Makes 6 servings
- 8 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 2 Tablespoons dried rosemary, crushed
- 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoons cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
- ½ cup water
- 4 lbs baby back pork ribs
- ½ cup cider vinegar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 3 Tablespoons ketchup (see notes)
for the sauce
Special equipment
- roasting pan
roasting rack (see notes) charcoal grill Method
- Make a marinade of the first 6 ingredients, stick the ribs and the marinade in a plastic bag and refrigerate for a day, turning occassionally.
The next day, preheat your oven to 325°. Place the rack in the roasting pan, the ribs and marinade on the rack, seal tightly with aluminum foil, and bake for 1½ hours. When the time is near, fire up the charcoal grill.
Make the sauce by deglazing the roasting pan with the vinegar, sugar, and ketchup, and cook it down over medium heat about 15 minutes. The thicker the sauce, the better.
Coat the ribs with the sauce, and grill till the sauce begins to blacken, oh, maybe 5 minutes or so each side.
Notes
- Do we need a roasting rack? What if we cook them right on the pan? It saves cleanup, but will the water make the ends soft?↩
Suggestions
- In the argument of vinegar-based barbecue sauces versus tomato-based barbecue sauces, neither wins here. While this has a strong vinegar start, we tested the recipe both with and without the ketchup in the final sauce and even our sous-chef, who so abhors ketchup that the condiment is banished from his residence, admits the dish is tastier, crisper, and even more handsome when it’s included.↩
