Spare Ribs

I've always thought of ribs as a messy food resigned to being eaten outdoors on a hot day or away from home at a BBQ place.  In my mind they were always too sticky to be at home food if you were eating inside.

My opinion on spare ribs changed yesterday.  We were rushing to get out the door to head to Richmond.  Me for a court case and Daniel for the Fall Line Farms and Local Roots Co-op delivery drop offs.

I was inside gathering the orders and placing them in coolers and Daniel was outside doing chores.
I couldn't find the exact size spare ribs one order called for so I grabbed a slightly bigger pack and threw it in the cooler.  When Daniel came back in the incorrect pack of ribs was buried at the bottom of the cooler.  He knew where the correct pack was so we grabbed that, threw it on top and planned to get the incorrect size back in the freezer.

Our time in Richmond took longer than we had planned and by the time we got back home the wrong ribs were thawed.  Not wanting it to go to waste and not having anything else thawed for dinner I made ribs that could be enjoyed inside on a rainy night without a big sticky mess.

Well, we did it.  We had ribs, sweet potatoes and collards and only went through one napkin each.

Honey Baked Spare Ribs

1 or 2 racks of Tuckahoe Pastured Pork Spare Ribs
1 tbs Salt
1 tbs Pepper
1 tbs Paprika
2 tbs Brown Sugar
2 tbs Honey
1 Onion Sliced

Pre-heat oven to 325 F

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a small bowl.  Cut the ribs into serving size portions and lay flat in a single layer in a baking dish.  Sprinkle both sides of the ribs with the dry rub.  Don't go too heavy.  This is just a sprinkle not a coating.  Drizzle honey on both sides of the ribs. Lay onion slices across the ribs.

Cover with foil and bake 1 1/2 hours.

If you have plenty of time, consider lowering the heat to 200 F and baking for 3-4 hours.