Air fryer ribs
A rack of baby back ribs with a smoky rub and sticky BBQ glaze in under an hour, no oven and no grill needed.
- 55 min total
- 15 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 2
- About $6.49 a serving
- 1270 calories
- Gluten-free
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Most of the time here is hands-off, so you can sit down while it cooks.
Ingredients
For 2 servings.
- 1 baby back rib, rack
- ½ cup bbq sauce
From your pantry
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
Each serving has about 1270 calories, 63 g protein, 39 g carbs and 94 g fat, and costs about $6.49 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the ribs dry. On the bone side, slide a butter knife under the thin, shiny membrane at one end, grab it with a paper towel, and it off.
Pat dry. Patting dry means pressing paper towels onto food to soak up the moisture on its surface. Wet food steams instead of browning, so this is how you get a good sear and crisp skin.
How you’ll know: The surface feels tacky, not wet, and the last paper towel comes away barely damp.
Peel. Peeling means removing the skin with a vegetable peeler or a small knife. It takes off tough or bitter skins, though potato and carrot skins are fine to leave on unless the recipe insists.
How you’ll know: The color underneath is even all over, with no patches of skin left behind.
Mix the brown sugar, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper and rub it all over the ribs. Wash your hands.
Food safety: Wash your hands, the board and the knife with hot soapy water after touching raw meat, and don’t rinse raw chicken in the sink.
Cut the rack between the bones into 4 pieces so it fits in the basket.
the air fryer to 375°F for 3 minutes.
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
Timer: 3 min
Air fry the ribs meat side down 15 minutes, then flip them meat side up.
Timer: 15 min
Dolly’s tip: Stand them on their sides against each other if they don’t fit flat. Just keep air moving around them.Air fry 12 to 15 minutes more, until the meat is tender and has pulled back from the bone ends.
Timer: 13 min
Food safety: Steak, pork chops and other whole cuts are safe at 145°F in the middle, then let them rest for 3 minutes before cutting.
Brush the ribs all over with the BBQ sauce and air fry 4 to 5 minutes, until sticky and .
Caramelize. Caramelizing means cooking slowly until the natural sugars turn deep golden brown. It turns sharp onions soft, jammy and sweet, and it often takes 30 minutes or more.
How you’ll know: They’re soft, sticky and amber brown, and they taste sweet rather than sharp.
Timer: 4 min 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: Watch the last few minutes. The sugar in the sauce darkens fast.Let them 5 minutes, then cut between the bones.
Rest. Resting means letting cooked meat sit for a few minutes before you cut it. It keeps cooking gently, and more of the juice stays in the meat instead of running onto the board.
How you’ll know: Loosely covered with foil, it stays hot, and very little juice runs out when you slice it.
Timer: 5 min
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
