Pork Spare Ribs (Homemade BBQ Sauce)

These ribs are super tender, juicy and full of flavor. They are sweet and tangy with a hint of smokiness. You would never guess by tasting them that they are cooked in the oven. This rub and sauce is also delicious for BBQ chicken, just adjust the cooking time accordingly. First, lets start with the spice rub:

• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 teaspoons liquid smoke (Mesquite flavored)

Simply mix all of these ingredients together in a small bowl to make a paste. It should look like this:

Place your ribs in a large casserole dish. Massage the spices all over both sides. If you want them to taste really smokey you could brush some liquid smoke onto your ribs before applying the spices.

Now at this point I usually cover my ribs with foil and let them sit in the fridge for a few hours. If you don’t have time for that don’t worry, I have done it last minute before and they still come out yummy. This picture has nothing to do with ribs but I noticed this beautiful woodpecker in the backyard while I was washing my hands. Of course I had to take a picture! Sometimes I like to pretend I work for National Geographic, don’t judge me! lol.

Anyways back to the ribs. When you are ready to cook them, preheat your oven to 350. Pour a cup of liquid into your casserole dish with your ribs. Normally I use white wine, but I was out so I used Marsala cooking wine. You have a lot of different options on what you can use for this, your favorite beer, apple juice, etc. I also add just a small splash of liquid smoke to it as well. Now cover those babies with some foil and pop them in the oven! (make sure the side with the most meat is facing down) Bake them for 2-2 and 1/2 hours. While your ribs are cooking you will want to make the BBQ sauce:

• 3/4 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 tsp liquid smoke

Mix everything together with a whisk in a small saucepan. Simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. The sauce will be kinda thin, if you don’t like it that way there is an easy solution. Mix about 1-2 tsp. cornstarch in a small bowl with just enough cold water to dissolve it, then pour it into the sauce for the last minute of simmering. You can make it as thick as you would like that way. Never pour cornstarch directly into a sauce, unless you like lumpy sauce lol. If you would like a bit of a kick you can also add some red pepper flakes to taste.

Once your ribs are finished baking and your sauce is complete, take the foil off and brush your ribs with some of the BBQ sauce. Then flip them over onto a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. This part can get tricky because they are so tender. You may want to have someone help you, or cut your rack of ribs in half to make it easier. The side of the ribs with the most meat should be facing up at this point.

Brush some of your BBQ sauce onto this side, then stick them back in the oven under the broiler (on high). Please do NOT walk away, you will need to check them literally every minute so you don’t burn them. I usually leave them in until the sauce starts bubbling, add more sauce, and put them back in again. I know this sounds like a lot of work but it only takes a few minutes. Again, keep checking them so you do not burn them. I take my ribs out when they start getting little charred spots, like as if they were cooked on the grill. That is it! Now you can have all of the yumminess of a summer BBQ in the middle of winter.

Yes those are purple mashed potatoes! I highly recommend this recipe for healthy mashed potatoes. The reason these are purple is because I bought a bag of mixed potatoes and there were some blue ones in there. My daughter loves this meal, especially the BBQ sauce. When I made these last night she asked me “Mama, what did you put in this dinner?!” lol.

If you plan on trying this please let me know, I would also love to hear your reviews if you do try it. I really hope you enjoy my recipe 🙂

❤ Ashley