This one comes straight from our family: Lyzz's husband, Domagoj, has been making ribs this way for years. The oven does the ground work, low and slow until the meat is tender. The grill does the pound, with a hot honey glaze brushed on right as the ribs hit the grates for a sticky, crackly char that never tips into burnt.
Yield: 2 racks, serves 4 to 6 | Prep: 15 min | Cook: 3 hr 15 min | Total: 3 hr 30 min
Ingredients
Dry rub
2 racks baby back ribs (about 5 pounds total)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon dry mustard
Hot honey glaze
1/3 cup Killjoy's Hot Honey, plus more to finish
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Flaky sea salt
Steps
Heat the oven to 275°F. Pull the thin membrane off the bone side of each rack (grab a corner with a paper towel and peel).
Mix the rub ingredients and coat both sides of the ribs generously.
Wrap each rack tightly in heavy foil and set them meat side up on a sheet pan.
Bake 2 1/2 to 3 hours, until the meat has pulled back from the bones and a toothpick slides in with almost no resistance.
While the ribs bake, stir the hot honey, melted butter, and vinegar together.
Heat the grill to medium (about 400°F) and oil the grates. Set up a cooler zone on one side.
Unwrap the ribs. Right as each rack goes on the grill, brush a thin coat of glaze over the meat side and lay it glaze side down. Grill 2 to 3 minutes.
Brush a thin coat on the top, flip, and grill 2 to 3 minutes more, just until the edges caramelize and char. If the glaze starts to blacken, move the rack to the cooler zone.
Rest 5 minutes, slice between the bones, and finish with a light drizzle of hot honey and a pinch of flaky salt.
Killjoy's Tip: Thin coats, short time. Honey goes from caramelized to burnt fast over a hot grill, so Domagoj adds it right as the ribs go on and pulls them as soon as the edges char. Save the big drizzle for after they come off.
Shop the honey: Made with Killjoy's Hot Honey. Grab a bottle in the shop.
Do not feed honey to infants under 1 year of age.
