Ribs in the Oven is wonderful especially when it's cold outside and either you can't or just don't want to use your grill. Follow this simple process and you'll have the best tasting ribs ever.
First let's consider just how much work you want to do. Personally, I consider the indoor oven process the easiest of the many variations toward using heat to make ribs. I have a process on our website Jake's Famous Foods that we call Lazy Man ribs and that process is designed specifically for those who don't want to exert too much effort in making their ribs. So, for this effort we'll be using variations of the Lazy Man approach and generally a standard approach that we tend to use whenever we make ribs indoor.
Continuing on we first select the ribs we want to make. There are three or four basic cuts of ribs from Country Style to St. Louis to Baby Back, Spareribs and so on. We'll be focusing on the general pork versions of ribs as the beef process tends to move things in a little different direction but not by much. It's important to know that the selection or type of ribs does not affect the process. So, you can have any version you want.
Second, it's important to clean your ribs thoroughly. It doesn't matter if your ribs were cut, packaged and frozen or taken directly from the hog and trimmed by a butcher. Each rib rack can have bits of bone and debris from the cutting and packaging process that we really don't want while cooking.
Trim off the excess film on the back of the ribs. Remove the film while close to room temperature with a paper towel. You may have to slip a butter knife under the film to get it started but once you do pull firmly on the film toward the opposite end of the rack and try to remove the film as completely as possible.
With the film removed we've reached a decision point. We call this a decision point because you can choose to take this next step or leave it out. That step is the simple application of Yellow Mustard. Many of the BBQ Pitmasters and Competition Experts employ this step and we highly recommend it especially if your ribs were frozen and thawed.
Yellow mustard helps in the tenderizing of your ribs. It's relatively cheap and requires almost no effort in the process. All that is needed is the Mustard, and a bag for storage.
If you've chosen to use the mustard follow these steps. If not you can jump ahead to step 3. Cover the entire rack of ribs with mustard. Place the rack of ribs into a storage bag and place in the refrigerator for a minimum of 1 hour. After resting in the fridge remove the ribs at least 30 minutes before cooking and allow them to reach room temperature in the storage bag.
Third, locate a large pan and a sheet of aluminum foil enough to extend the entire length of the ribs. We will be layering the foil in the pan and will run the foil up the sides of the pan. We will not be covering the ribs as this is and open bake process.
Fourth, after the ribs have rested for 30 minutes and the pan and foil have been assembled set your oven to 350 degrees.
Fifth, now comes the dry rub. We use a 50/50 combination of Jake's Famous Memphis Style Dry Rub and Jake's Santa Barbara Smoked Dry Rub. The combination yields spiciness with just the right hints of maple flavored sugar, coarse black pepper, smoked salt and chili powder. Coat the entire surface of the ribs both sides and place the ribs in the pan meat side facing you.
Sixth, place the ribs in the oven and set a timer for 2 hours. After the two hour period remove the ribs and baste with your favorite barbecue sauce. We like to use our Jake's Famous Really Nice Medium Hot BBQ Sauce. The sauce is flavorful with just the right spiciness the keep the ribs interesting. Place the ribs back in the oven and set your timer for 1 hour.
Time to make the Dauphinois Potatoes. Collect 4 or 5 small to medium white or Yukon style potatoes. Remove the skin and cut the potatoes in half. With a sharp knife cut the half section in very thin slices. Perform the same action with all the potatoes. Follow the potatoes with a Leek. Thoroughly wash the leek removing any outer skin that is not useful or tough. Cut the leek into small pieces and set aside.
With the leek and potatoes cut it's time to trim and shred cheese. We like shredding Gruyere and Colby along with Gouda cheese. Also gather black pepper, kosher salt and heavy cream as well as a medium sized backing container.
With all the segments collected begin by pouring about three tablespoons of cream in the container ensuring that the bottom of the container is coated. Now add a layer of potatoes followed by leeks, salt, pepper and cheese. Repeat the process, potatoes, leeks, salt, pepper, cheese, cream. Continue layering until you reach to top of the container. Finish by adding in Parmesan cheese topped with Paprika for nice color. Once the entire container is completed place the container in the same oven with the ribs. The potatoes will require a minimum of 1 hour to cook and can take up to 1-1/2 hours to finish cooking depending on the oven.
Seventh, after the ribs have completed cooking it's time for the resting phase. We recommend that you allow the ribs to rest for at least 30 minutes before serving. Place the rib pan on the counter or in an unheated cooler and cover with a large towel. The towel will slow down the heat evaporation process allowing the meat to cool evenly.
After an hour or so check on the potatoes. The Dauphinois Potatoes should have a nice golden top with the cheese and cream bubbling. Remove the potatoes from the oven and place on the counter or stove top and allow to rest for at least 20-30 minutes before serving.
With the Ribs and the Dauphinois Potatoes rest slowly separate the ribs from the pan and place on a cutting board. Follow the separation point between the ribs and cut just enough ribs for you or your guests. A normal rack of ribs is about 13 bones so if you have 1 other guests we suggest you don't cut off more that you would normally eat in a setting. Maybe 4 or 5 ribs which would mean the remainder can be slipped into a storage bag for later consumption.
The Dauphinois potatoes can be served onto a dish and consumed right away. Just be aware that the potatoes might have some reserve heat left over from the cooking process.
That completes our easy to follow Ribs in the Oven with Dauphinois Potato process. We hope you've enjoyed the easy to follow steps and look forward toward see your comments.
Jake
We've included our video of the entire process making the results even easier. See below.
