Slow Ribs, Plum Glaze
Dinner Ideas
NotADrink

Slow Ribs, Plum Glaze

3 hours in the oven, low and slow. Plum-glazed. Fall-apart tender.

Time
30 min
Makes
Serves 4
Difficulty
Medium
Weeknight Crowd

Method

1

Preheat the oven to 300°F. Line a baking sheet with foil (or use a roasting pan with a lid).

2

Remove the membrane from the back of the ribs (slide a knife under the thin silvery layer at one end and pull). Season all over with salt and pepper.

3

Place the ribs meat-side up on the baking sheet. Cover tightly with foil. Bake 2.5 hours.

4

Meanwhile, make the glaze: combine the plum jam, vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, and garlic in a small saucepan. Simmer 8-10 minutes until thickened. Set aside.

5

At the 2.5-hour mark, remove the foil. Brush the ribs with half the glaze. Return to the oven, uncovered. Bake 15 minutes.

6

Brush with another quarter of the glaze. Bake 10 more minutes. Brush with the remaining glaze. Bake 5 more minutes — the glaze should be sticky and dark.

7

Rest 10 minutes before cutting. Serve with extra glaze on the side.

From the kitchen

Low and slow. 300°F for 3 hours turns cheap ribs into something you'd pay $30 for at a restaurant.

Story so far
Pork ribs are one of the most forgiving cuts. 3 hours at 300°F will turn even a cheap rack into something tender. The trick is the glaze: we reduce 1 cup of plum jam with 1/4 cup rice vinegar, 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp grated ginger, and 2 cloves of minced garlic. The jam's pectin thickens the glaze; the vinegar's acidity cuts the sweetness. Brush it on at the 2-hour mark, again at 2.5 hours, and a final time at 3 hours just before serving. The result: a sticky, dark, fall-apart rack of ribs that looks like it came off a competition smoker.