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Our St. Louis ribs are rubbed with a perfect blend of savory, smoky, spicy, and sweet spices, slow-roasted until beautifully succulent, and finished with a sweet and tangy BBQ sauce. Don’t miss them.
Why we love this recipe
Truth be told, I spent years being intimidated by the idea of cooking ribs. Something about needing to go out in the yard and wrangle a smoker kept me from attempting it more often than I would like to admit. This is a ribs recipe for those of you who still feel that way, along with those of you who absolutely don’t. It’s simple and foolproof — and it yields perfectly succulent, wonderfully flavorful ribs every time.
What you’ll need
Here’s a glance at the ingredients you’ll need to make this recipe.
- St. Louis ribs are cut from the lower half of the rib section. They were first cut into a rectangular rack in St. Louis, where they get their name. The video shows how to remove the silverskin — the thin but tough membrane on the underside of the rack. Or ask the butcher to do it for you. You can make this recipe exactly the same way with other rib cuts: spareribs, back ribs, or country.
- For the dry rub, use a full batch of our Best BBQ Rib Rub
- For the BBQ sauce, use half a batch of our Sweet & Tangy BBQ Sauce or your favorite bottled variety
My favorite sources for meat & pantry staples
For years, I’ve been sourcing our meat from ButcherBox. We love this curated meat delivery service, which provides grass-finished beef, heritage breed pork, organic chicken, and more from small farms direct to the customer. You can learn more in my extensive Butcher Box review and unboxing.
I love Thrive Market for a wide variety of products. Often described as one part Whole Foods, one part Costco, they’re a membership-based online market for healthier products at discounted prices. Plus, they’re mission-driven, engaged in the community, and not currently owned by a giant corporation. You can learn more in my Thrive Market review and unboxing.
How to make it
Here’s what you’ll do to make a beautiful batch of ribs. You can see the steps in action in the video that accompanies this post, and get all the details in the recipe card below.
- If the butcher hasn’t already, remove the silverskin. You can see this in action in the video. It’s a lot easier than you may think.
- Sprinkle the ribs with the rub pat gently to adhere. At this stage, you can cook the ribs right away, let them sit at room temperature for 30 minutes, or leave them for up to 24 hours tightly covered in the fridge before cooking.
- Wrap each section of ribs tightly in foil. This seals in the moisture in the first stage of cooking, which ensures the ribs stay succulent. Bake in the center of a 300°F oven for 2 1/2 hours. Meat will be very tender and just about ready to fall off the bone.
- Remove ribs from the foil and arrange in a single layer on top of clean, dry foil.
- Brush with BBQ sauce and return to oven for 25-30 minutes, until crisped and beautifully glazed. Serve with extra sauce if you like.
Expert tips and FAQs
Use a knife to loosen a bit of this thin but tough membrane from the bone. Slide a finger under the membrane and loosen it until you can get a good handle on it. Then gently but firmly pull the whole membrane away from the rack and discard it. You can see this step in action in the video. It’s a lot easier than you may think.
Ribs are great hot or at room temperature, so you can make them earlier in the day if you like. Wrap any leftovers tightly and keep in the fridge for up to a a week.
More BBQ favorites
- Chicken legs and thighs
- Instant Pot pulled chicken sandwiches
- Mac & cheese (Instant Pot or baked)
- Coleslaw or kohlrabi remoulade
- Potato salad
- Cornbread muffins
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St. Louis Ribs Slow-Roasted in the Oven
Ingredients
- 5 to 6 pounds St. Louis ribs
- 1 batch BBQ rib rub
- ¾ cup BBQ sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300°F with a rack in the center.
- If the butcher hasn’t already, remove the silverskin from the underside of the rack. (See note 1.)
- Sprinkle the top of each section of ribs with the rub pat gently to adhere. Flip and do the same with the underside. At this stage, you can cook the ribs right away, let them sit at room temperature for 30 minutes, or leave them for up to 24 hours tightly covered in the fridge before cooking.
- Wrap each section of ribs tightly in foil. This seals in the moisture in the first stage of cooking, which ensures the ribs stay succulent. Place foil packets seam side up on a rimmed baking sheet, arranging in a single layer.
- Bake for 2 1/2 hours. Meat will be very tender and just about ready to fall off the bone.
- Carefully remove ribs from the foil packets, line the baking sheet with fresh foil, and and arrange ribs in a single layer.
- Brush generously with BBQ sauce and return to oven for 25-30 minutes, until crisped and beautifully glazed.
- Serve with extra sauce if you like.
Notes
- To remove the silverskin: Use a knife to loosen a bit of this thin but tough membrane from the bone. Slide a finger under the membrane and loosen it until you can get a good handle on it. Then gently but firmly pull the whole membrane away from the rack and discard it. You can see this step in action in the video. It’s a lot easier than you may think.
- If the ribs don’t fit on a baking sheet in a single layer, use two baking sheets and adjust the oven racks so two are fairly close to the center.
- Ribs are great hot or at room temperature. Wrap any leftovers tightly and keep in the fridge for up to a a week.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I have to give you a huge thank you for posting this. I’ve used your cooking method twice now and they really do just fall off the bone. I’m rewarded with compliments from my family. So THANK YOU! Cheers!
Yay! Thanks, Chris. So glad.
Good no fear recipe. I try to start out with a good quality slab of ribs, preferably fresh
and not frozen previously. Also I do not wrap my ribs titghly in foil but keep the roasting
pan fairly well foiled but allow some moisture to escape. I do remove it at the later time
when saucing occurs. I also have the (split in two pieces) slab resting on a SS rack
so I can skip the new foil part and just sauce over the ribs since they are not soaked
on the bottom.
Your oven temp at 300 F is great but I also put the ribs in at 350 for 15 mins uncovered then cover the roasting pan with foil and finish at 300. 2 1/2 – 3 hours
does it.
Your recipe is fine just the way you wrote it and what I do is just me, not a science.
Thank you and bon apetite.
Den Bob