Celebrate Saturday: Zesty Baked Ribs

Welcome to my annual recipe crush. Each February I choose a theme, and provide one or two recipes each day for the whole month. This year the theme is Weekly Menu Planning. What are the categories, you ask? We have Sunday Special, Meatless Monday, Taco Tuesday, Worldly Wednesday, Thrifty Thursday, Fishy Friday, and Celebrate Saturday.

Who doesn’t love some ribs? I’ve been making this version of ribs for years because they taste great and there is nothing easier to do. Big crowd coming and you want to spend time with guests instead of fussing with the meat? This is your recipe. Made for easy entertaining since the hardest work is done hours before the guests arrive.

The hardest part is removing the silverskin, a thin membrane on the underside. If you leave it on, seasonings don’t penetrate and there’s a leathery texture to the meat on the underside. Take it off!

Baked Ribs (serving is 2 rib bones per person)

Ribs (choose size you need; these ingredients serve 6)

3 tablespoons Zesty Apple Rub seasoning (Pepper Palace)

1 tablespoon brown sugar

½ bottle of favorite barbecue sauce, divided

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.

Remove the silverskin from the back of the ribs. Insert a table knife under the silverskin a couple of ribs in, and get hold of it to rip off from one end to the other. A paper towel can help keep your grip if it is too slippery to grasp.

Mix the seasoning with brown sugar and rub about ¼ on the underside. Rub the remainder onto the top and meatier side. Tightly wrap with foil and bake for three and a half to four hours.

One half hour before serving, remove the ribs and set the oven to 375 degrees.

Unwrap the ribs and generously cover with barbecue sauce, retaining extra to serve at the table if desired. Return to the oven, uncovered, for 20-30 minutes until the sauce is bubbly and browning. Slice and serve with your favorite side dishes.

DH’s Rating: 5 Tongues Up

This is one of DH’s favorite dinners. He doesn’t typically like to get messy, but these ribs are soooo good, he puts aside his fastidiousness.