Honey Garlic Spareribs

A long time ago there was a mad stampede at 99 Ranch market because spare ribs were on sale for $1.79. Since I already had to get some other meats, I took advantage of the opportunity and bought extra spare ribs. I made them Asian-cinnamon style and since Boyfriend attacked them like he was a starving wildebeest, I went back to 99 Ranch to brave the lines again and buy some more for the freezer.

This time, I went with a more Americanized route. I dislike the idea of using bottled barbeque sauce, or even ketchup/catsup on the ribs. Ribs are good in themselves and have plenty of fat, so the thought of adding all that additional sodium and preservatives is distasteful to me. Luckily, the internet will give you anything you ask for and with a lot browsing, I tweaked around to come up with the recipe below.

Honey Garlic Spare Ribs
adapted from About.com Southern Food

2 pounds pork spareribs, cut in serving-size pieces
kosher salt, pepper and garlic powder
1/4 cup honey
1.5 Tbsp cider vinegar
2 Tbsp soy sauce
3 cloves garlic, minced

Preheat oven to 325degrees. Line a 9x13 pan with layers of aluminum foil to avoid a messy cleanup. Boil a large pot of water. Rinse the ribs and simmer for 10 minutes. In a saucepan, combine honey, vinegar, soy sauce, and garlic. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes.

Drain spareribs and arrange in a single layer in the baking dish. Season with a dusting of kosher salt, garlic powder, and pepper. Drizzle honey mixture evenly over spareribs.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for an hours. Uncover ribs, flip over carefully with tongs (they may be falling apart a bit), cover again and bake for another hours. Repeat this process, baking for a total of four hours.

To finish, remove foil and allow ribs to cook for 10 minutes. Flip carefully (they will be totally falling off the bone at this point) and bake for a final 10 minutes.