Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Melt-in-Your-Mouth Spare Ribs

Appetizers for 20 or entree for 4 to 6, depending on appetites

68 oz Sweet Baby Ray Award Winning Barbecue Sauce
45 oz KC Masterpiece Original Barbecue Sauce (Flavors vary depending on sauce used. You can choose your favorites or use the ones above.)
1 Tbl Worcestershire sauce
1 cup brown sugar
2 Tbl honey
1 large sweet onion sliced (like you would to top a hamburger)
7 to 8 pounds of pork baby back ribs

Mix all ingredients (except the ribs) in a bowl. Clean the ribs by cutting off excess fat. You want to leave some of the fat because it adds flavor to the ribs. Cut ribs into finger portions if you're using them as an appetizer. You can even cut them into individual ribs.
Place ribs in a large foil pan (like the foil turkey pans you can buy at the grocery store; this can be an immense help in saving clean-up). Top the ribs with the barbecue sauce mixture, and then cover the pan top with aluminum foil. When pouring on the sauce, don't worry if not all ribs are completely covered. They will be fine. They don't need to be swimming in sauce.
Roast the ribs at 425 degrees for 45 minutes. Then turn the heat down to 275 and cook for 4 more hours. Turn heat up to 350 degrees and the ribs will take one to two hours more depending on the size of the ribs and how accurate your oven temperature is.
Don't turn the ribs or stir the sauce. Just leave them alone. Let them do their own thing. The more you mess with them, the more likely the meat will fall off the bones. You want the meat to fall off in your mouth, not the pan. You can test a rib in the last hour for doneness. The meat should slide right off, even with no teeth involved. And then there should be a long moan. If you prefer, you can use a fork to check one. Serve them on a pretty platter as an appetizer and they will taste even better. Ribs aren't just for summer anymore. You can make these all year round and even get a golf round in while they are cooking.

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