I picked this recipe up from Cook’s Country a few weeks ago and have been planning to give it a try. I finally found the ribs on sale this past week, so the opportunity really presented itself. I also had quite a bit of honey on hand for some reason, so it lent itself perfectly for making good use of this recipe. All you need is the time to put into this. The recipe itself is quite simple and easy to make.

Honey-Roasted Ribs

2 (2 1/2- to 3-pound) racks baby back ribs, membranes removed, each rack cut into 3 equal pieces

1 cup honey

5 tablespoons soy sauce

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1/4 cup Dijon mustard

4 scallions, white parts minced, green parts sliced thin

4 garlic cloves, crushed

Kosher salt and pepper

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Divide the ribs between two 1-gallon zipper-lock plastic bags. Whisk the honey, soy sauce, vinegar, mustard, scallion whites, garlic, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of pepper and the cayenne pepper together in a bowl. Divide the marinade between the two bags, seal, and turn to coat the ribs evenly with the marinade. Refrigerate the ribs for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours, turning the bags occasionally.

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and set a wire rack in the baking sheet. Add enough warm tap water to cover the entire bottom of the sheet (about 2 cups of water). Transfer the ribs, meat side up, to the prepared wire rack; reserve the marinade in the refrigerator. Tent the ribs loosely with aluminum foil and bake for 1 1/4 hours. Uncover the ribs and continue cooking until just tender, about 1 hour longer.

Bring the reserved marinade to a boil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat and cook until it is thickened to a glaze consistency, about 5 minutes. Brush the ribs with 1/3 cup of the glaze, return the ribs to the oven, and continue to cook until the glaze begins to bubble and the ribs are brown, about 15 to 30 minutes. Transfer the ribs to a cutting board (leave the hot water and the baking sheet in the oven to cool), tent the ribs loosely with foil and allow them to rest for about 10 minutes.

Cut the ribs between the bones, add them to the Dutch oven and toss them to coat with the remaining glaze. Transfer the ribs to a platter and sprinkle with the scallion greens and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

Just a couple of quick points about this recipe. I didn’t have any scallions on hand, so I omitted them this time. i don’t think they make a very big difference in the recipe anyway. I also cut the recipe in half since I only made one rack of ribs for the 3 of us to have for dinner. It is important that you put the marinade in a Dutch oven and not just a saucepan. It may seem big for a small amount of marinade, but when the honey begins to boil it will bubble and rise up and if you have it in a small pan you risk making a big, sticky mess or burning yourself n very hot sugar. Using the Dutch oven also makes it possible for you to give the ribs one last toss in the glaze to make sure they have a really nice coating. I served the meal with some broccoli and sweet potatoes. I think the honey glaze was fantastic and was not overly sweet thanks to the soy sauce and mustard. I’ll surely be making this one again.

That’s all for today. Check back next time to see what recipes come along. I do have a lot of things planned, and the latest issue of Cook’s Country just arrived at my home yesterday and there are some great recipes I want to try out and share over the coming weeks. until next time, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!