3-2-1 Apple Butter BBQ Ribs in the Oven

Why Oven Ribs?

Love ribs but don't want to babysit a grill for six hours? Same. Yesterday it was a little rainy and drizzly, but I wanted ribs. I really wanted ribs. So, I pivoted and did something I rarely do.

I did baby back ribs in the oven at 250. Yes, in the oven!

When I make ribs they're usually St. Louis style, but when I can find baby back ribs for a good price, I'll grab a rack. Yesterday I scored some baby backs, rubbed them with Grounded (my smoky coffee rub), and finished them with Apple Butter BBQ.

What's 3-2-1?

You're probably asking, why are they called 3-2-1 ribs? They're called that because they cook for six hours in three stages:

• 3 hours with just a rub

• 2 hours with a glaze of BBQ sauce, wrapped

• 1 hour unwrapped with more sauce

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Stage 1: The Rub (3 Hours)

We start by taking our ribs and applying a dry rub to them—I prefer Grounded (my smoky coffee rub). Wanna get wild? Take your ribs on an Acid Trip with my chili lime rub.

Pro tip: Let ribs sit at room temp for 30 minutes before cooking for more even results.

The ribs cook at 250 on a sheet pan in the oven. No sauce at this point. Adding sauce at the beginning will prevent the rub from getting the beautiful color we all enjoy and won't allow the rub to fully develop flavor.

Stage 2: Wrap and Sauce (2 Hours)

At the end of three hours, take your ribs out of the oven and place them on a piece of pink butcher paper or aluminum foil. Using a silicone pastry brush (or a spoon, fork, spatula, etc.) apply your barbecue sauce, then loosely wrap them up. Brushing prevents your sauce from dripping all over and avoids waste.

If you're using Grounded, I highly recommend Apple Butter BBQ, but all my sauces rock on ribs!

Put them back in for two hours. At this point you can smile—you're in the home stretch!

Stage 3: Final Glaze (1 Hour)

When the timer chimes, carefully take your ribs out of the oven. If you wear glasses, this is the part where I suggest you remove them for a moment. Being fogged in by steam from the ribs may sound intriguing, but it keeps you from enjoying the view of your creation.

You should have a beautiful rack of ribs at this point, and they should look ready to eat, but they're not. Remove the butcher paper or foil carefully, trying to control the inevitable spill.

Apply another coating of sauce with your brush and get them back in the oven for a final hour.

Pro tip: If you want a bit of char, hit them with the broiler for 2-3 minutes at the end.

The Result

What you should have at the end of this process are ribs that are juicy, tender, and flavorful. It's a misconception that your meat should be "falling off the bone." I'm a Kansas City Barbecue Society competition judge, and what the criteria really is, is this: When you take a bite of rib, it should easily pull away from the bone, but the rest of the meat does not actually fall off.

Which of our sauces do you put on your ribs? Share your photos of your BBQ creations on social media and tag us, @purplechincondiments.

Chef J.R.