Ohio has been hit with quite a bit of rain over the last few days. Just this Saturday, there were major thunderstorms hitting the Southwest Ohio area. During these rainy days, I like to stay inside and test out new recipes. One of the recipes I am excited to share today is a variation on my sweet and sticky spare ribs inspired by my mom’s version. My mom’s sweet and sticky spare ribs will always be a favorite in the Pan household. My twist on the sweet and sticky spare ribs is my spiced BBQ spare ribs. I ended up making some spiced BBQ spare ribs after a few weeks of experimenting with a dry rub spice mixture. My dry rub spice mixture combines paprika, garlic powder, chili powder, smoked paprika, sugar, salt, and black pepper. Once added to the spare ribs, the spice mixture infused such a wonderful smoky, sweet, and savory flavor to the spare ribs. Over the last month, I have been in recipe development mode in between work, class, and projects. Many of the recipes I’ve been working on this month are either variations on barbecued meats, or variations on my favorite sides usually served with barbecued meats. When the month of June rolls around, I always seem to crave barbecued or smoked meats and all of the fix-ins and sides. Part of the reason could be the endless advertisements for barbecue flashing across my television screen. Mostly, I just want foods infused with smoke flavor. My barbecue cravings this month led to the development of my spiced BBQ spare ribs. I have been experimenting with different spice mixtures to find the right balance of spicy, tangy, smoky, sweet, and savory flavor. I initially tested the spice rub mixture on chicken wings, but today, I had a rack of spare ribs and decided to test the spice rub mixture directly on the spare ribs. I started by rubbing a handful of the spice mixture all over the spare ribs. Then, I covered up the spare ribs and allowed the spare ribs to sit in the spice rub mixture for a couple hours in the fridge. When I was ready to cook the spare ribs, I whipped out my favorite barbecue sauce and brushed on a layer of barbecue sauce before placing the spare ribs in a foil lined baking pan and popping the ribs into the oven to cook away. Halfway through the cooking process, I removed the spare ribs from the oven, brushed on additional barbecue sauce, and placed the spare ribs back in the oven. One hour later, the spare ribs were ready for serving alongside some macaroni and cheese and tomato basil pasta salad. The spare ribs turned out fantastic. It had all of the flavors I was looking for in my favorite barbecued meats – sweet, spicy, smoky, and salty. I just needed to prepare some macaroni and cheese, pasta salad, side salad, and some s’mores to round out the rest of my meal.
Spiced BBQ Spare ribs:
· Large rack of spare ribs, cut in half
· ¼ cup cornstarch
· 1 tablespoon paprika
· 1 tablespoon garlic powder
· 1 tablespoon chili powder
· 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
· ½ tablespoon granulated sugar
· 1 teaspoon kosher salt
· ½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
· 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
· ¼ bottle barbecue sauce
Directions:
1) Rub both sides of the spare ribs with cornstarch. Let the spare ribs sit for at least 15 minutes before completely rinsing off the cornstarch. Dry the spare ribs with paper towels.
2) In a bowl, combine the paprika, garlic powder, chili powder, smoked paprika, sugar, salt, and black pepper. Rub the spice mixture all over the spare ribs. Add a teaspoon of liquid smoke to the spare ribs. Place the spare ribs in a large container. Cover with a lid or plastic wrap. Place the container on the bottom section of the refrigerator. Let the spare ribs sit in the spice mixture for at least two hours.
3) Preheat oven to 350°F. Remove the spare ribs from the refrigerator. Brush on half of the barbecue sauce onto the spare ribs. Place the spare ribs in a foil lined baking pan. Bake the spare ribs in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove the spare ribs from the oven. Brush on the remaining barbecue sauce.
4) Place the spare ribs back into the oven to bake for another 30 minutes, until the spare ribs turn golden brown in color. Let the spare ribs cool for 10 minutes before digging in.
Takeaways: The dry spice rub mixture adds a delicious smoky depth of flavor to the spareribs. I’ve also used my dry spice rub mixture on chicken wings. If making chicken wings, I usually reduce the cooking time by 15 minutes. Some of my favorite sides to serve with my spiced BBQ spareribs are three cheese macaroni and cheese, tomato basil pasta salad, and some form of sweet treat under the sweets category of my site.