BAKING ST LOUIS RIBS RECIPES

Steps:

• -------- The sauce will take a few hours!---------.
• If you don't have that kind of time, use a commercial sauce and skip to cutting and baking ribs.
• *Do this step the night before or a few hours before serving.* You are making your own BBQ sauce! Stir ingredients, beginning with water (leave ribs and garlic salt out), into a stock pot.
• Bring to a boil. Allow to boil for about 15 minute stirring occasionally.
• Simmer uncovered, ALLOW TO REDUCE TO DESIRED THICKNESS.
• Preheat oven to 350°F when sauce has reached desired thickness.
• Cut ribs into serving sizes.
• Place in greased roasting pan or casserole dish.
• Sprinkle with garlic salt to taste.
• Bake uncovered for 45 minutes bone side up.
• Drain the grease off the ribs.
• Pour sauce over ribs.
• Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour.
• Uncover and bake for an additional 30 minutes, basting the ribs 2-3 times during final stage.

Steps:

• In a food processor or blender, mince garlic and scallions. Add hoisin, ketchup, honey, soy sauce, rice wine or vodka, rice vinegar and five-spice powder. Process until well blended. Taste for sweetness; the mixture should be sweet like barbecue sauce, not candy. Adjust the taste with honey, soy sauce and vinegar.
• Set aside 1/3 cup marinade for basting. Transfer remaining marinade to a container or pan large enough to hold the ribs, or to large resealable plastic bags. Add ribs and turn until well coated. Refrigerate at least 4 hours, and up to 2 days, turning occasionally in the marinade.
• Heat oven to 300 degrees. Set up a rimmed baking sheet (or two) with an oven-safe wire rack that fits inside, the kind you’d use for cooling cookies. Line the bottoms of the pans with foil or nonstick baking mats. Place the racks inside the pans and place the empty pans on the bottom rack of the oven. Pour in hot water until it comes about halfway up the sides of the pan. (Do not skip the water: The steam helps cook the meat to the right tenderness.)
• When the oven is hot, remove the ribs from the marinade and place on the racks, meaty side up. Bake without basting, 1 hour for baby back ribs, 2 hours for St. Louis style ribs. Check the water level occasionally to make sure it hasn’t cooked off.
• Remove ribs from the oven and raise the oven temperature to 450 degrees. Pour off any water from the baking sheet and return the ribs to the racks. (Alternatively, you can finish the ribs on a medium-hot grill; see below.)
• Return ribs to the oven and roast (or grill), basting 2 or 3 times with reserved marinade, for 20 to 30 minutes (less time for baby backs, more for spareribs). Watch the ribs carefully to make sure that the edges don’t burn, and don’t baste them too close to the end; they should be dry and sticky, not wet on the surface.
• Use a big knife to cut between the bones, making sure that each rib has meat on both sides. Mound on a platter, sprinkle with scallions and cilantro, and serve immediately.