Lamb Ribs (Baked then Grilled)

Lamb Ribs are sweet, succulent and juicy. Massaged with a homemade dry rub, oven baked then smothered in sauce, they are finger licking good! Follow my tips to make these lamb spare ribs for an irresistible 'Winner, Winner Lamb Ribs' dinner 😉👍.

Recipes like the Marinated Lamb Ribs, BBQ Lamb Ribs and Slow Cooker Lamb Ribs are all about the lamb.

The Beef Ribs, Oven Baked Pork Ribs and Chicken Ribs are all about the ribs using a variety of proteins.

🤍 Recipe Highlights

I have summarised everything that you will come to know and love (LOVE ❤) about the recipe in the points below:

• Lamb ribs: that about sums it up right 😂👍.
• The point I mention above 🤣.
• No, I am serious, these are so good 😁👌.
• Easy recipe: cooking lamb ribs is super easy. From the outset they are shrouded in a bit of mystery but when you get the hang of them you will be a rib making master chef!
• Oven baked: no need to head out to the bbq, these oven baked ribs are made in the very comfort of your kitchen. We bake them and then change the oven setting and give them a grill to finish things off.
• Family friendly: this is such a fun recipe for the whole family to sit around the table and enjoy together. If feeding little ones you can omit the cayenne pepper so that there is no heat or 'hot spice' in the flavour combination.
• Alternative protein: doing a roast chicken works on a near weekly basis when you have hungry mouths to feed. But it can also be nice to switch it up a little. Lamb offers a great alternative to chicken as does beef and pork for even more variety.

🥗 Ingredients

The photo below is to show you everything you need to make the lamb ribs recipe. Please refer to the printable recipe card for specific ingredient measurements as well as detailed instructions.

As you can see the recipe calls for:

• Salt and pepper: we use salt and a little bit of black pepper in the dry rub to season the lamb.
• Garlic powder: so handy and easy to use. This is a fantastic ingredient to have in your spice draw!
• Onion powder: as above. This is convenient, easy to use and it works in so many recipes!
• Mustard powder: this is a great ingredient to use in dry rubs. It is very soft and brings flavor yet doesn't overwhelm the entire dish with its flavor.
• Brown sugar: commonly used in dried spice rubs, we only need to use a small amount.
• Paprika: brightly coloured and perfect to blend in with the other ingredients we are using mild ground (not hot) paprika.
• Cayenne pepper: this is a hot spice 🌶. It has more of an orange colour than the red of the paprika. We only need a little bit of this as even that small amount goes a long way!
• Worcestershire sauce: we use this as our cooking liquid and pour it into the base of the baking dish before adding the lamb ribs.
• Lamb Ribs: you will more than likely have to head to your local butcher to get these. They are less commonly sold in grocery stores these days. You can ask them for 'lamb ribs' or 'lamb spare ribs'.

🍖 Lamb Ribs Sauce

• Worcestershire sauce: known for adding a little oomph to recipes that is why we are using it twice to cook our ribs! As well as it being a cooking liquid for the ribs, we use it as part of our 3 simple ingredients to make the barbecue sauce.
• Honey: sweet, sticky and so delicious. This is added to the Worcestershire and barbecue sauce for a simple glaze that we use to baste the ribs before grilling them.
• Barbecue sauce: we add the above 2 ingredients to this and it takes on a delicious zingy tang.

Tasty Tip: I like to provide you with a number of substitutions and variations giving you an array of options when making my recipes. If in doubt of any of the above ingredients, or wanting alternatives, read this section (further below) before jumping into the instructions on how to make the recipe which are coming next 😉👌.

🍳 Instructions

Here are the step by step instructions to make the recipe. We start by making the dry rub.

• Gather the dry rub ingredients (Photo 1)
• Stir to combine (Photo 2)
• Lay ribs in one flat layer on chopping board (Photo 3)
• Sprinkle with half the dry rub and massage in (Photo 4)

👩‍🍳 How to Make Lamb Ribs

Start by gathering the ingredients to make the dry rub for the ribs.

Add the mustard powder, brown sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper to a small glass and use a mini whisk to combine.

Then use a pair of kitchen tongs to place the ribs into one flat layer on a clean, dry chopping board. Sprinkle half of the dry rub over the ribs and use your fingers to massage this in.

Then use the tongs to flip the ribs to the other side.

Sprinkle the remainder of the dry rub over this side of the ribs and again massage in till they are fully covered.

• Flip and massage the dry rub into the other side (Photo 5)
• Pour Worcestershire sauce into the base of the baking dish (Photo 6)
• Place the ribs on top of the cooking liquid (Photo 7)
• Cover the ribs and bake for 1 hour (Photo 8)

Next we spray a large baking dish with cooking oil and then pour the Worcestershire sauce into the base of the dish. (It might look like I am pouring it onto the bench in the photo above as the dish is hard to see. But if you cast an eagle over it and the next pic you will see the glass baking dish 👍).

Then use the tongs to place the dry rub covered ribs on top.

Once that is done, cover the baking dish with aluminium foil and then place them into a preheated oven on the middle shelf and let them bake for 1 hour.

Once the ribs have been in the oven for 1 hour, use oven mits to remove them and place them onto a heatproof surface.

Then discard the foil. Return the ribs to the oven for a further 10 minutes uncovered (this helps the dry rub dry a bit further so it won't rub off when the ribs are being glazed).

