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    Home » Recipes » Pork recipes

    Oven-baked sticky pork ribs with honey glaze

    Published: Oct 30, 2019 · Modified: May 30, 2024 by VJ · This post may contain affiliate links · 4 Comments

    Jump to recipe

    These sticky pork ribs are oven-baked in a spicy honey, chilli and garlic marinade making them juicy and fall-apart tender. For maximum flavour, cut the rack into individual riblets before covering them with the marinade.

    Sticky pork ribs on  plate next to a dish of potato wedges.

    These ribs make a quick and easy supper when served with a dish of potato wedges. You may also enjoy these Chinese style spareribs which have a more Asian flavour.

    Jump to:
    • Sticky oven-baked pork spare ribs
    • What you will need
    • How to make oven-baked sticky pork ribs
    • Save time and freeze them
    • How to reheat
    • What to serve with sticky pork ribs
    • Save for later
    • Related recipes
    • 📋The recipe

    Sticky oven-baked pork spare ribs

    When I lived in South Africa, I used to make these pork spare ribs on the barbeque. They were cooked on the barbeque as a whole rack which was placed at the edge of the barbeque, away from the direct heat in the center, so that they could cook slowly. The sticky honey glaze caramelised beautifully and the meat was cooked to melt-in-the-mouth tender perfection.

    Since coming to England and having to deal with the unpredictable weather, I've adapted the recipe to bake these ribs in the oven.

    I cut the rack into individual ribs and marinate them in a special homemade rib marinade for at least half an hour to let all the flavours sink into the meat. The cornflour in the marinade acts as a tenderiser and helps to keep the meat soft and juicy. And the combination of honey, garlic, soy, and chilli provides a special taste.

    If you look at the recipe you will see that these ribs take almost 2 hours to cook. Don't let that put you off. The actual preparation time is only about 10 minutes. The rest of the time is hands-off - half an hour to marinate, and the rest of the time in the oven.

    What you will need

    Equipment

    You don't need much by way of equipment - just a mixing bowl for the marinade, and an oven-proof dish for baking the ribs in the oven.

    Ingredients

    You can get the complete list of ingredients and full instructions on how to make these sticky pork spare ribs on the printable recipe card at the end of this post.

    This recipe is sufficient for 4 people.

    Ingredients for sticky pork ribs.
    • 1.8kg pork spare ribs (or 4 pounds) cut into individual ribs. 1 rack provides 10 - 12 ribs, depending on how it has been trimmed by the butcher. You should allow for 450g (1 pound) of spare ribs per person. This takes into account the high bone content of a rack of ribs.
    • Soy sauce - this is good quality dark soy sauce.
    • Tomato puree - this is normally sold in tubes or small cans in the UK. You may also know it as tomato paste. Not to be confused with tomato sauce or ketchup.
    • Honey - provides sweetness (and the stickiness 🙂 )
    • Chilli - this is where the spiciness comes from. You can use chilli paste, chopped chillis from a jar, or even chop up a fresh bird's eye chilli and use that. Use your own judgement as far as the amount of chilli is concerned - some people prefer more chilli than others.
    • Cornflour (or cornstarch) - this helps to tenderise the ribs.
    • Garlic - you can use finely minced fresh garlic cloves, or for convenience, you can use ready-minced garlic from a jar.
    • Sunflower oil - because this is added to the marinade, there is no need to use extra oil when baking the pork ribs.
    • Salt and black pepper - for seasoning - use to your own taste.

    How to make oven-baked sticky pork ribs

    The first thing you need to do is to cut the ribs into individual riblets and get them into the marinade.

    Pork rib marinade in a glass bowl.

    Combine all the marinade ingredients into a large bowl.

    Ribs marinating in a glass bowl.

    Add the ribs and mix well to coat them in the marinade.

    Unbaked ribs arranged in a single layer in a metal baking dish.

    Arrange the ribs in a baking tray. Pour over any remaining marinade.

    If you want to save on washing up, you could line the baking tray with tinfoil before adding the ribs.

