This simple oven baked bbq St Louis style pork spare ribs recipe is easy to cook, delicious, and baked in the oven low and slow at 250F for ~ 4 hours.
Ribs are a tough cut of meat and needs to be cooked for a long time (low and slow)in the oven (or grill) to make them tender. There is no way to cook ribs fast. The good news is that ribs are super duper easy to make and cook in the oven.
How To Cook Ribs In The Oven
If you know that your oven runs cooler than normal then raise the baking temperature of the St Louis style ribs to 275F. Conversely, if your oven runs hot, drop the baking temperature of the ribs to 225F.
- Preheat oven to 250F and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil for easy clean up.
- Add a baking rack over the sheet pan to elevate the ribs (this is optional but allows the fat to drip off instead of cooking the ribs in it).
- Remove pork membrane from bony side of ribs if applicable (see notes below).
- Sprinkle ribs with seasonings and place on backing rack/sheet bone side up.
- Cover tightly with aluminum foil for 3 ½ -4 hours or until very tender.
- Take ribs out, flip, and slather with bbq sauce
- Bake uncovered an additional 20-30 minutes or until BBQ sauce is browning, bubbling, and caramelizing.
Because the ribs take so long to bake / cook in the oven they should be covered tightly with aluminum foil for the majority of the time so they don't dry out.
How To Remove The Membrane From St Louis Ribs
Pull any fat off the spare ribs that easily comes off with your fingers (if you can’t pull it off then it supposed to be there!). Peel off any tough membrane - this is different than the fat, it's also called silver skin and is inedible.
The membrane is located on the bony side of the ribs. Sometimes the butcher has already down this part for us.
The easiest way to pull the membrane off is to grab a couple paper towels or an old (but clean!) dish rag. Grab a loose section or cut through the rib silver skin (also known as the membrane) and grab an edge and give it a slow and steady yank.
Don't understand what the membrane is or having trouble pulling the membrane off the bony side of the spare ribs or don't know what I'm talking about? Watch the video above or skip taking it off all together. You've probably ate around it plenty of times or pulled it off after it was cooked.
If you want to watch a video of a successful and unsuccessful membrane "pull", check out my baby back rib video of how to get it off or when to leave it on.
What's the difference between St Louis Ribs vs Baby Back Ribs?
St. Louis pork ribs are below baby back ribs, near the pork belly. They are the "inside ribs". The bones are bigger and flatter than smaller baby back ribs which are located near the top of the ribs by the loin / spine / back. I like to call the baby back ribs "the outside ribs".
St Louis ribs also have a little more fat and flavor than baby backs. Baby back ribs are a little more tender, leaner, and therefore cost more cash.
Lastly, St. Louis ribs take a little bit longer to cook than baby back ribs. But to be clear, ribs both need a long time to cook / bake / grill.
St. Louis style ribs are meatier and tender but not falling off the bone like baby back ribs - you get to use your teeth a bit more to bite into the tenderness.
Don't want to mess with cooking ribs in the oven? Throw the ribs (you'll have to cut the rack in half or thirds) and sauce in a crock-pot and set on low for 8 hours.
FAQS about Easy Oven Baked St Louis Ribs Recipe
Cook St. Louis Ribs for 3 ½ - 4 hours in the oven or until tender. Some ovens will have the ribs tender and ready at 3 ½ hours. Some ovens will take 4 hours.
Cook St. Louis Ribs at 250F
Yup. See the section above and / or watch the video in this recipe.
Not necessarily. Watch my video on how to take the membrane off. Don't worry about it if it doesn't come off easily or you don't know how. Plenty of restaurants skip this step anyway.
It's the filmy silver skin on the bony side of the rib. It's tough to chew. If you don't remove it before cooking, you will probably see it and pull it off after cooking.
Because ribs take so long to bake / cook in the oven they should be covered tightly with aluminum foil so they don't dry out.
Check out my baby back rib recipe if you are looking for rib meat that will melt off the bone and how to cook ribs in the oven. This dry rub baby back ribs recipe is also amazing. Look no further for a super simple bbq beef short rib recipe.
What My Man Says
"This recipe is ridiculously easy and even if you change it up a bit, or don't follow it perfectly, the ribs will come out tasting great!"
"I tried to take off the membrane, but either it wasn't there (e.g. maybe the butcher took it off already?), or I didn't do it right, because nothing came off. I followed Beckie's advice not to worry about it, and nobody complained when they were devouring the ribs 😉 "
"My ribs were smaller - only 2½ pounds - but I didn't adjust the cooking time. Also, I was a bit impatient at the end, and after flipping the ribs (using tongs and a spatula), I put them back in the oven uncovered on broil for a few minutes to caramelize the BBQ sauce, rather than baking them more."
"The end result was absolutely delicious!"
Serving Suggestion
You could go light, with grilled corn on the cob, a corn and tomato salad, or cole slaw, or you could go big and serve the ribs with a delicious egg and potato salad. Enjoy!
You May Also Like
If you like ribs (and what's not to like?!?) try one of these other rib recipes. If you're ready to branch out a bit, try the lamb - it's delicious!
Things In My Kitchen:
- Crock-pot - 6 quarts, programmable, affordable, and comes with a 2 cup "dipper" to keep your dip/sauces warm.
- Silicone basting brush - Get the large. Heat resistant to 600F, cleans easy, doesn't clump.
