Best Baby Back Ribs In Town

Total Time: 2 hrs 30 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 2 hrs

Ingredients

• 3 lbs baby back ribs (lamb)
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 1 cup ketchup
• 6 tablespoons vinegar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 4 teaspoons liquid smoke
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 1/4 teaspoons chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (not garlic salt) or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (not garlic salt)
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon water

Recipe

• 1 make one recipe of rib sauce (above) and set aside.
• 2 pre-cook ribs by either baking (preferred method) or parboiling.
• 3 make-ahead tip: after pre-cooking (baking or parboiling) ribs, they may be vacuum sealed and frozen for up to 3 months or glazed with rib sauce and refrigerated or given their final baking immediately.
• 4 ** baking ribs (preferred method): cut rack of ribs in half. place 1 1/2 pounds ribs in each of two 9x13-inch casserole dishes.
• 5 add 1/4 cup vinegar to each casserole. cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. drain all liquid.
• 6 ** par-boiling ribs: cut rack of ribs in half. fill large pot with water; heat to boiling. add all ribs to boiling water (should be enough to just cover top of ribs).
• 7 simmer ribs about 45 minutes until just tender but meat is not falling off the bones. remove ribs from boiling water. rinse and drain.
• 8 **** ribs (final baking): cut ribs in sections. in two 9x13-inch glass casserole, place ribs in single layer in casserole.
• 9 pour about 1/3 of rib sauce over one dish of ribs to glaze them.
• 10 repeat with second half of ribs, using another 1/3 of sauce or enough of the remaining sauce to glaze all the ribs.
• 11 make-ahead tip: at this point you can cover them with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 48 hours.
• 12 if frozen, thaw before baking.
• 13 place uncovered ribs in preheated 350 degree oven.
• 14 bake for 45-60 minutes until most of sauce has been absorbed by the ribs and meat is "melt-in-your-mouth" tender.
• 15 if you have any remaining sauce, serve it with the ribs, along with plenty of napkins.
• 16 these are finger-licking good and messy to eat-- but is there any other way to eat ribs?.
• 17 *** rib sauce: mix cornstarch and water together to make a slurry set aside.
• 18 mix remaining dry ingredients together.
• 19 place in saucepan.
• 20 mix remaining wet ingredients together.
• 21 pour half of wet ingredients into dry ingredients, stirring to mix well.
• 22 add remaining half of wet ingredients, stir to mix well, and simmer mixture, uncovered, for about 10-20 minutes to thicken sauce a bit.
• 23 while mixture is gently boiling, pour in slurry while stirring.
• 24 return mixture to a slow boil and cook until sauce thickens a little.
• 25 sauce should be thick enough to cling to ribs, yet pourable.
• 26 cool sauce and store in air-tight glass or plastic container.
• 27 refrigerated it keeps indefinitely.