Tony Roma’s World Famous Ribs

This is from one of my favorite cookbooks, Todd Wilbur’s “Top Secret Restaurant Recipes.” I’ve tried this recipe once and it is very good.

4 lbs. baby back pork ribs or 4 pounds pork spare ribs

barbecue sauce for coating

1. Often when you buy ribs at the butch counter, you get a full rack of ribs that wouldn’t fit on a plate. Usually you just have to cut these long racks in half to get the perfect serving size (about 4 to 6 rib bones per rack). You’ll likely have 4 of these smaller racks at about a pound each.

2. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

3. Tear off 4 pieces of aluminum foil that are roughly 6 inches longer than the ribs.

4. Coat the ribs, front and back, with your choice of barbecue sauce. Place a rack of ribs (bone side down), one at a time, onto a piece of foil lengthwise and wrap it tightly.

5. Place the ribs into the oven with the seam of the foil wrap facing up. Cook for 2 to 2 ½ hours, or until you see the meat of the ribs shrinking back from the cut ends of the bones by about ½ inch. This long cooking time will ensure that the meat will be very tender and fall off the bone.

6. Toward the end of the cooking time, prepare the barbecue grill.

7. Remove the ribs from the foil and smother them with additional barbecue sauce. Be sure to save some sauce for later.

8. Grill the ribs on the hot barbecue for 2 to 4 minutes per side, or just until you see several spots of charred blackened sauce. Watch for flames and do not burn!

9. When the ribs are done, use a sharp knife to slice the meat between each bone about halfway down. This will make it easier to tear the ribs apart when they are served.

Serve the ribs piping hot with additional sauce on the side, if desired.

Tip: If you have time, marinade these ribs in advance for 24 hours in the refrigerator before cooking. (Another tip not in the book, if you don’t want to get the grill out, you could opt to add a little liquid smoke to the barbecue sauce - 1/2 teaspoon or so.)