Pork Ribs

3 pounds long spareribs
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp onion powder
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsp liquid smoke (Mesquite flavored)

Mix all of the above ingredients together in a small bowl to make a paste. 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. Cover the ribs with foil and let them sit in the fridge for a few hours (or overnight).

When you are ready to cook them, preheat your oven to 350. Pour a cup of liquid (water, white wine beer, apple juice, etc.) into your casserole dish with your ribs. Cover with some foil and pop them in the oven, making 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 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp 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.