Sticky Pork Ribs

  • Prep time:

  • Cook time:

  • Total time:

  • Portion/Yield:

    Serves 6 as a main course

  • Difficulty:

    Easy

For this sticky pork ribs recipe, I make a delicious marinade with St Peters Ruby Red Ale and diced red onions. You can use a local ale of your choice and replace the red onions with standard onions, if you prefer – it will be equally as delicious.

The success of this recipe is in the cooking time – slow and low is perfect. I buy short ribs, so ask your butcher to cut the ribs in half lengthways for you to get two strips of short ribs. It makes serving easier.

This recipe is best cooked in the oven, but you can part-cook the ribs in the oven and then finish them over a medium-hot barbecue, if you prefer (see Cook’s Note). Serve the sticky ribs with a salad of your choice and make sure that you have a couple of damp cloths or finger bowls to hand for the sticky fingers.

photo of Sticky Pork Ribs

Ingredients & Method

  • 2 red onions, finely diced
  • 1 clove garlic, crushed
  • 50ml extra virgin olive oil
  • 100g soft light brown sugar
  • 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 3 tablespoons malt vinegar
  • 200ml St Peters Ruby Red Ale (or a local ale of your choice)
  • 2 x 700g short pork ribs
  • sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Preheat the oven to 160°C/Gas Mark 3.

First, make the marinade. Place the onions, garlic, oil and salt and pepper in a small saucepan, then cover and cook over a medium heat for 6–8 minutes, until the onions become transparent. Add the sugar and stir until it dissolves. Add both vinegars, increase the heat and boil rapidly, uncovered, for 1 minute, then add the ale and boil rapidly for a further 2 minutes. (Keep the marinade gently simmering in the covered pan over a very gentle heat, whilst the ribs are roasting.)

Place the ribs upside-down in a deep roasting tray and pour half of the hot marinade over the ribs. Cover the tray with foil and cook the ribs in the oven for 1 hour.

Remove the foil and baste the ribs with the liquid in the tray, turn the ribs over and then pour over half of the remaining hot marinade. Cover the tray again with the foil and return to the oven for a further 30 minutes.

Remove and discard the foil, baste the ribs and then return the ribs to the oven for a further 30 minutes until the ribs are glossy and sticky.

Drizzle or brush the rest of the hot marinade over the ribs, cover with foil and then let them rest for 10 minutes before serving. Serve with a warm roasted corn, tomato and green bean salad.

Cook’s Note

As mentioned above, this recipe is best cooked in the oven, but you can par-cook the ribs in the oven (for about three-quarters of the cooking time given above), then finish them off over a medium-hot barbecue, barbecuing them for 20–25 minutes (either over direct heat, or leave them in the roasting tray and place this over the barbecue), turning regularly. Rest as above before serving.