Easy Oven Ribs

Finding a good recipe for oven baked ribs isn't easy. At least it wasn't for me. Cover in foil, don't cover, 225 for 4 hrs, 325 for 4 hrs, all sorts of things. So I chose what I figured were three somewhat reliable sources and started blending. I mean, could Emeril, TFlo, and the wise folks of Epicurious all be wrong? Not likely.

These baby backs were seasoned with salt, pepper, 5 spice, and Spanish paprika and greased up with some olive oil before being placed in a 325 oven for 1.5 hrs on a cookie sheet that was placed on top of a 1/2 sheet pan. Bones up for the first hour, down for the next 30 min. While that was cooking I worked on the sauce.

Homemade bbq sauce. Not my forte, but it worked out fairly well. I once again consulted Emeril and another website. I also looked at that TFlo recipe cited above. Wound up with this, in approximate order of amount: ketchup, sauteed onion, molasses, rice wine vinegar, peach jam, honey, maple syrup, minced garlic, Worcestershire, sriracha, cumin, mustard powder, salt, pepper, and ginger. That was pureed and then I got all Alabama with it and added mayo. The much enjoyed Kewpie, specifically. What doesn't msg mayo make better?

After an hour and a half the ribs came out of the oven and the bone/concave side got painted with the sauce. The oven was turned up to broil, and in went the ribs, sauce up, until the sauce was sizzling (about 5 min). Then out came the ribs, the meaty side got painted with more of the sauce, and they were placed back under the broiler until the sauce blistered up (about another 5 min--it's a sweet sauce and can burn quick).

That was it--slice, optional squeeze of lime, and enjoy. Not mushy fall-off-the-bone, but still super tender and easy to eat the bones clean.

The greens were just kale sauteed with minced garlic and then braised in chicken stock until the stems were tender and the liquid was all cooked off (had to add a bit of water half way through).

Nice little rib dinner that doesn't take much time and incorporates a sauce that uses lots of leftovers in the fridge. Also, I love smoked ribs, but there are ribs beyond smoking.

New Creation pork.