| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 4 hr |
| Prep: | 1 hr |
| Cook: | 3 hr |
| Yield: | 6-8 servings |
Ingredients
- 2 racks pork spareribs (about 6 pounds)
- Kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme
- 3 tablespoons ancho chili powder
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 3 cups apple cider
- 3 tablespoons ketchup
- 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
Instructions
- Make shallow cuts between the ribs on the bone side with a sharp knife, piercing just the membrane.
- Mix 1 tablespoon salt, the brown sugar, garlic, thyme, chili powder, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and the cayenne in a bowl. Rub the spice mixture evenly over the ribs. Place the ribs on a rack in a roasting pan, loosely cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Meanwhile, combine the cider, ketchup, mustard and Worcestershire sauce in a saucepan over medium heat and simmer until reduced to about 2 cups, about 30 minutes. Cover and set aside.
- Preheat a grill to low heat on one side. Cook the ribs bone-side down on the cooler side of the grill, covered, until tender, about 2 hours 30 minutes. (If using a charcoal grill, add more charcoal as needed to maintain the temperature.) Continue to cook, uncovering every 10 minutes to baste with the sauce, until the ribs are glazed, about 40 more minutes. Remove from the grill and cut into pieces.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 8 servings |
| Calories | 1028 |
| Total Fat | 80 g |
| Saturated Fat | 26 g |
| Carbohydrates | 21 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Sugar | 16 g |
| Protein | 54 g |
| Cholesterol | 272 mg |
| Sodium | 1059 mg |
Reviews
1. Don’t ‘cut’ the back of the ribs…remove the ‘silver’ membrane by sliding a butter knife (or similar) between the membrane and the 3rd bone and gently lift up. Then using paper towels for grip, pull it all off. This will allow more flavor to get into the underside of the rib.
2. Try tomato paste instead of ketchup for the sauce and omit Dijon mustard if its to tangy…you can even add a little liquid smoke to it.
3. Ribs from a chain style restaurant are usually ‘fall off the bone’ which means they are steamed for a bit to make the cook faster with sacrificing taste (why do you think so much sauce is used). You want ‘tug off the bone’ for the true cooking experience…a little resistance doesn’t mean your ‘chewing them off the bone’. You still have great, tender ribs.
4. Don’t cover the ribs, no need to do this unless you’ve got the basics down and want to try to make them more like the competition style ones (its only for a slight edge really)..if you want to try that later on, look up the ‘Texas Crutch Method’…(1 hr wrapped is enough for that trick unless you want them mushier). 225 degrees is the sweet spot. Allow 5 to 7 hours for St. Louis Cut Ribs or Spare Ribs, and 3 to 5 hours for Baby Back Ribs. After 3-4 hrs,start testing. Pick up the slab with tongs and bounce it very gently. If the surface cracks (at least 1/3rd the thickness) easily AND the ribs bend, your ready to sauce em to a glaze for 15-20 mins. depending on how much glaze you like. (If your worried about them getting dried out during the cook, get a spray bottle with apple juice and lightly mist every 20-30 mins until glazing time).
Good recipe with good direction to get you going…good flavor with room to add a little personality.
We make this all the time! I’ve made a giant batch of rub with dried spices so we always have some on hand! We usually add extra brown sugar to ours. The BBQ sauce recipe of this is sooooooo tasty too! Everyone loves it!
I’ve made ribs several times but they have never tasted this good! The rub was flavorful, the meat was tender, and the glaze had just the right amount of tang. I cooked these in the oven because I don’t have a grill nor a backyard or porch so the entire house smelled great. The succulent ribs were devoured as soon as they were done.
OMG I only made two racks, everyone loved them, only set back
over night start
over night start
Very good recipe! Easy to make and fantastic flavor, however as every cook will say it does need your own touch. Try adding a spicy rich bbq sauce while grilling!
Ribs were delicious and came out really great. 🙂
These ribs are wonderful! We make them all the time!
It probably would be a lot better without so much tang. We tossed the sauce and had some bottle sauce as a back-up.
I had mixed all the dry ingrds. and was going to rub all on ribs, but left to get the dogs in the house. Anyway my husband added the wet ingrds. to dry and I told him he messed up…he said what the heck let’s just use it like a wet marinade and we did. We marinaded it over night.
This came out soooooooooooo good. We are going to use this the same way again on brisket. The ribs were fantastic. His mistake made the difference..
Mike has no clue what a good rib is. I slow roast my ribs (not boiled) and the meat pulls away from the bone perfectly. You should not have to chew the meat off the bone. If you do, then you have not cooked them properly. The point of the slow roasting is to slowly melt the membranes within the meat. If cooked improperly, the membranes toughen and you have to chew it off the bone.
Tim knows what he is speaking about when it comes to how to cook ribs.