Tony Roma's Baby Back Ribs Copycat

I received an email today with this information posted (I thought it could help someone!): --Tony Roma's Baby Back Ribs-- Begin the day before, by preheating the oven to 500 degrees (that's right). I normally use two racks of baby back pork ribs (they may be dry-rubbed or just use salt and pepper). Take a 2-piece broiling pan, pour about 1/2 inch of water in the lower portion and put the upper half, the part with the drain holes, in place. Now, lay the two racks of ribs side by side on top. Avoid overlapping them or hanging them off the edge of the pan. Form a tent and seal tightly around the perimeter of the broiler with extra heavy-duty aluminum foil. You may need to fold two sheets together to get enough width. It is crucial that the seal is tight! If the water evaporates, the end product will suffer (not to mention you and your guests). Also, make sure that the foil does not lay on the ribs. Bake for one hour, exactly. This essentially steams the ribs at high temp. Cool the ribs, still covered, remove them from the pan, then wrap tighly and chill overnight in the fridge. This step is important. The ribs must be cold for the next phase. You can reserve the liquid, which is basically rib stock, reduce/strain and add to the barbecue sauce if you like. It adds a unique, meaty flavor. Start your grill. I prefer charcoal, you may prefer wood or gas. You want a hot grill for this and you'll need to be attentive because timing is of the essence here. Place the racks on the grill and when they reach a golden, bubbly stage (3-4 min.), turn them and coat with a good barbecue sauce. Bullseye original works well, but I've found that any quality sauce will do fine, so use your favorite. After the other side has browned, turn and coat it. Cook the sauce into the ribs for a couple of minutes on each side, then remove, slice and serve. A word of caution: The ribs will be so tender that the meat will literally fall off the bone when you try to turn the racks on the grill. It is helpful to have two sets of large tongs and be very, very gentle.

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This recipe was created by Todd Wilbur for his book "Top Secret Restaurant Recipes" (Penguin/Putnam) www.TopSecretRecipes.com

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This was good and so easy to fix. My DH doesn't like barbeque sauce, but loved this. My DD also loved it. Thanks for a great recipe.

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I have never eaten at Tony Roma's so cannot comment on the taste, however the sauce was OK but the ribs were semi moist to dry, if that makes sense. Other than cooking a 2 1/2 pound rack, I followed the recipe to the letter and baked for 2 hours and 15 minutes. Sorry this didn't work for me.

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Awesome recipe. The meat was falling off the bone tender and very juicy. It has been so long since I have been at Tony Roma's that I really can't compare. I will make them again. No complaints at this table. Thanks for sharing your recipe.

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Wow these are wonderful and if I remember correctly, very close to the real deal!!! I made this for one rack of baby back ribs, so cut the sauce in half. I followed as written, except I cooked the ribs in a foil pan, which I covered with foil, and added water, maybe 1/4 inch, to help keep the ribs moist. Then after cooking 2 hours I took them out and placed them on the grill for final saucing and caramelizing!! Thanks for sharing the recipe!! Made for Adopt A Tag 09 Event!!

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These were so good! The howmemade BBQ is just perfect with these ribs. After removing from the oven, we put these on the grill and coated with sauce again to give it a good BBQ taste. The meat was so tender and practically falling off the bones.

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Excellent. At first I thought the sauce was going to be too vinegary, but it turned out perfect just as written. I didn't cover these in the oven and the sauce caramelized very nicely. Baked at 275 degrees F for 3 hours turning half way through and applying more sauce and they were very moist and fall off the bone tender. Thanks Swede16tc for sharing. Made for Iron Chef Tag Game. :)

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This is the only way I've ever cooked ribs & have never had a complaint - in fact, my DH doesn't like to eat them anywhere else. I normally make a double batch of sauce, using extra garlic powder, onion powder & tabasco. Thanks for posting this wonderful recipe.

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Looks like I am an oddball and I hate to give a poor review, but we did not care for this recipe. For us, there was way too much vinegar taste and I think the vinegar made the sauce too watery also. I followed the recipe exactly and the sauce did thicken after the simmer time of 40 minutes however, it did not stay on the ribs. I checked the ribs at the halfway point and there was about a cup of liquid/sauce in the bottom of the pan. I drained it off, coated the ribs a bit more, wrapped in foil again and finished baking. Again, the pan had a lot of liquid in it. I ended up finishing the ribs on the grill and adding bottled bbq sauce to them. I have never eaten at Tony Roma's so cannot comment on the taste being similar. I am sorry, but I would not make this again. Thanks for posting though.

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Oh yeah! I have made this for years, and it always pleases.

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These were awesome!!! Best ribs we've ever had! I took the advice of a couple of reviews. After saucing I let them sit in the fridge for a couple hours, then sauced them again and put them in the oven at 275 for 3 hours. The meat was so tender it was almost falling off the bone. We sauced them again and transfered to the BBQ grill to caramelize the sauce. Yummm!!! Another thing...it didn't specify what vinegar to use, so I used Apple Cider Vinegar instead of plain white and it was awesome just the way it was. Happy cooking!

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I had made these for Father's Day and we just had some right now for lunch! They are soooo good and sooo tasty! Very different from other restaurant's ribs! I think they really do taste like the ones served at Tony Romas!

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I make this recipe all the time. I make the sauce as in the recipe and marinate the ribs in individual 4-rib packets in foil overnight. Cook them in the oven at 275F for about 3 hours, then recoat them with the reserved sauce, and grill them just enough to carmelize the sauce. You will never do ribs any other way. I've also started making them by saucing the rack whole and wrapping the whole thing in foil -- its less work, and cooking the racks for 4 hours at 250 prior to grilling.

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Excellent. I also throw them on the bbq to brown the sauce. A huge success.

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This is a great recipe. There are no Tony Roma's in my area, we discovered it when we were in Orlando and loved it so much we went back the next day. Now the only way I can have it is to make it myself! Delicious, tender ribs!

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This was a very great recipe for ribs. I would suggest to leaving the foil open instead of closing it. This will give it a darker somewhat grilling effet rather than a steaming effect. I added a little bit more honey to give it a sweeter taste.We ate it with homemade cornbread and bake beans with bacon.

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Very good recipe! MY family loved them the first time, (and I had grilled them as suggested after), and asked for them again not long afterwards. Feeling like they could imrpoved upon slightly, I decided to marinate them for 24 hours before in the fridge, using the sauce mentionned here. Well the critics have spoken, and in the words of my 10 year old son, "Daddy, these are better than Grandma`s!". lol

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I make these all the time and most of the time I use my favorite brand of bbq sauce Big Daddy Sam's Jalapeno Sawce. This method makes the most juicy ribs however after removing from the oven and smothering with more sauce they are better if you throw them on the bbq to brown the sauce a little on them.

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