1 pack of pork country-style ribs (I usually use around 3-4 lbs)
Chicken Broth
1 28 oz bottle of Sweet Baby Rays Honey BBQ Sauce
1/4 - 1/3 cup of dark brown sugar
1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
How to make it :
This is the MOST important step in this whole process: Double-line your pan with foil. You will be very sad if you do not and you have to scrub baked-on, sticky, caramelized BBQ sauce off your pan.
Lay the ribs in the foil-lined pan (it doesn't matter which side is up, but I try to put the fat side down). They should fit snugly as they will shrink when they cook.
Pour enough chicken broth in the pan around the ribs so it comes about 1/4 inch up the ribs. This will flavor the ribs and provide moisture as they cook.
Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees tightly covered with foil. Remove the ribs from the oven and drain all the liquid out of the bottom. The ribs should look cooked and the liquid in the bottom of the pan will look gross. Just drain it and move on.
Combine the BBQ sauce, brown sugar, and lemon juice well.
Pour over the ribs and use a basting brush to coat every inch of the ribs. Use tongs to lift them up to get the sauce underneath them as well.
Cover again with foil (I used the same piece) and back for 1 1/2 hours at 350 degrees
Pull them out and remove the foil (you won't need it again). Use the basting brush again to cover the ribs with the sauce from the bottom of the pan and move the ribs around in the sauce to make sure they are fully coated. At this point, the ribs should be so tender that they are falling apart.
Put the ribs back in the oven, uncovered for anywhere from 15-30 minutes. I cranked up my oven to 450 degrees to cook some tater crowns so I only left the ribs in for about 10 minutes to avoid burning. Remember there is a lot of sugar in these so they can burn easily. Keep an eye on them. It's better to pull them out too early than to overcook them.
The tops of the ribs should look dark (not burned) and caramelized.
I just throw the pan on the table with some tongs and a spoon for the sauce and have at it. The ribs will fall apart as you try to grab them with the tongs so you'll have to fish the meat out of the sauce. Serve with baked beans and tater crowns for a meal even a four-year-old will love.
