The meat was so tender it was falling off the bones. You’d think that the roasted and grilled pork ribs would be tough and dry by the time it has been dry-cooked to that stage of tenderness. But, no. The meat was moist.
The secret?
Slow roasting and fast grilling. The roasting takes two to three hours in a slow oven; the grilling, a mere 10 minutes.
But don’t think this is a complicated dish to cook. Despite the long cooking time, there really isn’t much to do except season the pork and stick it in the oven. You can watch a movie during the roasting part and not have to worry about overcooking the meat.
Of course, it’s a given that you have to choose pork ribs with a generous amount of fat. But don’t worry too much about it as most of the fat melts during cooking.
I found this rack of ribs at the supermarket two days ago, they were the meatiest ribs I’ve seen in a long time and my eyes almost fell off their sockets. I bought the whole rack and decided it would be perfect for Friday night’s dinner when both girls are home and the family is complete.
Ingredients
- 1 rack of pork ribs about 1.7 kilograms
- 2 tablespoons salt
- 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
For the barbecue sauce
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
- juice of one lemon
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cayenne powder
- 1 teaspoon Spanish paprika
- 1 tablespoon finely minced garlic
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200F.
- Mix together the salt, pepper and sugar. Rub all over the pork.
- Cover an oven tray with a large piece of foil. Place the pork on the foil. Take another large piece of foil. Cover the pork loosely and crimp the sides. Roast in a 200F oven for two to three hours. For best results, check the meat after two hours, slice off a small piece and try the meat. If you’re happy with the tenderness, remove from the oven.
- While the pork roasts, mix together all the ingredients for the sauce.
- Take the pork out of the oven. Peel off the foil. Brush the sauce all over the pork, including the sides and bottom.
- Option 1: As soon as you take the pork out, turn up the oven temperature to the highest setting. If you have a “broil” option, choose it.
- Transfer the pork to a rack, put it back in the oven and cook for five minutes. Take it out of the oven, brush it whatever remains of the sauce, out back in the oven and cook until nicely browned.
- Option 2: About 10 minutes before you expect the pork to be done, fire up the grill — as hot as it can go. Grill the slab of meat, turning it over once one side is browned. When the meat appears to absorb the sauce, brush it again with the remainder of the sauce and continue grilling until nicely browned and charred.
- Place the cooked meat on a chopping board. Allow to rest for at least 10 minutes.
- Chop into portions between the bones for a nice presentation.
- To serve, arrange the sliced roasted and grilled pork ribs on a platter. They’re perfect with mashed potatoes or salad, or both.
If you cooked this dish (or made this drink) and you want to share your masterpiece, please use your own photos and write the cooking steps in your own words.
Hello and welcome! I'm a retired lawyer and columnist, wife for 28 years, mom of two, and a passionate cook. What is this blog about? Recipes for dishes 
Tilapia with chili-lemon sauce
looks like another yummy recipe. i will definitely try this one. thanks, ms. connie
does the skin still on the pork ribs ?
No. :)
Nice; all looking delicious I will try to do that after taste I write again
saw this this morning and i did it just now. i got to use my electric roaster thats been occupying space but is not being used since forever.
perfect with beer and the pouring rain. hahaha.
what?! no skin?! what a travesty! bourdain would not be amused… :D
been wanting to try bbq ribs ever since I saw em being sold regularly at SM, dati you had to arrange that cut with the meat guy pa
Skin is good with some recipes, not for this one as it would turn chewy. Bourdain would know. :)
hi connie! did you use pork baby back ribs?
Actually, that’s a special cut of pork belly.
I tried it today, started cooking @ 3pm while I sew dress of Julia for her Linggo ng Wika program. Sobra sarap sabi ng kids ko. Thanks Connie for this wonderfull recipe
yes, they’re wonderful arent they? i simply cannot do with my week menu without taking a peek here. sometimes i just look in what available on the ref and hit search. my family thinks i’m a cooking wonder. hehehe.
I tried it last Sunday, habang nagre-review kami ng kids ko for their periodical exam . I modified a little sa ingredients, kung ano yung meron ako sa bahay. Then I did not grill, I just put it in a turbo broiler. Wala na kasi akong time to heat some charcoal e. I also prepared some garlic mashed potatoes and turmeric fried rice to go with it. Sobrang sarap daw sabi ng husband and kids ko, Connie, it was a stress-free cooking pa.
I even posted a picture of it sa facebook account ko
Thank you talaga for your untiring effort to share your recipes. You’re my idol.…
That really makes me feel good. I love the idea of a family sitting together to eat home cooked meals. Thank you for sharing your experience.
Connie, can i cook this using charcoal for grilling? Thanks
That’s provided as Option 2 in the recipe.
Hi Connie, do you know if using ‘plain’ paprika would alter the taste? spanish paprika seems to be unavailable in the other side of the your world! I really, really want to surprise my husband with this yummy dish. he loves anything pork and anything barbequed. i have no doubt he will go ga-ga over this..
That will be an okay substitution. I use “Spanish”, “smoked” and “plain” paprika interchangeably.
Hi,
I was wondering where you bought the meaty ribs? Because all I can see are not-so-meaty American Pork Ribs in the meat section.
Unimart, I think. It was a special cut that I requested specifically.
hi ms.connie, what kind of cut did you request for this ribs?
That’s already been answered in the thread. :)
Galing nito Ms. Connie. I was a bit skeptic at first when the bbq sauce didn’t have any tomato sauce component, as this was my usual route. BUT, i decided to stick to it. Ang galing galing ng recipe! Perfection. Hope you never tire of sharing your cooking knowledge with all of us!! All the best!