Sticky pork spare ribs, oven-baked in a honey and garlic sauce until the meat just falls from the bone. Cut them into individual ribs before cooking so the sauce coats every available surface.
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, and were placed at the edge of the barbeque, away from the direct heat in the centre, 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 in 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 ginger provides the special taste.
How to make oven-baked spare ribs
Ingredients
To make these spare ribs you will need the following ingredients. This recipe is sufficient for 4 people.
2kg pork spare ribs 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) spare ribs per person. This includes both meat and bones.
For the 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 taste
- 2 cloves garlic – finely minced
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger
- 2 tablespoon cornflour – not shown in ingredient image
Steps
1. Mix the marinade ingredients in a large bowl. 2. Separate the ribs and mix into the marinade. 3. Arrange the ribs in a single layer on a foil lined baking dish 4. Cover with tin-foil and bake
Mix the marinade
Mix all the ingredients for the marinade together in a bowl large enough to hold all the ribs.
Separate the ribs
Using a sharp knife, cut between the ribs to separate into individual pieces. If the ribs are joined with cartilage ease the knife carefully through.
Coat the ribs with the marinade
Add the ribs to the marinade and mix well to ensure each rib is completely covered in the marinade. Cover and set aside for at least half an hour.
Tip – you can freeze the ribs and marinade to use on another day. Just pour it all into a large freezer bag and store in the freezer until you are ready to cook them.
To use – remove from the freezer and allow to defrost overnight in the fridge. Once they are defrosted follow the instructions for ‘Bake’ below to cook them.
Bake
Line a large baking pan (large enough to take all the ribs in a single layer) with tin-foil. This saves on the washing up. You don’t have to do this step, but the marinade tends to get sticky in the oven and it may burn onto the baking dish, making it difficult to clean.
Arrange the ribs in a single layer in the baking dish and pour any remaining marinade over. Cover with a lid of tin-foil. Make sure to wrap the edges of tin-foil tightly around the edges of the baking dish so that the steam does not escape.
Place in a pre-heated medium hot oven (170C / 340F) for 1 hour. Resist the temptation to open the tin-foil and peek. You want the ribs to cook slowly inside the sealed dish and opening the tin-foil will allow the steam to escape.
For those of you with an oven thermometer, the ribs wil 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 starts 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.
Remove the tin-foil lid – be careful there will be a lot of hot steam inside. Baste the ribs with the juices in the baking dish and brow then (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.
Equipment
- Mixing bowl – to marinate the ribs. A large 3 litre capacity mixing bowl would be ideal.
- Large flat baking dish – for baking the ribs. A roasting pan with a rack will help you remove the cooked ribs easily.
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Recipe – Sticky Oven-baked Pork Spare Ribs with Honey glaze
Sticky oven-baked pork spare ribs with honey glaze
Ingredients
- 2 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
- ½ teaspoon ginger paste
- 2 Tablespoons cornflour
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 170°C/340°F
- Combine the ingredients for the marinade in a large mixing bowl
- Using a sharp knife, cut between the bones of the ribs to separate them
- Add the ribs to the marinade and mix well to coat thoroughly.
- Cover and leave to marinade for at least half-an-hour.
- Line a large baking dish with tin-foil 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 tin-foil lid and baste the ribs with the cooking juices
- Place the ribs under the grill for a few minutes to brown, turning occasionally.
Notes
The calorie count has been calculated using an on-line calculator and is provided for information purposes only. If the calorie count is important to you, you should consider calculating it yourself, using your preferred tool.
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