Neighborhood Fall off the Bone Oven Baked Pork Ribs


You know I am not a wing girl or a "wib" girl.

I save that for the boys. I never liked the mess and the small amount of meat you get from sucking on a wing or rib.
Sorry.

Give me a thigh or drumstick and I am happy.
I save the ribs for the boys.

I know you are surprised to see a rib recipe here, not the norm, but here's the story:

I live in a great neighborhood for the most part.

There is the occasional ringing car alarm or the inconsiderate person who mows his lawn at 7 pm on a Sunday evening when you are having a quiet dinner on the patio, but most people in our surrounding neighborhood are kind and generous, especially when it comes to food.

To my surprise, a neighbor I only know to wave to, rang our doorbell, bringing me 2 huge racks of Hatfield pork ribs, about 10 lbs.

???

Why.

Because.

He won a BBQ contest in Hatfield, PA., and 2nd place prize was a case of Hatfield pork ribs, but since they had been previously frozen, he had to give them away to the neighbors, because you can't refreeze meat.

I had no choice but to give 1 rack to my friend Peter, and cook 1 rack for us.
You follow me?

I never make ribs, and my husband was very excited about this lovely gift from the neighbor.

What to do with them?

I chose this recipe after looking at many on the internet.
It sounded very easy and was written by a Southerner, so it had to be good, and I didn't have to light my grill and babysit the ribs on the hot coals all night.

I could leave the house w/ the oven on at a low temperature (that might not make you comfortable) for a few hours and come home to a wonderful smelling house and fall off the bones ribs.

Ok, I was sold.

The verdict:

My husband and my friend Peter said these ribs were a 10!
The quality of pork was also very good, there was a lot of meat and fat ratio, so that was also factored in.

I followed this Mississippi gal's recipe and the next time I have a summer party, I will serve these easy ribs as one of the dishes.

I also learned from her that spareribs are from the belly of the hog, and are fairly large and meaty. They have more fat and flavor than baby back ribs, and some people refer to them as St. Louis Style ribs.

Baby backs, or pork loin back ribs are from the loin of the pig. They are more tender and more expensive.

Ok, now that we have the useless rib facts out of the way, let's cook some "wibs".


Fall off the Bone Pork Ribs ("WIBS") (adapted from Deep South Dish):

Total cooking time about 4 hours.

For the dry rub:

1 tbsp garlic powder
1/4 cup of brown sugar
1 tbsp kosher salt
1 tsp paprika
20 turns of black pepper
1 tbsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp oregano

I used these measurements for 2 racks of pork ribs, about 5 lbs. each.

Cut the ribs in half if they are too big (like mine were) to fit on the pan.
Line a large baking sheet with foil and place the ribs on a rack (I used a cookie drying rack) on the lined sheet pan.

Preheat oven to 250F.


Rub the dry spices on top of the ribs and place in the hot oven. Bake uncovered for 2 hours.
The house will start smelling great after 30 minutes.

After 2 hours, depending on how wet you like your ribs, brush some BBQ sauce on top of the ribs.
I used commercial BBQ sauce (STUBBS brand), but feel free to make your own (Deep South recipe here).

Cover the entire sheet pan tightly with foil and bake for another 2 hours.

The ribs will be tender and falling off the bone. They will melt in your mouth.

Serve with cole slaw, quinoa salad (recipe tomorrow) or potato salad, share with your neighbors and enjoy.


I think every neighbor that night made a rack of ribs ("wibs" is what the 8 year old boy next door calls them, because he can't pronounce the letter "R").


Thanks Phil for the delicious ribs!

:)


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Comments

Susan said…
Stacey, I've noticed St. Louis Style ribs in the market and wondered about them and how they were different.
Thanks! I definitely give this recipe a try.
Susan
Ciao Chow Linda said…
Count me on on this one Stacey. I love an easy way to cook ribs. But not this week, when the temps are hitting the mid-90s.
Anonymous said…
"To my surprise, a neighbor I only know to wave to, rang our doorbell, bringing me 2 huge racks of Hatfield pork ribs, about 10 lbs." - Only in Daisyland. We're just back from 2 weeks @LBI so I missed your 5th year blog anniversary - congrats & keep on cookin'!
Stacey Snacks said…
Anon,
I've missed you!

Stranger things have happened in "Daisyland" than free racks of ribs..........

Don't you know I work for food?
Marla said…
You really lucked out. Especially since you can, in fact, refreeze raw meat. I, too, always thought that you couldn't until someone told me you absolutely can. Then I looked it up on the USDA website and guess what? You can if the meat was defrosted in the fridge - you can pop it back in the freezer. You can't refreeze if was defrosted on the counter. Who knew?
Natalia said…
Mmmm - I don't often eat ribs, but these look amazing! The only kind of ribs I've eaten is when my husband buys them already in a BBQ sauce that he just throws on the grill. Next time he buys ribs, I'll suggest he buy them "naked" so you just make them this way.

Looking forward to the quinoa salad pictured in your photo.

Natalia
Marie said…
Funny! And good looking.

I confess that I am very much a wing AND a wib girl. I love gnawing on fussy things.

My husband, on the other hand, would prefer the drumsticks and thighs.



Unknown said…
An excellent recipe and could be used on the outdoor cooker with indirect heat and a little smoke.

Stacey - you did it again!
Anonymous said…
Had similar ribs for the first time on July 4th. Wonderful and the friend who brought them told us how easy they were.

Will try them when the temps cool down. Even 250 is too much for this week.

Re refreezing, I would consider doing it with something that had been defrosted in the refrigerator, still seemed to be partially frozen, and was not chicken or fish. Beef and pork?

The quality is said to suffer because of the change that the formation of ice crystals makes in the structure of the meat, but in a recipe like this one the ribs' having been refrozen at some time probably wouldn't be noticed.

Bebe
Phil said…
You're welcome!! So glad you guys enjoyed them and be on the look out for more. PJ's Riggy Piggy BBQ took another First Place (Chicken Entry this time) and an Honorable Mention in Chef's Choice at the Maddox BBQ Challenge in Philly just a couple of weeks ago.

Phil
Savannah from VA said…
I made these once for my husband and hes been wanting me to make them again ever since. So, I'm about to make them for dinner tonight, but just had to tell you how amazing your recipe is, and thank you for sharing it :) Really, these are amazing. BEST. RIBS. EVER.