Published May 24, 2023.This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
This delicious, easy-to-make BBQ fall-off-the-bone ribs recipe will quickly become a family and friend favorite. You will be blown away at just how flavorful these ribs are and how simple they are to prepare.
No matter the BBQ, side dishes are a huge part of making it successful. If you want tasty recipes to serve alongside this smoked brisket, check out myCreamy ColeslaworSouthern Potato Salad.
Fall Off the Bone Ribs
Fall-off-the-bone ribs are a bit of an anomaly in the BBQ world. Contrary to popular belief, ribs are not supposed to fall off the bone. They should be smoked at low temperatures for long periods of time and should require a gentle tug to remove them from the bone. However, there are many people out there, my family included, who enjoy eating ribs that are so tender they fall right off the bone.
Since many folks do not have smokers, this is a great alternative that renders excellent results and flavor. You can customize this recipe to your liking by using your spice rub and BBQ sauce.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Ribs – I used baby back-cut ribs for this recipe.
- Vinegar – Apple cider vinegar will help provide some much-needed acid to the ribs before grilling.
- Sauce – I like to use my Homemade BBQ Sauce or my Vinegar BBQ Sauce for this. However, you can use your favorite sauce for this.
- Stock – Beef stock will add some great flavors when steam roasting the ribs in the oven.
- Seasonings – I prefer only sea salt and ground black pepper, but you can step it up and use a BBQ rub.
- Binder – A binder is used to ensure the seasoning sticks to the ribs. I like to use rendered lard for this.
How to Make Fall Off the Bone Rib
Remove the membrane (peritoneum) from the bottom of the ribs by taking a small slice of the last bone.
Grab ahold of the membrane using a paper towel and gently pull it until it is removed.
Cover the ribs on all sides with softened rendered pork lard to act as a binder for seasoning.
Generously season the ribs on all sides with sea salt and ground black pepper.
Place the ribs bone side down into a large deep baking pan. I used a 400-hotel pan.
Pour 2 cups of beef stock into the pan.
Cover with foil and bake at 300° for 2 ½ hours or until the meat easily pulls away from the bones.
Remove the ribs and let them rest on a cutting board or sheet tray for 10 to 15 minutes.
Generously spray or brush on apple cider vinegar on all sides.
Add the ribs bone side up to a hot grill (450° to 550°) for 2 to 3 minutes to mark the ribs. They should get some light grill marks on them.
Flip the ribs over and then generously brush the top of the ribs with BBQ Sauce and grill for 2 to 3 minutes or mark them.
Turn them over one last time to get the BBQ sauce cooked into the ribs for 1 to 2 minutes, and then brush the bottom part of the ribs with more sauce.
Remove the ribs, and serve.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Make-Ahead: These ribs are meant to be eaten when they’re done cooking. However, you can keep them warm in a pan covered with foil in the oven at low temperatures (<200°) for up to 1 hour before serving.
How to Store: Cover and keep the ribs in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. These will freeze covered for up to 3 months. Thaw them in the refrigerator for 1 day or until thawed.
How to Reheat: Add the desired number of ribs to a pan and cover with foil. Bake at 350° for 8 to 10 minutes or until hot.
Chef Notes + Tips
- You can use spare ribs or St. Louis-style ribs using the exact cook times and temperatures for this recipe. and procedures.
- Other binders you can use are Dijon mustard, yellow mustard, softened butter, or oil.
- If you don’t have a grill to mark the ribs, place them under the broiler on high heat for the same time as on the grill.
More BBQ Recipes
- Smoked Ribs
- Grilled BBQ Chicken
- Smoked Pork Shoulder
- BBQ Pork Steaks
- Smoked Brisket
Video
Save
Fall Off the Bone Ribs Recipe
5 from 36 votes
This delicious, easy-to-make BBQ fall-off-the-bone ribs recipe will quickly become a family and friend favorite.
Servings: 6
Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours hours 45 minutes minutes
Total Time: 2 hours hours 55 minutes minutes
Ingredients
- 2 baby back rib racks
- 4 tablespoons room temperature lard
- 4 teaspoons sea salt
- 4 teaspoons ground black pepper
- 2 cups beef stock
- 1 cup BBQ sauce
Instructions
Remove the membrane (peritoneum) from the bottom of the ribs by taking a small slice on the last bone.
Grab ahold of the membrane using a paper towel and gently pull it until it is removed.
Cover the ribs on all sides with softened rendered pork lard to act as a binder for seasoning.
Generously season the ribs on all sides with sea salt and ground black pepper.
Place the ribs bone side down into a large deep baking pan. I used a 400-hotel pan.
Pour 2 cups of beef stock into the pan.
Cover with foil and bake at 300° for 2 ½ hours or until the meat easily pulls away from the bones.
Remove the ribs and let them rest on a cutting board or sheet tray for 10 to 15 minutes.
Generously spray or brush on apple cider vinegar on all sides.
