Tangy Spareribs
I got this recipe from Taste of Home. It was contributed by Thelma Arnold, Elkhart, IN. Looked so good, I just have to make it.
I got this recipe from Taste of Home. It was contributed by Thelma Arnold, Elkhart, IN. Looked so good, I just have to make it.
- 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 1 cup water
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/3 cup lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
- 1 cup ketchup
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar
- 1/2 cup celery finely chopped
- 4 pounds pork spareribs up to 5 pounds
- 1/8 teaspoon chili powder
- Carbohydrate 21.8403292481745 g
- Cholesterol 313.849143836537 mg
- Fat 93.0215404723205 g
- Fiber 0.567511432893776 g
- Protein 66.8191616003855 g
- Saturated Fat 31.2323308081252 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (599g)
- Sodium 12318.5438905292 mg
- Sugar 21.2728178152807 g
- Trans Fat 13.1164594436264 g
- Calories 1202 calories
Step-by-step
- Cut ribs into serving size pieces; place in a shallow roasting pan, bone side down. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, heat butter over medium-high heat. Add onion and celery; cook and stir for 4-5 minutes or until tender. Stir in the remain ingredients. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer for about 10 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally; remove from the heat.
- Drain fat from roasting pan. Pour sauce over ribs. Bake 45-60 minutes longer or until ribs are tender.
A raw rack of pork spareribs carries a deceptive amount of connective tissue that standard weight measurements fail to reveal. Roasting four to five pounds of bone-in meat requires managing both internal render rates and surface moisture inside a compact oven space. When butter, aromatics, and ketchup merge on the stovetop, controlling the heat prevents the sugars from scorching before the vegetables soften.
Judging Doneness Without a Thermometer
Bone placement makes probing pork with a digital thermometer unreliable because hitting the metal alters the reading. Instead, watch for the meat to visibly shrink back from the bone ends by approximately one-quarter inch. Insert a paring knife between two bones; it should slide through the muscle fibers with zero resistance, mimicking the feel of piercing softened butter. If the bone twists easily in the surrounding tissue, the collagen has fully converted to gelatin.
- Drain accumulated pan fat thoroughly after the initial 45-minute bake to prevent the sauce from boiling rather than clinging to the meat.
- Simmer the sauce components for exactly 10 minutes so excess water evaporates, yielding a proper coating consistency that adheres to the ribs.
- Substitute bottled lemon juice with fresh juice at a 1:1 ratio, noting that fresh citrus contains brighter enzymatic acidity that cuts through the rich pork fat more aggressively.
