These dry rubbed Saucy Baby Back Ribs are roasted in the oven until they're fall apart tender. To finish slather with barbecue sauce and grill to char.

No Smoker? Make Baby Back Ribs in a Slow Cooker

If you don't have a smoker, you can still enjoy smoky finger licking good ribs. While not having a smoker can be quite the dilemma, it's not the end of the world if you love barbecue. I didn't have a smoker for years and that's precisely how I developed other techniques that could deliver the barbecue flavor that we so enjoy. For these saucy baby back ribs, I generously rub the ribs with a smoky dry rub, then cook them low and slow in my oven. They're then cooled completely and chilled until coating with barbecue sauce and finishing on the grill.

After Slow Roasting Char Saucy Baby Back Ribs on the Grill

I call these Saucy Baby Back Ribs because the dry rub gives them a little bit of attitude a.k.a. "sassy". Roasted low and slow in the oven, they're cooled and chilled. Slather them with your favorite barbecue sauce and throw them on the grill to char. It's a finger licking good meal in the making.

The amount and brand of barbecue sauce is completely up to you. If you have one that you enjoy, use it!
To prepare these ribs for the grill, the ribs are gently brought back up to temperature on the grill and slathered with your favorite homemade or prepared barbecue sauce to char. You have now entered finger licking, barbecue heaven.
For homemade sauces checkout my recipes for Dr Pepper Barbecue Sauce and Chipotle Peach Barbecue Grilling Sauce sure to glaze these ribs perfectly.
See how to make slow cooker Ribs Sliders from Cravings of a Lunatic .

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Saucy Baby Back Ribs

Prep Time15

Cook Time6

Total Time6 15

Course: Main Course, Pork

Cuisine: American

Keyword: saucy-baby-back-ribs

Servings: 6 lbs (2 slabs ribs)

Calories: 812kcal

Author: Melissa Sperka

Ingredients

6 lbs baby back ribs membrane removed [2 slabs]
Dry rub:
4 tablespoon brown sugar
1 ½ tablespoon coarse sea salt
2 teaspoon ground chipotle pepper
2 teaspoon Spanish or Hungarian paprika
2 teaspoon dark chili powder
2 teaspoon lemon pepper
2 teaspoon cumin
2 teaspoon oregano
2 teaspoon granulated garlic
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 ½ cups barbecue sauce i.e. Sweet and Smoky Chipotle or your favorite

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 225°F. Line 2 baking sheets with heavy duty aluminum foil.
Remove the membrane from the back of the ribs. (Tip: Use a paper towel to help maintain your grip on the membrane)
In a small bowl, mix together the dry rub ingredients. Divide the dry rub between the ribs rubbing into the meat on all sides..
Lay each slab flat on the pan, then cover tightly with aluminum foil. If the ribs are too long to lay flat, cut them in half.
Place into the oven and roast for 6 hours. Turn the oven off and leave in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and allow to rest covered on the counter to cool.
Transfer to a clean pan, cover and refrigerate. (Tip: The ribs are very tender at this point, handle gently)
To prepare: Rest chilled ribs on counter for 30 minutes to bring to room temperature.
Preheat the grill to medium. For added smokiness, soak mesquite or hickory chips in water for at least 2 hours then place into a smoker box.
Set smoker box if using, on top of the grates to the side while the grill preheats. (If you don't have a smoker box, the ribs will still be great)
To char on the grill: Oil the grates, then place the ribs onto the grill. Slowly bring them back up to temperature grilling for around 5 minutes on each side. Closing the lid will help infuse the wood chips flavor.
Increase the grill temperature to medium-high, and liberally brush each side of the ribs with barbecue sauce. Char each side of the ribs for around 3 minutes each, then remove from the grill.
Brush with additional sauce and cut into desired serving portions.

Notes

If you prefer to purchase a dry rub rather than making your own, I would recommend a rub that compliments the flavors in your choice of barbecue sauce. [i.e.Chipotle Barbecue Sauce use a chipotle rub.]

Nutrition

Tried this recipe?Mention @melissassk or tag #melissassk!

Comments

Melissa

August 31, 2013 at 2:17 am

Great tip, Mark. ☺

Mark Unger

August 31, 2013 at 12:39 am

If you sub the Spanish Paprika for Smoked Paprika, you'll get a hint of extra smokiness

Melissa

April 02, 2013 at 11:41 pm

Hi Dominic! You're exactly right, indirect heat works best for the smoker box, in my opinion anyway. Thanks for stopping by for a visit! 🙂 ~ Melissa

Dominic Pablo

April 02, 2013 at 8:08 pm

As a lover of smoky flavors and barbecue, I feel your pain about not owning a smoker. But I have to say that you’ve come up with a great set of techniques to arrive at a similar result. Great tip with putting wood chips in a smoker box! I’m assuming that by putting the smoker box on the side, you mean that it’s on indirect heat. Thanks for sharing, Melissa! I’m going to try this out soon.

Melissa

March 19, 2013 at 8:06 pm

Thanks Kate!

Kate from Scratch

March 19, 2013 at 7:08 pm

Looks delicious!

Melissa

March 18, 2013 at 12:27 pm

Hi Jen, I love Sweet Baby Ray's b'cue sauce. If you ever see the chipotle honey..very yummy! Thanks for stopping by ~ Melissa

Jen

March 18, 2013 at 10:25 am

This is very similar to how I do my ribs. Everyone Loves them! I use 'Sweet Baby Rays Original BBQ Sauce'. In the summer months I add corn on the cob, cole slaw and watermelon. Perfect!

Melissa

March 17, 2013 at 7:09 pm

Donna, it's so true, smoker or no smoker, gotta have ribs. Thanks for stopping by! 🙂

Donna Elick

March 17, 2013 at 6:05 pm

I use a similar method for ribs. So amazing! Someday we will have a smoker too. However, a girl's gotta have her ribs. : )