Add the ribs bone side up to a hot grill (450° to 550°) for 2 to 3 minutes to mark the ribs. They should get some light grill marks on them.
Flip the ribs over and then generously brush the top of the ribs with BBQ Sauce and grill for 2 to 3 minutes or mark them.
Turn them over one last time to get the BBQ sauce cooked into the ribs for 1 to 2 minutes, and then brush the bottom part of the ribs with more sauce.
Remove the ribs from the grill and serve.
Notes
Make-Ahead: These ribs are meant to be eaten when they’re done cooking. However, you can keep them warm in a pan covered with foil in the oven at low temperatures (<200°) for up to 1 hour before serving.
How to Store: Cover and keep the ribs in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. These will freeze covered for up to 3 months. Thaw them in the refrigerator for 1 day or until thawed.
How to Reheat: Add the desired number of ribs to a pan and cover with foil. Bake at 350° for 8 to 10 minutes or until hot.
You can use spare ribs or St. Louis-style ribs using the exact cook times and temperatures for this recipe. and procedures.
Other binders you can use are Dijon mustard, yellow mustard, softened butter, or oil.
If you don’t have a grill to mark the ribs, place them under the broiler on high heat for the same time as on the grill.
Nutrition
Calories: 374kcalCarbohydrates: 21gProtein: 20gFat: 23gSaturated Fat: 10gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0.4gCholesterol: 85mgSodium: 2342mgPotassium: 512mgFiber: 1gSugar: 16gVitamin A: 368IUVitamin C: 0.3mgCalcium: 61mgIron: 1mg
Course: dinner, lunch, Main
Cuisine: American
Author: Chef Billy Parisi
Elevate Your Every Day Cooking
Get Chef Billy’s go-to tips that transform “blah” into “brilliant” plus weekly newsletter!
Add a comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
79 comments
- Heather Ijames
Love it!
- Reply
- S Conrad
Drooling…
- Reply
- Gloria Martino
Yummy perfectly tender falling off the bones delicious Thank you Chef
- Reply
perfect!!
- Reply
- Robin Graviet
Made these for my husband’s birthday for the whole family. So easy and delicious.
- Reply
fantastic!
- Reply
- Donna
Absolutely delicious!
- Reply
so good!!
- Reply
- June.
Fantastic ribs!!
- Reply
thank you so kindly!!
- Reply
- Jeni
These ribs were the best I’ve ever eaten. moist, tender and juicy and full of flavor. You’ve knocked another recipe out of the ballpark, Chef. We’ll definitely be making these again soon. Delicious!
- Reply
fantastic!
- Reply
- Gloria Martino
Easy recipe so tender thanks Chef
- Reply
so good!!
- Reply
- Carolyn Peace
Used this recipe for the 4th of July and it was a big hit!
- Reply
excellent!
- Reply
- Josefine Nauckhoff
Crazy good.
- Reply
- Chris Dean
Loved them Family loved them ! Thx Chef Billy for the great recipes !
- Reply
fantastic
- Reply
- Caroline Schutz
Billy, you nailed it for “fall off the bone” rib lovers! (Me!)
This recipe is no nonsense, easy – peasy and the results are nothing short of perfection!
The local rib joints just lost a couple of customers because these are SO MUCH better!
Thank you, thank you! 😉🙏- Reply
Love it!
- Reply
- Karen Carron
I made these today for dinner! We got some much needed rain so I had to put them back in the oven after I used the barbecue sauce but they were AMAZING!
- Reply
so good!!
- Reply
- Carolyn
Hi there,
Haven’t made these yet but I am excited to give it a whirl! Question: Can you do the steaming part a day ahead and then refridgerate over night and do the grill part the next day?
- Reply
I think so.
- Reply
- Irma Perez
This was an excellent recipe my family loved it. Just like the other recipes I have tried. ummm Gooood God bless you Chef.
- Reply
thank you so kindly!!
- Reply
- Virginia Watkins
This was the best rib recipe I have ever tried! Delicious!
- Reply
fantastic
- Reply
- Donna Cetroni
The best ribs ever! Happy Fathers Day cause these fathers will be happily devouring these delicious ribs.
- Reply
thanks for giving it a shot!!
- Reply
- Eva West
It turned out great! Delicious! So thankful for Billy Paresi’s recipes.
- Reply
Many thanks!
- Reply
- Trisha
Just like Chef Parisi said — fall of the bone tender. I have been cooking his recipes for a few years now — and haven’t made a single one that wasn’t restaurant quality. Thank you for sharing all of these, Chef.
- Reply
- Marianne
It was so easy! They tasted awesome!
- Reply
Excellent!
- Reply
- Connie Bronstad
Excellent ribs! Sauce was so tasty!
- Reply
- Gerry Durisin
Delicious! Always true to the name “fall off the bone” these ribs are consistently tasty and tender. A family favorite for summer gatherings.
- Reply
thank you so kindly!!
