Spicy Honey-Glazed Ribs

Spicy-sweet ribs are the perfect finger food for summer – hot out of the oven and dripping with sauce, just ready to be gnawed off the bone as soon as you can grab them without burning your fingers. Here, they’re coated in honey and hot pepper sauce and slowly oven-roasted to keep them tender, not to mention saving a lot of work for the cook. The total cooking time is pretty long, but almost all of that is hands-off, no need for a lot of fussing around.

To get that sweet-spicy contrast, there is a fair amount of honey in this recipe, and it’s basically required. You could do a completely sweetener-free version, but it would end up being really spicy; most people will probably prefer the taste with the honey included.

Taking the membrane off the ribs isn’t technically necessary – you can cook them with it on and they’ll still taste great – but if you remove it, the finished product will have a better texture. It shouldn’t take long to remove, and with the rest of the recipe so simple, it’s not like you’ll be scrambling to get it done in between ten other things.

Try your ribs with a fruity sweet potato salad and some grilled peaches for dessert, or your favorite combination of other quick sides for an easy meal that tastes like you worked on it all day.

Spicy Honey-Glazed Ribs Recipe

SERVES: 4 PREP: 15 min. COOK: 2h20min.

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. pork baby back ribs, membrane removed;
• 1 clove garlic, minced;
• 1 tbsp. fresh ginger, minced;
• ⅓ cup raw honey;
• 2 tbsp. coconut aminos;
• 1 tbsp. fresh lime juice;
• 2 tbsp. Sriracha or hot pepper sauce of your choice;
• Cooking fat;
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper;

Preparation

1. Preheat your oven to 300 F.
2. Season the ribs to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
3. Wrap the ribs tightly with foil, and bake in the preheated oven for about 2 hours.
4. When the 2 hours are almost up, melt some cooking fat in a saucepan over a medium heat, and cook the garlic and ginger for 2 to 3 minutes.
5. Add all the remaining ingredients to the saucepan and bring to a boil.
6. Lower the heat and let simmer for about 5 minutes.
7. Remove the ribs from the oven, but don’t turn it off. Unwrap the foil and generously brush the ribs with the spicy honey sauce.
8. Broil the sauce-coated ribs for 5 to 6 minutes, and serve with the remaining sauce.