All right, this was CRAZY good.
The nice folk at Betty Crocker® sent Rich this recipe, and he really thought we should try it. Since we don’t really drink a lot of soda anymore, but somehow seem to have a CASE of Cherry Coke in the downstairs fridge, I thought so too.
As a happy coincidence, we had just scored a nice rack o’ ribs at a very attractive price on a visit to Costco, so, ingredients well in hand, I began.
INGREDIENTS:
•5 to 6 lb pork baby back ribs (I used one rack, didn’t note the weight)
•1 tsp salt
•1 tsp garlic powder
•1/2 tsp ground ginger
•Black pepper
•Aromatics, for roasting
– this is optional – celery, onion, garlic, scallions, peppers, carrots – just about anything getting a bit old in the crisper to place between the ribs and the roasting pan
•1 cup barbecue sauce – I used my own sauce, but any you like is fine
•1 can (12 oz) cherry cola
•1/4 cup cherry preserves
•1/2 tsp ground mustard
•1 to 2 tsp hot sauce – I used 1 tsp of Earl’s Five Pepper Sauce and it was good;
next time I’ll use 2 tsp and it’ll be MUCH more better.
Heat the oven to 350º.
Combine the salt, garlic powder, ground ginger, and pepper together and rub into the ribs – the nice folk at Betty Crocker had said to cut the ribs into ‘serving size’ portions, but I saw no real need for that.
Arrange the ribs in a large baking pan – I used my trusty anodized roasting pan. The recipe didn’t call for it, but I like to roast stuff ON stuff – in this case a bunch of celery and scallions, tho’ red, orange, yellow or green peppers, onion, or carrots would also be fine additions.
Pop, uncovered, in the oven and roast for about 90 minutes, until the ribs are tender.
While the ribs are roasting, we can make the sauce.
Combine the barbecue sauce, Cherry Coke, preserves, dried mustard and hot sauce in a 2 quart sauce pan.
Heat to boiling, then simmer over medium-low heat for thirty to forty minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened a bit and the flavors are well blended.
Grill the ribs over medium heat for ten to fifteen minutes, turning and brushing with the sauce to glaze – OR – brush with the sauce and finish in the oven, still for ten to fifteen minutes to set the glaze.
Little muss, little fuss, BIG flavor!