- 12 x 17 jelly roll baking sheet – I use this for practically everything that goes in my oven. Great price and a 2 pack.
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Oven Baked St Louis Style BBQ Ribs
EatSimpleFood.com
This bbq St. Louis style pork spare ribs recipe is easy to cook, delicious, and baked in the oven.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 4 hours
- Total Time: 4 hours 5 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
Ingredient List Ribs:
- 4 lb St Louis Style Pork Ribs
- 1 tsp teaspoon garlic salt
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 1 cup + BBQ Sauce or ingredients below to make it yourself
Ingredients List Barbecue sauce (or you can buy some). In a pot add:
- 1 ½ cup ketchup
- 1 ½ Tbsp brown sugar
- 1 ½ Tbsp sharp or dijon mustard
- ½ cup whiskey
- ⅓ cup apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper (you can add more if you like it hotter)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250F.
For the sauce:
- Use a store bought bbq sauce (My favorite, hands down, is Sweet Baby Ray's Original) or combine all the BBQ sauce ingredients above in a pot, bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, and cook uncovered ~ 30 minutes or until sauce is reduced & thickened (it will continue to thicken as it cools). Stir occasionally so it doesn’t burn.
For the ribs:
- Pull any fat off the pork ribs that easily comes off with your fingers (if you can’t pull it off then it supposed to be there!). Peel off any tough membrane that is on the bony side of the ribs if it’s not done already (see video in post).
- Lightly sprinkle ribs with garlic salt, onion powder, and black pepper.
- Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and place ribs (bone side up; meat side down) on a baking rack over the sheet (so the ribs aren't sitting in grease).
- Cover with aluminum foil and bake ribs in the oven ~ 3 ½ -4 hours or until ribs are very tender.
- Take ribs out. Flip and slather with barbecue sauce.
- Bake uncovered an additional 20-30 minutes or until BBQ sauce is boiling and brown. Turn on broiler if needed, but watch carefully that it doesn't burn.
- Serve with potato salad and corn on the cob and extra barbecue sauce on the side. Happy Eating! Beckie
Notes
- Don't have time for all that? Throw it in a crock-pot with BBQ sauce and set on low for 8 hours.
- Don't understand what the membrane is? Skip taking it off, most people skip it anyway.
Robert Huffman says
I made this today...it was completely outstanding. The ribs were meaty and moist and the flavor was there due to the long cooking time and the sauce added at the end. Superb! RH
beckie says
Thanks for letting me know Robert!
Mugsy says
Giving these a second try. I love baby backs and seldom shuffle past them for another rib but I tried St. Louis ribs once before and they came out tough. But I cooked them at 300, like I do my baby backs. They're in the oven at 250. I'm looking at 4 hours but ready to give them an extra hour, if needed. I always make my own BBQ sauce, add it at the end and broil them for 10 to 15 minutes to glaze them at the end. Fingers crossed because I am darned hungry today.
Beckie Hemmerling says
I get it Mugsy. Baby backs are my favorite too, but it seems St. Louis ribs come on sale more :). Baby backs are definitely more tender in my opinion. Let me know how they turn out - my fingers are crossed for your dinner now too!
Lenny says
Making it now and first time I tried a bbq sauce from scratch. Smells delicious. Can’t wait!
beckie says
Thank you!
Lenny says
Making it now and first time I tried a bbq sauce from scratch. Smells delicious. Can’t wait!
Done and delicious!! I see no leftovers ahead!
beckie says
Thanks for the rating and leaving a comment. I love this recipe and am glad you do to Lenny!
Kimberly says
Simply delicious! A favorite go to recipe, always turns out great!
PAUL NELSON says
Hellfire did it this weekend and they came out fantastic... Thanks
K says
Ribs came out amazing! I saved the juices from the ribs after the first bake (before I put on the BBQ sauce). Is this worth saving? Thought I might be able to repurpose this for another meal like soup but I wasn’t sure.
Beckie Hemmerling says
Hi K – thanks for commenting. Everything is worth saving, especially now, so good job! The sauce will probably separate into juice and fat. Save the juice for flavoring anything from soups to adding it to cooked veggies. Save the fat in a jar in the fridge for pan frying anything you would use regular oil for.
Mona L Barham says
These treatment of the St.Louis style ribs is as close to perfect as I've experienced! Put em in the oven, forget about them for 4 hours and broil with bbq sauce. Absolutely the easiest! Contrary to the recipe, the ribs most certainly DO fall off the bone! This is my go-to when we can't bbq outside. Well played!
Beckie Hemmerling says
Hi Mona! Thanks for the comment. We love these ribs too and think it's so easy. Thanks for the comment that they fall off the bone (it's true). Try the baby back ribs some time and report back cause those really seem to fall off the bone to me. Thanks again!
Kelly says
Just made these. Excellent!
Beckie Hemmerling says
Thank you for the comment and letting me know Kelly!
Angela Cavaletto says
This recipe is perfect! The cook time is spot on, tender and fall off the bone. These were so good that we didn't even use any kind sauce.
Beckie Hemmerling says
Thank you for the comment Angela! I agree - sometimes sauce is just overkill if it's cooked good 🙂
Kate says
Delicious and easy recipe! Was perfect for this negative degree weather in Colorado 🙂
Beckie Hemmerling says
Thanks for trying this recipe Kate!