Turn the ribs over onto its back and you will see a thin white covering on the bones all along the rack.
Starting at one end, use a small knife to slide right under the membrane and gently pull up, but don’t cut it. The easiest spot to get under the membrane is right on the bone and not on the meat.
Grab the membrane with a paper towel. (Paper towel will give you a nice grip so you can hold onto it as you pull.) Gently but firmly pull the membrane off the entire rib.
Seasoning ribs:
I recommend giving the ribs some time to marinate in the dry rub seasoning before cooking. You can give them as little as 2 hours or as long as 24 hours. Make to sure to cover the ribs air-tight and keep them in the refrigerator until ready to cook.
Mix all ingredients for the rib rub together in a bowl. Pat ribs on all sides with a paper towel.
Generously sprinkle the rub in an even layer over the bottom of each rib rack, so the meat is not showing. Gently pat and even out the seasoning with your hands. Turn the racks over and do the same on the top.
Cover the large rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil for easy clean up and fit a wire rack inside the baking sheet. Place the ribs on the wire rack.
Cover the ribs and pan air-tight and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. You can also prepare them as long as 24 hours ahead (but no longer).
Cooking the ribs:
Take the ribs out of the refrigerator and let them warm up on the counter for about 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 275°.
Take the cover off the ribs if you used plastic wrap.
Cover the ribs and the pan with aluminum foil air-tight. Bake ribs for about 3 hours (2 1/2 hours for smaller or thinner racks).
While ribs are cooking, prepare the sauce. Combine all ingredients for the sauce in a sauce pot and whisk together. Bring it to simmer of medium heat, lower the heat to medium-low, and let it simmer for about 10 minutes. Make sure to stir from time to time. Set the sauce aside until ready to use.
Take off the foil and brush rib racks with BBQ sauce on the top and bottom. Make sure to reserve some sauce to brush the ribs or dip them into the sauce later.
After you brush the sauce with BBQ sauce, place them back into the oven, uncovered, and cook for additional 45 minutes to 1 hour. Take the ribs out and check to make sure they are done. Brush some more sauce over the top when they are done and let them rest for about 15 minutes before cutting and serving.
How to tell if ribs are done:
Bounce test: Use long metal tongs and slide it to about the middle of the rack. Pick up the rib rack and give it a gentle bounce. If the rack feels a little rubbery and the meat on top does not crack, the ribs are not ready. They will probably need 1-2 more hours. If the ribs can bend easily to almost 90 degrees and start to crack at the top pretty easy, they are done. Meat pulling away from the bone: use gloves and try to pull two bones apart. If the meat releases off the bone easily, they are done.Toothpick test: if you are familiar with baking, you know the toothpick test. Poke a toothpick in between the rib bones all over the rib rack to feel how easily it slides in and out. If there is little to no resistance, the ribs are done.Temperature: even though it’s hard to test the temperature accurately, you can still test several larger meat areas of the rib rack (between the bones) and make sure that it’s at least 145° but these won’t be pulling away or falling off the bone. To take them to that kind of tenderness, get the ribs to 190°-203°.