SMOKY OVEN-ROASTED SPARERIBS
Adapted via Smitten Kitchen
Serves 8 to 10

Ingredients
For the Dry Rub: (makes ~2 cups)
♦ 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
♦ 1/2 cup paprika (sweet or hot)
♦ 1/4 cup chili powder
♦ 2 tbsp ground red pepper
♦ 2 tbsp ground cumin
♦ 1 tsp ground mace
♦ 1/4 cup salt
♦1/4 cup cracked black peppercorns

For the Ribs:
♦ 9 pounds of bone-in pork spareribs

Directions:
Prepare the rub: mix together all of the spices until thoroughly mixed. Pat the rub onto the ribs to form a thin layer. The longer they sit in the spices, the better, but let them sit at least an hour. Let them sit up to 24 hours if you want. Wrap them in plastic and refrigerate them until it’s almost time to cook. You can let them sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes or so before cooking.

Cook the ribs: OVEN
Turn the ribs meat side down and tightly fold the foil to make sealed packets. Put each rack onto its own baking sheet, and place it in the oven. Bake for 4 hours at 200°F, then reduce the temperature to 175°F for another two hours or until a fork easily penetrates the meat. Open each packet carefully and pour the accumulated juices into a saucepan. Boil the juices and reduce them by half, at which point you will have a syrupy sauce that easily coats a spoon.

Cook the ribs: GRILL
These ribs take about 3 hours total cooking time on the grill, sometimes more and sometimes less, depending on how hot your fire is and how thick the slabs of ribs are. Put your ribs on the grill, meat-side down to start. Turn them over every 30 minutes. Every time the meat side faces up after turning, lightly pour beer of choice over the ribs (but don’t pour on all at once, only a splash each time). Also, when turning the ribs, reposition them on the grill. Rack 1 goes where Rack 2 was, Rack 3 goes where Rack 2 was, Rack 2 goes where Rack 3 was. This corrects for any differences in temperature within the grill chamber. Check for doneness: take a pair of tongs and grab a rib – it should easily separate when you twist the rack.

Read more about this dish and my musical pairing by clicking HERE.

SaveSave