My friend Gary taught me the technique of making BBQ in the oven years ago. It requires much less attention than traditional gas or charcoal BBQ and can even be done the day before and finished quickly.
First I’ll tell you about my rookie experience making Bar-B-Que, it was a disaster. I was 17 and eager to test out my new ambition for cooking on the lonely Weber grill in my backyard. Pork ribs were my opponent that day and I was ready to play. BBQ sauce… check, ribs… check, charcoal… check, knowledge… uncheck. I had no idea what I was doing. I didn’t season the meat, put the bbq sauce on too early, and kept the fire too hot. Needless to say, they came out bad, but my mom and sister were good sports and ate them with a smile. Luckily I didn’t let it get me down, and made it my mission to learn how to cook good food. Now I get the pleasure of feeding the people I love food that produces lip smacking smiles of pleasure and good times.
Back to my friend Gary. His way of cooking BBQ in the oven makes it an easy entry point for people typically not comfortable with cooking meat, especially on a grill. I love this recipe because it lends nicely to my philosophy of “prep what you can when you can”, to make good cooking easy. This recipe can be followed up to the last step, 1 or 2 days before you want to serve it, making it super easy to finish. You can use this technique on any kind of meat. For this recipe, we are using Grass-Fed Beef Ribs. I like the deep flavor and heartiness they bring. Ok let’s get cooking
Oven BBQ’d Beef Ribs
- 3 lbs Grass-Fed Beef Ribs
- 3 tbsp Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 lemon – juiced
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1 tbsp Grey Poupon or other Dijon mustard
- 1/2 tsp sea salt + more for salting the meat
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp granulated onion
- 2 tsp honey
- 2 tbsp avocado oil
- 1 10-12″ long Yucca (cassava)
- Baking dish, parchment paper, and foil
Method
- Make the sauce by adding all the ingredients to a bowl and whisking until fully mixed and slightly thickened
- Salt and pepper the meat on both sides
- Place the ribs meat side up in a baking dish and pour the sauce over them
- Cover and leave on the counter for at least 30 minutes up to 1 hour
- Heat oven to 400 degrees
- Peel and cut up cassava into 2″ pieces. See https://everydaynutrition.net/chicken-yucca-soup/ for instruction on cutting cassava
- Place cassava around the ribs, then cover with parchment and foil and bake for 30 minutes
- Bast with a brush then turn the oven down to 300 and continue to bake another 60 minutes basting again every so often
- If you are preparing this for the next day pull the ribs out and let cool, basting again before you put them in the refrigerator. Follow the next step to finish, making sure to allow the meat to come to room temp before putting them back in the oven for the final step. If you plan to finish them now just move right along
- Uncover the ribs and cook at 300 degrees for another 30-45 minutes (60 minutes if this is the next day) or until a knife easily cuts through the meat. Again basting every so often. Let the ribs rest for 15 minutes before cutting and serving. Serve with braised cabbage or crunchy cole slaw.
