How to Make Ribs in the Oven - Fall-Off-The-Bone Baby Back Ribs

Pick a rack of baby back ribs with good meat on the bone. Avoid scraggly racks where the bones poke through.

Flip the rack bone-side up. Slide a butter knife under the thin silver membrane at one corner, then grip it with a paper towel and peel it off in one piece. The membrane blocks the rub from penetrating and stays leathery after cooking.

Use kitchen scissors or a sharp knife to trim the thin, scraggly meat at the ends. Those pieces burn before the rest of the rack is done.

Flip the rack meat-side up. Brush a light coat of liquid smoke across the surface. This is optional, but since you're skipping the smoker, it adds the smoke note that you're missing.

Follow with a thin layer of yellow mustard. Don't worry about the flavor - it cooks off completely. The mustard is a binder: it gives the dry rub something to stick to so it doesn't fall off when you season.

Rub the mustard into the meat with your fingers (or gloved hands). You want a uniform tacky surface across the whole rack.

Apply the seasoning in layers. Start with an all-purpose blend - salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder - and dust the entire rack generously. Cover the edges too.

Add a light layer of smoked paprika across the top. Paprika is what's actually doing the smoke flavor work.

Finish with your barbecue rub of choice. Mr. Make It Happen uses Killer Hogs Hot BBQ; any rub with sugar in it will work.

Press the seasoning into the meat rather than rubbing. Rubbing knocks it off; pressing locks it onto the mustard binder. Flip the rack and repeat on the bone side, slightly lighter.

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F. Set a wire rack inside a rimmed sheet pan and place the seasoned rack on top, meat side up. The wire rack lets fat drip away from the ribs and gives the oven heat all-around access.

Bake unwrapped for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Don't open the oven for the first 90 minutes.

After 2 hours, check the bark. Brush a fingertip across the surface - if the rub stays put and feels tacky, the bark is set and you're ready for the next step. If it smears, give it another 30 minutes.

Tear off two thick layers of heavy-duty aluminum foil, stacked, large enough to wrap the rack with overhang to spare.

Drizzle honey down the center of the foil where the ribs will sit. Spread a generous handful of brown sugar over the honey. Cube 4 tablespoons of butter and dot them across.

Place the ribs bone-side up on top of this sweet base. Drizzle more honey and brown sugar across the bones. Then add about 1/4 cup of beer (or apple juice, pineapple juice, or chicken stock) to the foil for steam.

Wrap the foil tight around the rack like a present, sealing all the seams so steam can't escape. Back into the oven for 2 hours.

Around the 4 1/2 hour mark, warm your barbecue sauce in a small saucepan over low heat. Don't boil it - just bring it up to a warm-to-touch temperature.

Cold sauce on hot ribs is a hard no. It shocks the surface and pulls liquid out of the meat. Warm sauce glides on and starts caramelizing immediately.

Carefully unwrap the foil (steam will rush out). Move the rack back onto the wire rack on the sheet pan. Brush a thick coat of sauce over the meat side.

Slide the sauced rack back into the 275-degree oven for about 15 minutes, until the sauce on top turns glossy and slightly tacky. This is the caramelization step.

Pull the rack out. Flip it bone-side up - it's easier to slice from the back where the bones guide your knife. Brush another layer of warmed sauce across the bone side.

Use a long sharp slicer (or a chef's knife) to cut between each bone. The meat should pull cleanly but stay on the bone - if it's falling completely off, you've gone a little long but you'll still be eating well. Serve immediately while everything is glossy and hot.