My husband is a big fan of American BBQ food, and to be honest so am I, but try to avoid it due to the fact its normally packed full of sugar and takes such a long time to make. This is because the slow cooking method is by far the best and most satisfying.

It was a Sunday, and we had planned this was going to be our ‘Sunday roast’ with the hopes of some left overs (obviously none happened in the end). So the day started with my husband pulling out the pork ribs that he had already covered in a dry rub the night before. (Please note all ingredients below). He placed the ribs into a large high sided roasting dish and poured in the apple juice and water to the base of the dish. Then he  covered the dish in tin foil, wrapping it tightly around the edges of the dish.

The ribs go into the oven at 150 degrees for 2 to 2.5 hours with a basting after 90 minutes. While they are cooking you can make your bbq sauce and slaw. I try to make the slaw quite last minute so it keeps a good crunch.

So for the BBQ sauce, finely chop your red onion and in a non stick pan add a little vegetable oil and cook down till soft. Works well if you put a lid on and stir occasionally. Then add the garlic, tomato puree and spices and keep stirring, cooking for about 5 minutes. Then add the honey, cider vinegar and apple juice and simmer for about 15 minutes. It should start to reduce and get thick and sticky. Have a taste and if not sweet enough add more honey, and if not smokey enough add more smoked paprika. Let it cool a little then either leave slightly chunky or blitz in a liquidiser and add a splash of water if a bit thick. It should be a thick glossy sticky sauce to glaze your ribs for their final stage in the oven.

Check the ribs after an hour and add a little more liquid if it has all disappeared. Then at 2 hours, if the bone is starting to separate from the meat  easily then you know they are basically ready. If the bone of the ribs doesn’t pull easily then you need to continue the cooking, making sure its covered.

Then, smother them in the bbq sauce and put back into the oven with the temperature at 180 degrees for about 15 minutes. They should get sticky and the pork should be melt in the mouth.  Again, add more water/apple juice if getting dry.

Slaw: make this while the ribs are in their ‘getting sticky’ stage. Put all veg into a food processor so they are grated (or use a grated if no food processor) and squeeze over the lemon. Then mix the rest of the ingredients in a bowl and mix through the veg! Easy!

 

Serve your sticky ribs and slaw on a large chopping board and provide lots of napkins. Warning: this is not first date food, this is get your hands stuck in and gobble up food.

Serves 4

Sticky bbq ribs:

1 side pork ribs covered in dry spice rub
1 x cup apple juice
1 x cup water

Dry spice rub:

2 tbsp smoked paprika
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp chilli powder
1 tsp pouring salt
1 tsp ground pepper
2 tbsp sugar (or we used honey)
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp cayenne

Apple Slaw:

Quarter white cabbage
1 x apple
3 x carrots
Squeeze of lemon
2 x tbsp mayonaise
2 x Natural yoghurt (0% fat)
1 heaped tsp grainy mustard
1 x tbsp apple cider vinegar
Salt & Pepper

BBQ sauce

2 x tbsp honey
1 x tsp ground cumin
2-3 tsp x smoked paprika
1 x red onion
1 x crushed garlic cloves
2 tbsp tomato paste
150 ml apple juice
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
Splash of water