My local market had a deal going on pork spareribs – y’know the shrink wrapped “previously frozen” ribs you kinda have to buy and enjoy when the mood (and the deal) hits.
Well, the mood (and the deal) hit, and I was all good for making a nice batch o’ ribs – mebbe with a baked potato and a nice chopped salad on the side. I had just put up a batch of my (rightfully) famous barbecue sauce, but wanted to spice things up just a bit, mebbe with pepper jelly and stuff.
What stuff? Why, Cherry Coke and my take on Tiger Sauce – which I call Hotness Sauce; it’s a nice balance of heat and vinegar and flavor, which I think pairs well with my barbecue sauce and pepper jelly and the cherry cola with ribs. Kindofa win, win.
INGREDIENTS
Ribs:
•1 rack ribs (pork or beef, it’s all good)
•Back of the Yards Seasoning*
•1 or 2 onions, thickly sliced
Sauce:
•12 oz Cherry Cola
•12 oz barbecue sauce
•1/4 cup pepper jelly
•2 tbsp brown sugar
•1 tbsp Hotness Sauce (or your fave hot sauce)
*Or your favorite steak/meat seasoning.
First things first; heat your oven to 300º and line the bottom of a rimmed baking pan with the onion slices.
Arrange the ribs over the onion slices and apply the Back of the Yards Seasoning to both sides.
Cover the baking pan tightly with foil and bake the ribs for two hours.
While the ribs are baking, combine the sauce ingredients together in a medium pot over moderate heat and cook, stirring, until the brown sugar has dissolved, the jelly melted, and the sauce has bubbled and thickened a bit. Give it a taste.
Nice, no?
Once the ribs have baked for two hours, remove the foil and brush them with the cherry cola sauce.
Bake, uncovered, for 15 minutes, then brush the ribs with more of the sauce and return to the oven for another 15 minutes or so.
Tender, tasty ribs, all done with little muss and not too, too much fuss.
Obviously, if you don’t have access to my pantry and stash of goods, you can use your own preferred barbecue sauce, pepper jelly, and hot sauce(s) from the store. One ingredient that is missing from the sauce recipe, and which I normally add to just about everything in make is Sherry Peppers Sauce, and I wouldn’t say “no” to a couple of tablespoons here, either.