The best BBQ Party Ribs Recipe ever! Cooked low and slow in the oven and then finished on the grill or under the broiler right before serving. These perfectly tender ribs are seasoned with our signature dry rub and finished with your favorite barbecue sauce.
Why We Love These BBQ Party Ribs
There’s so many barbecue ribs recipes to choose from, from smoked ribs to competition recipes. So why do we think this is the Best BBQ Party Ribs ever? Not only because of their addicting flavor, but you won’t need any special equipment or ingredients to make them. You don’t even need a grill!
- Addicting Flavor: Thanks to our signature spice rub, you can use your favorite barbecue sauce and these ribs are going to have the most addicting flavor ever.
- No Special Equipment: You don’t need a smoker or even a grill to make these ribs. If you don’t have access to either, you can make them from start to finish in the oven.
- Make Ahead For Easy Dinners And Parties: You can make these ribs a day or even two days ahead of time and then finish them off right before serving.
What Kind Of Ribs Are Best?
Any type of pork rib will work for this easy barbecue ribs recipe, but baby back ribs are our preference.
- Spareribs are cut from the belly, same place that we get our bacon and pancetta from. This cut is meaty, fatty and super tasty.
- Baby Back Ribs are also ribs that are taking from the belly area, but baby backs are taken from the loin. They’re smaller than other types of ribs, hence the name baby back. Baby Back Ribs have lots of lean meat on both sides of the ribs, making this type a fan favorite.
- St. Louis Style Ribs are that perfectly rectangle cut of ribs most people are familiar with. They have a little less meat than the other types of ribs but the meat is delicious, fatty and full of flavor.
How To Make Party Ribs
Step by step instructions and photos here for easy reference. For complete instructions, scroll down to the recipe card at the end of the post.
- Prepare The Ribs: Prepare the ribs by removing the membrane on the back of the rack of ribs. Insert the tip of a knife under the membrane and peel back. Sometimes you’ll need to do this in a few steps, but usually it comes of fairly easily.
- Coat With The Dry Rub: Prepare the dry rub and then coat the ribs generously on both sides, patting the dry rub into the ribs to help it stick.
- Bake: Wrap the racks of ribs tightly in heavy duty aluminum foil, or two sheets of regular foil. Place on a baking sheet and bake at 325 degrees for 2 1/2 – 3 hours until the ribs are tender.
- Add The Sauce: Brush on your favorite BBQ sauce and finish the ribs on the grill or under the broiler.
When Do You Add The BBQ Sauce?
You don’t want to add the barbecue sauce to your ribs until the last step, which is either on the grill or under the broiler. Most barbecue sauce has sugar in it so you sauce the ribs too early, the bbq sauvec will likely burn.
The tip for not having burnt sauce is to just add the bbq sauce to the ribs during the last few minutes of cooking. After the ribs have fully cooked in the oven, baste with sauce and either finish on the grill or under the broiler.
Store and Reheat
You can store these ribs in a container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. On a plate wrapped in foil works, too. Sometimes finding a container to store ribs in isn’t always convenient, so just make sure they’re wrapped up tight.
To reheat bbq ribs, the oven is my favorite option. The oven warms the meat through again without making the meat tough like a microwave can sometimes do. However, microwaving is also fine, reheat just enough to warm the ribs through.
You can also throw your leftover ribs back on the grill! Either right on the racks or wrap them in heavy duty aluminum foil.
What Sides Can I Serve With Ribs?
Ribs are only made better with a few side dishes! Of course, when we’re having a party, we’re going to add a few sides for serving. But even a dinner at home warrants at least a side or two, pick your favorites.
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Party Ribs Recipe
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 hours
- Total Time: 3 hours 10 minutes
- Yield: 6 Servings 1x
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeThe BEST BBQ Ribs Recipe ever! Cooked low and slow in the oven and then finished on the grill or under the broiler right before serving!
Ingredients
- (2) 3 pound slabs of pork baby back ribs
- 1 cup barbecue sauce
- 1/2 cup All Purpose Seasoning Blend
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
- Add all the ingredients for the dry rub to a small bowl and mix together. Divide the rub evenly between the 2 slabs of ribs and rub generously on both sides, patting the rub into the ribs to help it adhere.
- Wrap the ribs tightly in heavy duty aluminum foil, or two sheets of regular foil and then place onto a baking sheet.
- Bake in the oven for 2 1/2 to 3 hours until the ribs are fork tender.
- At this point you can cool the ribs, wrap in clean foil and keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 days before finishing.
- When you’re ready to finish the ribs, preheat your grill to 350 degrees, then place each slab of ribs onto the grill, bone side down. (see NOTE if cooking the ribs after being refrigerated)
- Baste the ribs with barbecue sauce and close the lid to let the sauce set and caramelize slightly, about 5 minutes. Watch for flare ups on the grill so the bottoms of your ribs don’t burn. You don’t need a super high temperature for this part of the cooking process, just a warm grill to set the sauce and add a slightly charred flavor.
- Remove the ribs from the grill to a cutting board, cut into sections and serve.
To Finish The Ribs Under The Broiler:
- Place the ribs on a clean sheet of aluminum foil on a baking sheet. Baste the ribs with the barbecue sauce and place under the broiler for 7-8 minutes until the sauce slightly caramelizes and the ribs warm through.
Recipe Notes
If you’re cooking the ribs after bring in the refrigerator, bring the ribs to room temperature for 30 minutes before placing on the grill or under the broiler.
Store: Store leftover ribs in a container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Reheat: Reheat leftover ribs in the microwave or in a low oven until warmed through. Serve with extra sauce.
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
They look very delicious. I will definitely make them and invite guests.
We hope you like them!
Can I broil the ribs after baking them instead of grilling them with the sauce on?
Thank You
Yes you can!
These ribs are fantastic! Please everyone try this recipe and you can’ t go wrong!
So happy you like them! Thanks for letting me know!
I would like to make these for Christmas, am I biting off more than I can chew? I live in a cold climate and was wondering if I can start them on the grill to get that flavor a day early and then cook them long and slow in my oven Christmas Day. What do you think?
If you oven bake them first they’re pretty much done, so I do think this is an easy recipe for the holidays! If you do all the work the day before, all you’d have to do Christmas Day is get them on the grill for a few minutes and they’d be ready to serve! I think the grill flavor would be lost after they bake in the oven.
I can’t wait to get a new grill and make some ribs!
New grills are the best – I’m jealous!
Those sauces look awesome!
Thanks Jocelyn – they were good!
Must try these sauces for our next BBQ!
They were really good! Let me know if you try them Courtney!
Love grilling season!
Yes, me too! My favorite time of the year for sure.
My mother in law loves barbecue ribs so we are totally doing this!!
Great Shadi – let me know how it goes!
I am loving this recipe, and what a fun and easy party!
Thanks Rachel! It’s so much fun to do at a party!
It’s just not summer without ribs! These look great!
No it’s not! Thank you Dessert for Two!
Oh yumm!!! Those ribs look so delicious and I love how you’re making it so everyone can have their BBQ just the way they like it! I’m pretty sure I’d have to try all of those sauces!
Thank you Nicole! I can tell you that we tried them all…a few times!