Sous vide baby back ribs with a sweet, tangy BBQ sauce – juicy and succulent. Finish them on the grill or broiler for a delicious all-season meal that will be well appreciated.

I had to try ribs in our new sous vide machine from Cederlane Culinary. Given the long cook time – similar to a slow cooker – I wondered if the sous vide method would make a noticeable difference to the taste and texture of the meat.

Make no mistake. The ribs were delicious – super tender and flavourful, but because you’re not aiming for a medium-rare, for example, the slow cook oven method works just as well, I think, in less than half the time with no vacuuming sealing. The nice part, however, is plunging the ribs, sealed in the sous vide bags, into the water and walking away for 6-8 hours without a worry. No fuss, no mess.

Regardless of the cook method, the seasoning and BBQ sauce in this recipe enhance the flavours of the pork without overwhelming it. The flavour of the meat still shines through. The sauce recipe is adapted from a beef short rib recipe by Once Upon a Chef. You can, of course, use your favourite rub and sauce instead.

Both methods – sous vide and oven/grill – can be made-ahead up to the point of saucing and grilling/broiling. Our Famous Montreal Ribs (Copycat) Recipe – pictured/linked after the sous vide recipe – is a good example of the alternative oven-to-grill (or broil) method.

Shortcuts

use any purchased rib rub instead of making it yourself.
use your favourite store-bought BBQ sauce instead of making it yourself.

Sous Vide Baby Back Ribs Recipe

Created by Cheryl on March 6, 2017

Sous vide baby back ribs with a sweet, tangy BBQ sauce - juicy and succulent. Finish them on the grill or broiler for a delicious all season meal.

Prep Time: 20m
Cook Time: 6h 10m
Total Time: 6h 30m

Yield: 2-4 servings
Category: main, make ahead

Ingredients

1 rack baby back ribs (2-3 pounds)

Rub

2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon oregano
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1/2 teaspoon EACH - garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder

BBQ Sauce

1/2 cup ketchup
1/3 cup brown sugar
4 teaspoons cider vinegar
4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
4 teaspoons Dijon mustard
3/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Instructions

PREPARE THE SOUS VIDE BATH: Fill water in the sous vide machine as per manufacturers instructions. Set the temperature to 165F and allow water to heat to that temperature.
MAKE THE RUB: Add all rub ingredients in a small bowl. Mix well to combine.
PREPARE THE BACK RIBS: Remove the silver skin on the back of the ribs by sliding the tip of a knife under the skin at the small end of the rack. Loosen the skin from the bone, then grab it with a paper towel and peel the skin off the entire rib. With any luck, it should peel away in one large sheet. Cut the rack horizontally into 3 pieces. Generously season each piece on both sides with the rub. Fold back top of sous vide bags about an inch to create a flap (this ensures no food touches the top of the bag where it gets sealed). Insert one or two rib portions per bag, ensuring no overlap. Unfold the flap and vacuum seal the bag using a vacuum sealer.
COOK THE RIBS SOUS VIDE: When the temperature of the sous vide machine reaches 165F, submerge the vacuum sealed bags with the ribs into the water. Cover and cook for 6-8 hours.
MAKE THE BBQ SAUCE: Combine all the BBQ sauce ingredients in a bowl. Mix well to combine.
FINISH THE RIBS: Remove the ribs from the water bath. (Ribs can be cooled, then refrigerated at this point to be finished the next day). Remove ribs from the bags. Discard juices. TO BBQ: Clean and oil the grill. Heat grill to medium high. Slather sauce on the ribs. Grill for 2-3 minutes per side, adding more sauce as needed. TO BROIL: Line a pan with foil. Heat broiler and place oven grill 6 inches from the top of the oven/broiler. Place ribs (meaty side down) on the pan and slather with sauce. Broil for 2-3 minutes. Turn ribs over. Slather sauce on top of ribs. Broil for another 2-3 minutes. Spread any remaining sauce on top of ribs. Cut into serving pieces and serve.