5 Ways to Cook Ribs

Make the best ribs with these tips for cooking them on the grill, in the oven, in a fryer, a slow cooker, or on the stove.

Smoking ribs on the barbecue is a labor of love, but requires the fire may need to be tended frequently for several hours or more. Luckily, there are many ways to prepare delicious baby backs and spareribs, whether you've got half a day, a yard, and lots of patience, or nothing more than a slow cooker. Here are our five best methods for cooking ribs:

Grill all the way

For ribs with incomparably smoky flavor, you have to cook them low and slow on the grill, adding more charcoal and wood chips every so often to keep the temperature steady. Ribs cooked this way need some pampering (you would too, if you were spending hours in a sauna). When grilling his South American-style beef ribs, John Manion, chef and owner of Chicago's El Che Steakhouse & Bar, spritzes them with red wine vinegar every 30 minutes over the course of grilling them for three to four hours to give them flavor and tenderize the meat. As well, Manion seasons them with a spice rub hours several hours before grilling to ensure they emerge from the grill with a great crust, rub them in advance with spices. For his Cider-Basted Baby Back Ribs with Lemon Barbecue Sauce, Steven Raichlen also uses the apple cider vinegar spritz technique, then finishes them off with a citrusy glaze.

Roast, then grill

If you want to capture some of that smoky flavor but can't quite commit to the half-day spa treatment for your ribs, let your oven do the initial work, wrapping the ribs in foil and cooking them low and slow until they're tender. Then just finish them over a blazing fire on the grill, brushing them with a glaze until they're nicely caramelized — chef Andy Ricker adapted his recipe for Honey-Glazed Baby Back Ribs with Whiskey Marinade for this technique to make them easier for home cooking. Or, take a tip from grilling cookbook author Paula Disbrowe and reverse the process by starting the ribs on the grill and then slow-roasting them in the oven until they're meltingly tender.

Roast, then broil

But what if you you don't have a grill? Are you destined for a life without ribs? Of course not. Simply roast them at a low temperature until tender, then use the broiler to give them a nice crust, as food writers Linda Burum and Linda Merinoff suggest with their recipe for Kalbi (Grilled Korean-Style Short Ribs).

Braise, then fry

For super-tender ribs with extra crispy bits, you can braise them slowly in a flavorful liquid, then deep-fry them and toss with a glaze, chicken wing-style. The ribs become meltingly tender, and when they are deep-fried become super crisp.

Braise, then broil

For another way to make absolutely delicious ribs, braise them in a pot (or slow cooker) until they're tender and then glaze and broil them to finish. Starting with a super flavorful braising liquid has an added advantage: you can reduce it into a sauce or glaze for serving. If you're short on time, use a pressure cooker.

Related: More Delicious Rib Recipes

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