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BBQ spare ribs served with caramelised sauce
Tender spare ribs coated in a rich, sticky barbecue glaze

Sticky BBQ spare ribs

Author: Flavelo
Recipes Main Courses
The secret to perfect BBQ ribs is 'low and slow', meaning cooking at a low temperature for a long time. Pork ribs are full of connective tissue (collagen), which becomes rubbery at high heat, but if we have the patience to keep it under 150°C for hours, it undergoes a miraculous transformation: it melts into gelatin, and the meat almost falls off the bone by itself. Smoky spices and caramelised sauce are just the crown on this majestic dish.
🕒 Prep Time 40 mins
🍳 Cook Time 2 hrs 30 mins
⌛ Total Time 3 hrs 10 mins
🍽️ Servings 4 servings
🔥 Calories 680 kcal
🌍 Cuisine American

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

  • Baking tray
  • Aluminium foil (strong)
  • Pastry brush
  • Bowl for spice mix

Instructions

1 ✓

Preheat the oven to 150°C. Remove the white membrane from the back of the ribs: slide a blunt knife under it, grab with a paper towel and pull off in one go.

Tip: The paper towel helps because the membrane is slippery. If you leave it on, it remains chewy and the spice won't penetrate the meat.
2 ✓

Mix the dry spices: sugar, salt, pepper, paprika, garlic. Brush the meat thinly with oil, then rub thoroughly with the spice mix all over.

Tip: This is called a 'rub'. The oil helps spices stick, and sugar aids caramelisation.
3 ✓

Wrap the ribs double in foil so it's airtight. Place on a tray and bake for 2 - 2.5 hours.

Tip: Inside the foil, the meat steams tender in its own juices. This is the secret to soft texture.
4 ✓

Remove the meat, unwrap the foil (careful, hot steam!). The meat is ready when the bone ends are exposed by approx. 1 cm as the meat has shrunk.

Tip: At this point the meat is soft but looks 'boiled'.
5 ✓

Increase oven temp to 200°C (or switch on grill function). Brush the top of the ribs generously with BBQ sauce.

Tip: Don't skimp on the sauce, this gives the sticky glaze.
6 ✓

Return uncovered to the oven for 10-15 minutes until the sauce browns and starts to bubble.

Tip: Watch constantly, as sugary sauce burns in moments!
7 ✓

Rest for 10 minutes on a board, then cut between the bones.

Tip: Resting is mandatory here too, to retain juices.

Recipe FAQ

Do I need to remove the membrane from the bones?
YES! This is the most important prep step. The silvery membrane (silverskin) on the bone side never tenderises and prevents spices entering the meat.
When do I add the sauce?
Only at the very end! BBQ sauce has lots of sugar, which would burn and turn bitter over a long time. You need to bake it on (glaze) in the last 15-20 minutes.

Ingredients

  • 1.5 kg Pork spare ribs (whole rack)
  • 200 ml BBQ sauce (shop-bought or homemade)
  • 2 tbsp Brown sugar
  • 1 tsp Garlic granules
  • 1 tsp Smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 0.5 tsp Pepper
  • 2 tbsp Oil