Cheat's Ribs with Homemade Barbecue Sauce | Adam Liaw

Recipe by Adam Liaw

Brand Ambassador for My Cookware Australia®

When it comes to degree of difficulty, American-style barbecue ribs are possibly the dish with the biggest gap between perception and reality. Purists will insist on 30-ingredient rubs, hours of low-and-slow smoking, and secret-recipe sauces — but a homestyle oven version is genuinely simple. Ten minutes of preparation, 90 minutes in the oven, and you're done.

You can use a store-bought barbecue sauce, but this homemade version is far tastier (most bought sauces lean a little too sweet). It uses nothing but ordinary pantry staples and comes together in just a few minutes — stir, simmer, and serve.

Ingredients

• 2 racks American pork ribs
• 2 tbsp dark brown sugar
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• Salt and black pepper, to season

Homemade Barbecue Sauce

• ½ cup tomato sauce (ketchup)
• ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp dark brown sugar
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Juices from the ribs (added after baking)

Method

1. Prepare the ribs: Heat your oven to 160°C fan. Lay two pieces of foil side by side with a slight overlap, then place two sheets of baking paper on top. Arrange the ribs on the paper and rub all over with the brown sugar, smoked paprika, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper. Wrap tightly — you may need an extra sheet of paper and foil on top depending on the width of your ribs.
2. Bake: Bake for 90 minutes. Carefully unwrap the ribs and pour all the accumulated juices into a small saucepan. Increase the oven to 220°C fan and switch on the overhead grill.
3. Make the sauce: Add all the barbecue sauce ingredients to the saucepan with the rib juices. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook until the sauce is glossy and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
4. Glaze and serve: Spoon the sauce generously over the top of the ribs. Return to the oven and grill for a few minutes until the sauce is caramelised and bubbling. Serve with the remaining barbecue sauce on the side.