(cooking method used)

Half an hour before you want to begin cooking the ribs, preheat the oven to 225 degrees F and remove the ribs from the refrigerator to warm up. Wrap the ribs in aluminum foil (see Notes for an alternative, unwrapped cooking method). Place the ribs on a sheet pan, bone side down (meaty side up), and put them in the preheated oven. Set the timer for 3 hours.

When the timer goes off, remove the sheet pan with the ribs from the oven. Gently peel back part of the foil, and insert the probe of an instant-read thermometer in the fleshy part of the ribs between a pair of bones (don’t touch the bone with the probe; it will read hotter than the meat). If the thermometer reads 170 degrees F, proceed with the next step. Otherwise, cover the ribs and return them to the oven. Check them again in half an hour or so. (You need to use your judgment as to how much extra time to give them. Obviously if the ribs are 165 degrees they’ll need much less extra time than if they’re 150.) Once the ribs reach 170 degrees F, reduce the oven temperature to 180 degrees and set the timer for 2 or 3 hours. (The ribs are “done” at this point, but longer cooking melts away more cartilage, making them more tender.)

When the timer goes off, remove the ribs from the oven. Turn the oven to the broil setting. Remove the aluminum foil from the ribs (be careful — there will be some juices), apply a thin coating of barbecue sauce, and place the ribs under the broiler until the barbecue sauce just begins to char — perhaps 10 minutes or so. If you really like charred ribs (I sometimes do), you may want to keep the ribs in a bit longer.