Easy Oven Beef Back Ribs: Quick Prep, Slow Braise

I’m embarrassed to admit I’d never made ribs before.

I finally cooked a rack of our beef back ribs, and the whole cook happened on one sheet pan. The rack weighed about three pounds and fed four people. I sealed the pan tightly with two layers of foil, let the ribs cook until tender, and finished them under the broiler for a few minutes.

The bones slid right out. The ribs came out great, and the process was easy.

This is a good way to make a special dinner with very little hands-on work. A quick round of prep gets the ribs ready, and a slow, covered braise gives them time to become tender.

There wasn’t enough sauce left in the pan to reduce, so I skipped that step. The ribs were good as they were.

Quick prep and a slow braise

Beef back ribs need time to become tender, but most of that time is hands-off. A tightly covered pan holds moisture around the meat while the oven does the work.

Plan on about 15 minutes for prep, then a few hours in the oven. You’ll season the ribs, add a simple mixture of broth, tomato paste, garlic, mustard and vinegar, and seal the pan. There is no need to stand over the stove stirring or turn the ribs throughout the cook.

Use a sturdy, rimmed metal sheet pan that is safe under your broiler. The rim needs to contain the broth and rendered fat. Keep the liquid shallow, with plenty of room below the rim.

Nutrition on the plate

Beef provides protein along with iron, zinc and vitamin B12. Some of its iron is heme iron, a form the body absorbs readily. Those nutrients are part of the reason beef can be a useful part of a meal.

The amount of those nutrients in a serving depends on the portion of cooked meat. For this dinner, a rack of about three pounds fed four people.

Sheet pan beef back ribs recipe

Download the printable beef back ribs recipe (PDF)

Serves four from a rack of about 3 pounds. Start with fully thawed ribs. Allow about 15 minutes of prep and 3–4 hours covered at 300°F, checking tenderness at 2½ hours, followed by a short broil and a 10-minute rest. Prep and cooking times are estimates.

Ingredients

• 1 rack beef back ribs, about 3 pounds, fully thawed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil or melted beef tallow
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
• 1½ teaspoons black pepper
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon fine salt, reduced to ½ teaspoon if using salted broth
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne, optional
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup unsalted beef broth, using only what the pan safely holds

Method

1. Heat the oven to 300°F. Pat the ribs dry, rub with oil or tallow, and season with the paprika, pepper, onion powder, salt, cumin and optional cayenne.
2. Place the ribs bone-side down on the rimmed metal pan. Mix the garlic, tomato paste, mustard and vinegar with the broth. Spoon some over the ribs and pour the rest around them, keeping the liquid shallow.
3. Cover tightly with two layers of foil, sealing around the pan’s edges. Cook for about 3–4 hours. Start checking at 2½ hours, opening the foil carefully to release steam. The meat should yield easily to a fork. If it is still firm, reseal and keep cooking.
4. Remove the foil. Carefully spoon off any excess pooled fat before broiling. Broil with the meat about 6–8 inches from the heat for roughly 3–5 minutes, watching constantly and stopping once the surface is browned. Follow your pan and oven’s broiling instructions.
5. Rest for 10 minutes. Serve with any usable pan juices. Reducing a separate sauce is optional; mine didn’t need it.

The slow braise takes time, but the work is simple. One pan, a tight foil seal and a short finish under the broiler made these grassfed beef back ribs an easy special dinner at home.

See our grassfed beef back ribs