Pork Ribs with Barbecue Sauce

Sticky, smoky oven-baked pork ribs with a rich apple cider barbecue glaze.

Ingredients

Ribs

• 2–2.5kg pork ribs (~2 racks)
• 185 ml sweet alcoholic apple cider
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Note: rib styles

Baby Back and St Louis style pork ribs are ideal. Pork spare ribs also work well but reduce covered cook time to 1 hour 10 minutes (as they are less meaty).

In Australia, we do not (yet!) distinguish between various cuts of pork ribs. Most are a Baby Back / St Louis style hybrid or they are very skimpy spare ribs. Just look for meaty pork ribs that are nice and fatty, 2.5cm+ thick (including bone). They should have most meat on the upper side, and not much on the underside.

Avoid ribs cut so close to the bone there’s barely any meat – miserable eating experience plus it’s criminal to pay for 70% bone!

Barbecue Rub

• 2.5 tsp paprika powder
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1.5 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1.5 tsp dried thyme
• 1.5 tsp dried oregano
• 1.5 tsp salt
• 0.5 tsp black pepper

Barbecue Sauce

• 125 ml apple cider vinegar
• 1.5 cups tomato sauce
• 125 ml water (or remaining apple cider)
• 1.5 tbsp molasses
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp mustard powder
• 1.5 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp Tabasco or cayenne pepper

Method

Barbecue Sauce

1. Place all ingredients in a saucepan and simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 45 minutes or until thickened.
2. Adjust to taste: sweetness with brown sugar or honey, and salt and sour with vinegar. Use for glazing ribs and as a sauce for serving.

Ribs

1. Combine the rub ingredients and rub onto both sides of the ribs (most on the meaty side). Set aside to marinate for 20 minutes (or overnight).
2. Preheat oven to 160°C (all oven types).
3. Place ribs on a tray in a single layer. Pour apple cider underneath the ribs, cover with foil, then bake for 1 hour 30 minutes or until the meat is pretty tender.
4. Remove from oven and turn up to 180°C. Remove foil, drizzle with olive oil, then return ribs to oven for 15 minutes or until the rub becomes nice and crusty.
5. Line a new tray with foil then baking / parchment paper.
6. Remove ribs from oven, transfer to the lined tray, and pour any juices from the tray over the ribs.
7. Flip ribs so the bonier side is up. Slather with barbecue sauce, then bake for 10 minutes.
8. Remove from oven, then turn ribs over so the meaty side is up. Slather with barbecue sauce, bake 5 minutes. Repeat 2 or 3 more times until you've got a thick glaze on the ribs.
9. Cut ribs into individual or multiple rib portions and serve with remaining barbecue sauce.

Note: rib tenderness

This recipe is forgiving so don’t fret about exact timing here. At around 1 hour 30 minutes, use two forks to check if you can pry the meat apart with little effort (but not yet "falling off the bone with a touch"). Remember, the ribs will get another 30–40 minutes in the oven.

Tip: to make these on the BBQ

Follow the recipe to the end of Step 4 (the second bake uncovered to make the rub crusty). Brush the bony side of the ribs with sauce, then cook on BBQ over indirect heat on high (bony side up) with the lid down for 5 minutes. Flip so the meaty side is up, baste, and cook with the lid down for 5 minutes. Repeat 3 times until you have a nice caramelised glaze.