    Cover with plastic wrap and leave in the refrigerator to marinade for at least half an hour.

    Cooked pork ribs in a metal baking dish.

    Cover the baking tray with tin foil. Make sure to wrap the edges of the tin foil tightly around the edges of the baking dish so that the steam does not escape.

    Place the baking dish in a pre-heated medium hot oven (170C / 340F) for 1 hour. Resist the temptation to open the tinfoil and peek. You want the ribs to cook slowly inside the sealed dish and opening the tinfoil will allow the steam to escape.

    For those of you with an oven thermometer, the ribs will be fully cooked once the internal temperature reaches 63C / 145F. However, as there is a lot of connective tissue in spare ribs, they may still be tough at this point. At 88C / 190F internal temperature, the fat and collagen in the meat start to break down and the meat becomes more tender.

    Allow the ribs to brown

    Once the hour is up, remove the baking dish from the oven and turn the heat up to grill (or broil).

    Remove the tinfoil lid - be careful there will be a lot of hot steam inside. Baste the ribs with the juices in the baking dish and brown them (turning occasionally) under the hot grill.

    If the weather permits, you could even brown them on the barbeque, using the cooking juices as a basting sauce.

    A pile of baked sticky pork ribs on a plate.

    If you'd like to be notified of new recipes, why not subscribe to my newsletter? To say thank you, you will receive a free recipe e-book containing some of my most popular cakes and desserts.

    Save time and freeze them

    If you want to save time, you can follow the recipe up to the point where the ribs have been coated with the marinade. Then just transfer the ribs and marinade into a strong plastic freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months.

    When you are ready to use them, let the ribs defrost in the refrigerator and then bake them as per the recipe instructions.

    How to reheat

    If you have any leftovers, you can store them in the refrigerator for up to three days.

    To reheat them, spread them on a baking tray and place them in a hot oven for about 10 minutes until the ribs are heated through.

    You can also reheat them in the microwave on full power for about 3 minutes.

    What to serve with sticky pork ribs

    Here are a few recipes that will go well with these pork ribs.

    • Sweetcorn fritters with cheese
    • Scalloped potatoes
    • Crispy fries
    • Orzo pasta summer salad
    • Creamy potato salad with egg
    • Tomato and onion pasta salad
    • Cheesy garlic baguettes

    Save for later

    If you would like to make these sticky pork ribs yourself, why not pin the recipe to one of your Pinterest boards so you can find it easily? Just click on the image below.

    Alternatively, you can save the recipe by clicking on the floating heart icon on the right-hand side of the screen.

    Related recipes

    If you enjoyed these pork spare ribs you may also enjoy these other barbeque-type dishes.

    • Close up of a chicken and bacon skewer, with a pile of lettuce on the side.
      Chicken and bacon skewers
    • Close up of a blue dish containing honey-glazed chicken wings.
      Oven baked honey-glazed chicken wings
    • Chicken drumsticks on the barbeque grill.
      Barbeque chicken South African style
    • Barbequed minted lamb chops on a platter next to a dish of green salad.
      Barbeque lamb chops - with a minted yoghurt marinade

    You can find these and other similar recipes on my picnic and barbeque recipes page.

    📋The recipe

    Sticky pork ribs on plate next to a dish of potato wedges.

    Sticky oven-baked pork spare ribs with honey glaze

    These sticky pork ribs are oven-baked in a spicy honey, chilli and garlic marinade making them juicy and fall-apart tender. For maximum flavour, cut the rack into individual riblets before covering them with the marinade.
    Recipe by: Veronica
    Main Course, Party
    Any
    Calories 1058
    Prep 10 minutes minutes
    Time to marinate 30 minutes minutes
    Cook 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes
    Total Time 1 hour hour 50 minutes minutes
    Servings: 4 people
    Print Pin Comment Bookmark Saved!
    Prevent your screen from going dark
    5 from 4 votes

    (Click the stars to rate this recipe)

    Equipment

    • Sharp Knife
    • Chopping Board
    • Mixing bowl
    • Large flat baking tray

