Last Updated on December 19, 2023
Here’s a secret about cooking ribs: You don’t have to fire up the grill to make them taste like you spent hours outside cooking.
In this recipe, a marinade made with Guajillo and chipotle chilies, tomato paste, brown sugar and garlic gives the ribs a deep, sweet and smoky flavor. After you bake them low and slow in the oven, you broil them to give them a light char and caramelization; it’s so good, you won’t miss the grill.
We do recommend eating them outside, though, whether that’s on your balcony or apartment stoop, in your backyard or in a park.
Besides the pickled onions and cilantro in the recipe, try serving these ribs with beans and a macaroni salad. Or you can shred the meat off the bone for a sandwich filling that’s a bit like pulled pork.
Ingredients
- ButcherBox St. Louis-Style Rack of Pork Ribs defrosted and patted dry
- Diamond Crystal kosher or fine sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1½ cups chicken broth
- 5 dried Guajillo chiles stemmed and de-seeded
- 2 chipotle chiles in adobo seeds removed
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 large shallots thinly sliced
- 5 cloves garlic thinly sliced
- 1 tsp dried oregano or 1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves
- ½ cup cup red or white wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- ½ cup thinly sliced red onion
- Cilantro leaves and tender stems for serving
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with a double layer of aluminum foil. Place the rack of pork ribs on top (if it doesn't fit, cut the rack in half), season all over with salt and pepper and let stand for 30 minutes. Place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- In a medium pot, combine the broth, Guajillo and chipotle chiles, brown sugar, tomato paste, shallots, garlic, oregano and 1 tablespoon kosher salt (or 1 1/2 teaspoons fine salt). Heat over medium, stirring occasionally, until the Guajillo peppers, shallots and garlic have softened, about 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in ¼ cup of the vinegar. Transfer to a blender and purée until smooth.
- Pour half of the Guajillo sauce (about 1 cup) over the ribs on the baking sheet; use your hands to massage the sauce all over the ribs. Cover the ribs tightly with more foil. Transfer the remaining sauce to a small bowl.
- Bake the ribs until the meat is very tender, 2 to 2½ hours. Meanwhile, whisk the remaining ¼ cup vinegar, ¼ cup water, the granulated sugar and ½ teaspoon salt in a small bowl until dissolved. Add the sliced red onion, toss, cover and refrigerate.
- Carefully take the ribs out of the oven, remove the foil (watch out for steam) and turn the ribs over so the meaty sides are facing upward. Brush some of the extra sauce all over ribs. Transfer any remaining sauce to a serving bowl.
- Adjust a rack in the oven about 6 inches below the broiler and turn on the broiler. Place the baking sheet on the rack and broil the ribs, carefully brushing the juices from the baking sheet onto the ribs halfway through, until browned and caramelized in spots and the sauce has formed a dark reddish brown crust, 8 to 12 minutes. Transfer the ribs to a cutting board.
- Plate the ribs with the pickled red onions and cilantro and serve passing the remaining sauce on the side.
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