- Reply
- Kenneth
Made these last night but used country style ribs, homemade vegtable broth, added onion slices, celery, red bell pepper and peppercorns. Also I rubbed the ribs with bacon grease. Came out well but my bbq sauce was thick. That is on me since i need to work on that. Very best part was the broth after cooking. I reduced it a little and made a nice gravy with it. Gave me an excellent alternative for the ribs i didnt sauce. Thank you for all the great cooking advice.
- Reply
- Kathleen
OMG these ribs were so very tender, moist, not at all dry. Turned out very well indeed 🙌
- Reply
Excellent!
- Reply
- Grace Mcduffie
So good
- Reply
thank you so kindly!!
- Reply
- Chrissie
Made this recipe last week and the ribs where so delicious and definitely fell off the bones. Totally enjoy making all of your recipes.
- Reply
Love it!
- Reply
- Cristela Aviles
Love all your recipes!!!
- Reply
thank you so kindly!!
- Reply
- Marla
A simple recipe but very tasty
- Reply
so good!!
- Reply
- Addy
Chef Billy has great recipes!
- Reply
many thanks!
- Reply
- Kathy Deddens
My guests raved over these! I was thrilled! 💞
- Reply
awesome
- Reply
- Margaret A Lesniak
Delicious and so easy. I have wasted time on dry rubbing and so on and didn’t get compliments from my husband. He loved them.
- Reply
so good!!
- Reply
- ANNETTE HINES
DELICIOUS!!!!
- Reply
so good!!
- Reply
- Fisher JoAnn
Love the ribs!
- Reply
so good!!
- Reply
- Paula Tessier
The were some of the best ribs I’ve had and by far the best that I have ever made. This will be my only rib recipe from now on! PS! I made the run recipe that is linked…really good!
- Reply
Love it!
- Reply
- Sue
They were so tender and full of flavor
- Reply
so good!!
- Reply
- Donna A Pollock
Yes, we did make this recipe Billy. We did it all on the grill though. My son had his competition this past Saturday. 31 entries and he came in at 4th place with Judges and 1st place with The Peoples Choice. It was a lot of fun this day… Thanks to you and all of your ideas, tricks, and great tips. my so was a very happy man. I always prepare everything for him and set up his station, while he starts his smoker. Then it’s all him after that point. These BBQ are so much fun, and it is always nice to win, and even better when you get a check to go with it….
- Reply
- Anne Blandford
Fantastic recipe. I make so many of your dishes they never fail thank you. Do you have a printed recipe book please.
- Reply
Great!
- Reply
- Becky
Love your recipes!! I’m looking forward to trying these ribs can you tell me if you updated the recipe as you mentioned? Also, which would likely to be more tender beef or pork?
Thanks- Reply
Not for a few more weeks yet 🙂
- Reply
- Matthew
Hey Chef. Just wanted to say thank you! Relative beginner here and have made several dishes from your site, and they have been absolutely delicious. The smoked pulled pork has been a hit, these ribs were well-received. I have learned a lot, impressed a few people, and just super enjoyed the experience of investigating new flavors and ways to cook. Appreciated brother! Much love
- Reply
Nice. I’m actually getting ready to update this recipe to make it a bit easier and a lot tastier.
- Reply
- Ja’el
I used short beef ribs with the rub, let it marinade over night and cooked them in the slow cooker….WOW…fall off the bone is an understatement!!! Fantastic flavor!!!! I’m having to be careful with sugar intake right now so I skipped the bbq saucepart (which I’m totally going to try at a later date cause I know it will be amazing) and I had to use caraway seeds instead of coriander cause I didn’t have coriander on hand but soooo delicious! Can’t wait to make these again! Thanks so much Chef Billy for your tried, tested and true recipes!!! All our family can say is W O W!!
- Reply
- Judy Sclafani-McDaniel
This recipe is a “must try”! Can you tell me if the mangoes are the small yellow variety or the large green/yellow.
- Reply
you can actually use either.
- Reply
- Bob Frayer
Hi Billy
The sauce recipe looks real good. I am going to have to try it for sure. I been doing a brown sugar base dry rub for the last few years and doing a low heat light smoke with a rotisserie for my ribs. I always have some extra rub I save. I let you try some next time your in town or I’ll mail you some.
Take care chef
Uncle Bob- Reply
- Mark
Hey just one question master, how do you move the ribs to the grill after the oven if they are falling off the bone. It would be a shame to try and sear and flip them and they break everywhere. What’s your trick?
- Reply
I have a really long set of tongs that allows me to sort of scoop them up and flip them pretty easily. Remember you are really just marking them to crust on that bbq sauce so at a max 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Hope this helps?
- Reply
- GettaGripGee
I am an aspiring Chef currently in culinary school. I just wanted to say I admire your passion for food. You push me to be creative and take chances where I wouldn’t normally! Thanks!
- Reply
Thanks so much for the kind words! Keep pushing yourself, just like one of my favorite chefs used to tell me, “You are only limited by your own creativity!”
- Reply