    Ingredients

    • 4 lb / 1.8 kg Pork spare ribs

    Marinade

    • 6 Tablespoons soy sauce
    • 4 Tablespoons honey
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 2 Tablespoons sunflower oil
    • 4 Tablespoons tomato paste
    • 1 teaspoon chilli paste more or less, according to your own taste
    • 2 cloves garlic finely minced
    • 2 Tablespoons cornflour

    Instructions

    • Combine the ingredients for the marinade in a large mixing bowl
      6 Tablespoons soy sauce, 4 Tablespoons honey, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 Tablespoons sunflower oil, 4 Tablespoons tomato paste, 1 teaspoon chilli paste, 2 cloves garlic, 2 Tablespoons cornflour
    • Using a sharp knife, cut between the bones of the ribs to separate them
      4 lb / 1.8 kg Pork spare ribs
    • Add the ribs to the marinade and mix well to coat thoroughly.
    • Cover and leave to marinade for at least half-an-hour.
    • Pre-heat oven to 170°C/340°F
    • Line a large baking dish with tinfoil and arrange the ribs in the dish in a single layer.
    • Cover tightly with another layer of tin-foil.
    • Place in pre-heated oven and bake for 1 hour
    • Remove the pan from the oven and turn the heat up to grill.
    • Remove the tinfoil lid and baste the ribs with the cooking juices
    • Place the ribs under the grill for a few minutes to brown, turning occasionally.

    Notes

    1 rack of ribs should provide 10 to 13 individual ribs, depending on how it has been trimmed by the butcher.
    This recipe allows for 450g (1 pound) per person, which includes both meat and bones.
    The ribs will be cooked when the internal temperature reaches 145F / 63C but the ribs may still be tough.  Letting the internal temperature rise to 190F / 88C will allow the fat and collagens in the meat to start to break down which will result in more tender meat.
    When cooking the ribs, ensure that the tinfoil has been securely folded around the rim of the baking dish to ensure that no steam escapes.
     

    Nutrition

    Calories - 1058kcal | Carbohydrates - 24.7g | Protein - 91.9g | Fat - 85.4g | Saturated Fat - 23g | Cholesterol - 201mg | Sodium - 3261mg | Potassium - 240mg | Fiber - 1.1g | Sugar - 20g | Calcium - 17mg | Iron - 4mg

    I am not a nutritionist. The nutrition information has been calculated using an on-line calculator, and is intended for information and guidance purposes only. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should consider calculating it yourself, using your preferred tool.

    Unless otherwise stated, a cup is the standard US cup containing 240 ml. In all my recipes this cup is assumed to hold 140g of flour. For help converting other ingredients between cups, grams, ounces and other measures, see my recipe conversion calculator.
    All my recipes are developed and tested at sea-level. For tips on adjusting recipes for high altitudes see my post on baking at high altitudes.
    Tried this recipe?If you made this recipe I'd love it if you could leave me a comment and let me know how it went!
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    About VJ

    Before I started my food blog I was an IT Consultant. Now that I've swapped an office for a kitchen I have a lot more time to spend on things that interest me such as trying out new recipes. Most of my cooking is based around quick and easy meals, mostly made from scratch, using everyday pantry ingredients.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      5 from 4 votes (3 ratings without comment)

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    1. Jane

      January 05, 2023 at 11:09 pm

      Really want to try this recipe will it hurt leaving the chilli out

      Reply
      • VJ

        January 06, 2023 at 5:30 am

        You can certainly leave the chilli out - no problem.

        Reply
    2. Dianne McLaughlin

      September 17, 2021 at 10:30 am

      5 stars
      I made this for a family dinner and every scrap of meat was devoured with relish! Tonight I am doubling up as I have the same family to cook for.
      I am vegetarian, so cannot personally tell you that it was fantastic, but the family RAVED about it!

      Reply
      • VJ

        September 17, 2021 at 10:36 am

        WOW - I'm so pleased. Thanks for letting me know 🙂

        Reply

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