Baby Back Ribs with Hoisin BBQ Sauce
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Dig into these succulent Asian-inspired ribs, slow-cooked to perfection in a rich hoisin barbecue sauce. They’re so tender, they practically fall right off the bone.
Slow-baked in a rich hoisin barbecue sauce until the meat is irresistibly tender and falls right off the bone, these ribs are truly finger-licking good. While the recipe is simple, it does require a bit of planning ahead. You’ll need to let the ribs marinate for at least four hours and then allow them another two and a half hours to slow-cook in the oven.
When it comes to preparing baby back ribs, it’s important to remove the membrane on the underside. If you can, let your butcher take care of this step. If not, no worries—I’ll walk you through how to do it below. Also, while you should trim off any large pieces of fat, it’s okay to leave some smaller pockets of fat; they’ll render out during cooking, adding some extra flavor and moisture to the ribs.
Table of Contents
What You’ll Need To Make Baby Back Ribs with Hoisin BBQ Sauce
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Make the Hoisin BBQ Sauce
Combine the hoisin sauce, chili sauce, dry Sherry, honey, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, garlic and ginger in a medium bowl.
Stir to combine.
Cut the rib rack racks in half into 6- or 7-rib sections. Line a rimmed baking sheet with heavy duty aluminum foil. Place the rib racks on the baking sheet. Reserve 1 cup of the sauce and pour the remainder over the ribs, coating both sides evenly. Arrange the ribs in a single layer with the meaty sides up. Cover tightly with heavy-duty aluminum foil and refrigerate for a minimum of four hours or overnight.
Preheat the oven to 300°F and set an oven rack in the center position. Place the covered ribs in the oven and bake undisturbed for 2 hours. Remove the ribs from the oven and carefully remove the foil (the steam will be very hot and can burn).
Using a pastry brush or back of a spoon, coat the racks generously with the reserved sauce. Increase the oven temperature to 350°F. Return the pan to the oven, uncovered, and cook until the sauce is sticky and the ribs begin to caramelize, about 30 minutes.
Allow to cool briefly before slicing between the ribs to serve. Garnish with scallions and sesame seeds, if desired.
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Baby Back Ribs with Hoisin BBQ Sauce
Dig into these succulent Asian-inspired ribs, slow-cooked to perfection in a rich hoisin barbecue sauce. They’re so tender, they practically fall right off the bone.
Ingredients
- 1 cup hoisin sauce, best quality such as Kikkoman or Lee Kum Kee
- ½ cup chili sauce (preferably Heinz)
- 2½ tablespoons dry Sherry
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1½ tablespoons rice vinegar
- ½ teaspoon Asian/toasted sesame oil
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 racks baby back pork ribs (4 to 5 pounds), membrane removed (see note below)
For Serving (optional)
- 2 scallions, dark green parts only
- Sesame seeds
Instructions
- Make the hoisin BBQ sauce by combining all of the ingredients except for the ribs in a medium bowl.
- Cut the rib rack racks in half into 6- or 7-rib sections. Line a rimmed baking sheet with heavy duty aluminum foil. Place the rib racks on the baking sheet. Reserve 1 cup of the sauce and pour the remainder over the ribs, coating both sides evenly. Arrange the ribs in a single layer with the meaty sides up. Cover tightly with heavy-duty aluminum foil and refrigerate for a minimum of four hours or overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 300°F and set an oven rack in the center position. Place the covered ribs in the oven and bake undisturbed for 2 hours. Remove the ribs from the oven and carefully remove the foil (the steam will be very hot and can burn). Using a pastry brush or back of a spoon, coat the racks generously with the reserved sauce. Increase the oven temperature to 350°F. Return the pan to the oven, uncovered, and cook until the sauce is sticky and the ribs begin to caramelize, about 30 minutes. Allow to cool briefly before slicing between the ribs to serve. Garnish with scallions and sesame seeds, if desired.
- Note: Ask your butcher to remove the white membrane on the underside of the ribs. If you need to remove it yourself, loosen it at the edge with a butter knife and peel it off (if it's slippery, grab it with a paper towel). Note that there appears to be another layer of membrane underneath the one you remove; you shouldn't remove it as it's what holds the meat and bones together.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Serving size: 4
- Calories: 1,250
- Fat: 77 g
- Saturated fat: 27 g
- Carbohydrates: 46 g
- Sugar: 31 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 91 g
- Sodium: 2,330 mg
- Cholesterol: 315 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Kids that usually like ribs were not a fan and I thought it was a little too sweet, but my husband enjoyed them.
These were yummy. Substituted sriracha chili sauce because that’s all I had, and they were delicious!!! I added a little less so the spice wouldn’t overtake the meat and it was great. Also didn’t have the sesame oil so used olive oil and it was still perfect. Everyone ate them which is a huge accomplishment in my household of five. Thank you Jenn, for your site. The recipes are consistently delicious and never have to worry that something new I’m trying will turn out bad. Love trying all your recipes!!!!! You also are always so kind, which makes your site even better. 🙂
These ribs were flavorful and tender with a touch of Asian flavor that I enjoyed. Easy to make, still, they do not compare with your Bar B Q Short Ribs which are my favorite . This Asian sauce could definitely be used to make the short ribs if you prefer this sauce and beef ribs instead of the Pork ribs. I prefer the beef.
Hi Kathy. We all have our personal tastes. You prefer beef ribs over pork. That’s your choice, but please don’t rate a recipe lower because of your choice of protein. The fact that this recipe would be good on beef as well as pork should be a positive, rather than a reason to downgrade from 5 to 3 stars . Your bad review affects Jenn.
I made this last night and it was close to perfect. Just a little too sweet for our taste. Next time I’ll cut down on the honey.
Thanks for another great recipe Jenn!
Would it work to cook these in a slow cooker rather than in the oven? Any suggestions on how long?
Hi Katie, I think you could use a slow cooker for these. I almost never use one so I’m not certain about timing, but I think you should be fine with cooking them for 6-8 hours on low or for 3-4 hours on high, until the ribs are tender. I’d love to hear how they turn out if you prepare them this way!
Do you cook the ribs covered in the
oven?
Carol
Hi Carol, you bake the ribs, covered, at 300 degrees for 2 hours; then you (carefully!) remove the foil, increase the oven temp to 350, and return them to the oven for 30 more minutes. Enjoy!
Plan on making these for July 4th for about 30-35 people along with a chicken entree, appetizers and sides. How may lbs would you suggest?
Hi Jeff, Usually I’d count on about a pound per person, but since you’ll have a lot of other food as well, I think 4 ribs per person (or about 1/3 a rack) would be good.
Ribs – the messier the better! I stuck with the Asian influence and served with Thai cucumber salad and veggie fried rice. Yum!!
We love ribs…. all kinds of ribs! So glad you specified Heinz chili sauce – there are so many different kinds of chili sauce… sweet, hot, thai… never know which one I need.
what’s not to love about a gooey bbq sauce…these ribs were delicious and left my family wanting for more.