• Bake the ribs for a further 10 minutes uncovered (Photo 9)
• Gather the sauce ingredients (Photo 10)
• Stir to combine (Photo 11)
• Baste the ribs then grill for 10 mins x 2 (Photo 12)

Now we want to combine the ingredients for the barbecue sauce.

Add the Worcestershire sauce, honey and bbq sauce to a glass jug and stir to combine.

Then transfer the baked ribs to a silicon mat above a baking tray and rack.

Next change the oven setting to grill at 200°C 392°F6.

Use a pastry brush to liberally coat the ribs in the sauce. Then place them baking rack into the oven on the top shelf.

Allow the ribs to grill for 10 minutes, then remove and re glaze with the sauce and place them back into the oven for a final 10 minutes. The total grill time is 20 minutes (2 x 10 minutes).

Once the ribs are grilled, you can use the oven mits to remove the tray from the oven and place it onto a heatproof surface.

Let the ribs cool for a couple of minutes before transferring to a serving plate.

🍽 Serving Suggestions

Whilst we did already use a lot of sauce, the plate seems kind of empty without another bowl of sauce for dipping, dolloping and dunking. So let's sauce it up 😁.

The Horseradish Yogurt Sauce, Herbed Yogurt Sauce or Garlic Yogurt Sauce are all good sauce options to pair with the ribs. For more ideas, you can have a look at all of the homemade sauce recipes on the blog and pick your favorite. The sauce you see in the bowl in the photo below (on plate to the left) is the Horseradish Yogurt Sauce. It has a little tang about it so it is perfect to pair with ribs.

For breads the Garlic Ciabatta, Turkish Garlic Bread or Garlic Pizza Bread will tick a few boxes.

For pasta sides try the Penne Alfredo, Rigatoni Alfredo or the Spaghetti Alfredo.

To feed a crowd with lots of options try also serving the Ciabatta Pizza or the Bruschetta Pizza.

👍 How to Guide

How to Store

If you have any 😂 you can store the leftover ribs in a sealed airtight container in the fridge. They can be refrigerated for 2 - 3 days and need to be reheated before consuming.

How to Freeze

You can freeze the raw lamb ribs then take them out of the freezer and allow to fully thaw before using (24 hours in the fridge should do the trick).

I don't however, recommend freezing leftovers of the cooked ribs. Doing so takes away from the finger licking good experience in gobbling them fresh from the oven. Pasta you can freeze, ribs, not so much!

How to Reheat

Reheat leftover ribs in the microwave (on a plate with cling wrap) for 2 minutes or in the oven on a silicon mat on a baking rack for 5 to 10 mins, till heated through.

😉 Substitutions and Variations

Here are my sub ins and outs that you might be thinking about as you read the post and I will tell you if I think they will work or why they won't:

• You can omit the brown sugar from the rub if you wish too (no need to replace it with another ingredient).
• If you want to add a dried herb to the spice rub oregano is one that will work with the flavour combination. You would only need to add 1 teaspoon.
• If you want to simply use a store bought barbecue sauce for the glaze before grilling that will work.
• You can use maple syrup (equivalent amount) in place of the honey in the sauce if you wish too.
• You can use this dry rub and sauce combination for pork ribs or beef back ribs if you wish too.

💡 Tasty Tips

Here are my top tips and tricks that I want to share with you so that you master the recipe from the get go:

• Try and keep the dry rub ingredients away from any moisture. It works best if it stays 'dry' as it can be more easily rubbed across the ribs.
• You can rinse the rub off your fingers in between massaging it into sides as after you have been in contact with the raw meat you will have a layer of the rub stuck to them.
• Don't worry if the rub doesn't fully stick to all parts of the ribs. It won't stick to the flat bone bit but if you still give it all a good rub then they will be thoroughly coated.
• Use kitchen tongs when handling the ribs as it makes it so much easier to move them around the place. Especially when they are hot! You can only lick your fingers so much for the one recipe 😉👌.
• Give the sauce another quick stir before basting so that it is consistently combined after it has sat on the bench for a bit.

🤓 Frequently Asked Questions

Are lamb spare ribs the same as rack of lamb?

No. A rack of lamb and lamb spare ribs are different. They are both taken from the rib area of the lamb, however, cut from different sections. The lamb rack is cut from higher up whereas the lamb ribs or lamb spare ribs are cut from the lower part of the rib cage.

How many lamb ribs per person?

Start with 2 ribs per person if you are serving these as an appetizer or up to 5 ribs if they will be the main dish.

How do you eat lamb ribs?

To eat lamb ribs, simply pick up one of the ribs hold it in both hands with your hands at the very end of the rib bone on each end and then chew the meat off the bone.

How many people does 1kg of ribs feed?

1kg of lamb ribs will serve 4 adults.

😍 More Easy Dinner Recipes

No need to stress, wonder or worry about dinner as I have plenty of options to offer you diversity through taste, texture and proteins. Here is some recipes that get 'What's for Dinner?' answered.

• Mexican Beef Soup
• Kottbullar (Swedish Meatballs)
• Thai Minced Pork
• Chicken Noodle Soup
• Pulled Beef Brisket
• White Wine Sauce With Chicken
• Pork Meatballs
• Meatballs Alfredo
• Crumbed Lamb Cutlets
• Mexican Ribs

Its time to get our bake and grill on my friend. You can also find all of my dinner recipes in the one spot!

Adrianne

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