribs And BBQ Sauce

This recipe for ribs and BBQ sauce has been a hit at my annual 4th of July and Super Bowl parties for years. And it's really easy to make.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 2

Total Time 2 20

Servings servings

Calories 738kcal

Make the BBQ sauce:
Combine all of the BBQ sauce ingredients in a tall saucepan. Using a tall saucepan prevents the sauce from boiling over the top.
Bring to a rolling boil and cook for 5 minutes.
Remove BBQ sauce from the heat and let cool.
Steam the ribs until they are cooked and falling off the bone:
Heat the oven to 350ºF.
Chop ribs into sections. For parties, I usually chop the ribs into individual ribs. For serving at a sit-down dinner, you can use sections of 2 - 3 ribs.
Lay the ribs out in a single layer on a wire rack in a baking dish or on a cookie sheet.
Pour 1/2 cup of water into the bottom of the dish.
Cover with foil.
Bake for 1½ to 2 hours.
For parties, ribs can be cooked to this point ahead of time and then refrigerated.
Finish the ribs:
Brush the ribs with the bar-b-q sauce.
Bake uncovered at 400° F for 15 minutes.
If the ribs were refrigerated before this step, reduce the heat to 350ºF and add 10 to 15 minutes to the cooking time.
This step can also be done on the grill. If you prefer.

If you are preparing for a party, you can steam the ribs ahead of time and store them in the refrigerator. Just before the party, brush on the bar-b-q sauce and re-heat for a half hour at 350º F. Then turn up the heat to 400° F for a few minutes to brown the tops (or if you prefer, you can grill them for about 30 minutes over a medium fire, turning once).
If you need to cook a lot of ribs at one time, you can boil them instead of steaming. Just fill a pot 1/4 full with water and bring to a boil. Then add in the ribs and cook for about 1 1/2 hours.