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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Hi Jenn,
I Made the mistake of buying side ribs. Is there anything I should do differently with this recipe?
Hi Deborah, Spare ribs are bigger so you’ll likely need to cook them a bit longer. Just keep an eye on them. They’re done when they’re tender. Hope you enjoy and please LMK how they turn out!
Marinade was very good. I did finish the ribs off on the grill which added a lil char and made the appearance look good. Definitely a keeper recipe.
I forgot to take off the membrane. Hopefully they won’t be tough. Can’t wait to try them
Hi Lea, the ribs won’t fall apart, but they should be fine. 😊
The ribs were fantastic, everyone it the family loved it. my son request for me to make it again. Side dishes were caesar salad and fried potato wedges.
These are so delicious (as all your recipes)! I wanted to know if you can freeze these? And would it be better after cooked or just freeze in the marinade? The package of ribs is pretty big so I would normally divide it into 2 meals.
Hi Margot, I’ve never frozen these cooked or uncooked, but if you want to freeze them, I’d suggest freezing them uncooked in the marinade. Hope that helps! 🙂
Very tasty. I did away with the chili, since we did not want it to be very hot, and the dry Sherry, as we did not have the ingredient. Easy and quick recipe
Delicious! This is great, so easy to prepare and was a big hit, I have made it twice so far. The last batch lasted two days but I doubled the sauce so I poured the extra on when I reheated the ribs and they were perfect. Served with the Thai crunch salad, which was also very good and that held up very well second day, too. I actually enjoyed the slaw even more the second day. I am a huge fan of your Asian kale salad and it has a similar taste. I love trying new recipes but HATE money spent, time wasted on a bad one….that has never happened with any of your recipes, they always turn out great!
Hi Jen,
Can these ribs be done on the grill and, if so, would you mind giving specific instructions?
Also, we’re thinking of having some shrimp on the grill as well. What would some good sides and salads be to go with ribs and shrimp.
Thanks in advance!
Joan Ollendorf
Hi Joan, I would recommend using a combination of the oven and grill for the ribs. After removing them from the oven after 2 hours, I’d put them on the grill over medium heat. Grill the ribs on each side for 15 minutes. Flip when necessary, for 30 minutes total. I’d baste them with the reserved BBQ sauce during the last 5 to 10 minutes of grilling time. Please LMK how they turn out!
Hi, love these ribs. Could you please confirm if these can be made ahead and reheated?
Thanks very much…
Hi Kim, Glad you like these! I think that would work. I’d reheat them in the oven covered with foil until heated through and then pull the foil off to let them crisp up for a few minutes.
Made this over Christmas break. Used less sweetness than directed, as per personal taste. They were very yummy!
So happy with this recipe! So easy and foolproof!! Usually when I follow recipes, it doesn’t turn out the way I had hoped, but this one hits it right on the mark!! Delicious looking and tasting. Will become my go to recipe for ribs. I didn’t have rice vinegar and skipped the chili sauce because of my children and it still turned out wonderful. I only had 2 lbs of ribs so I halved the recipe and the sauce quantity was just right. Thank you so much Jenn! I stumbled upon this blog searching for an asian rib recipe and so glad I found it. Can’t wait to try some of your other recipes.