Hands-on Pork Spare Ribs with Soy & Hoisin Glaze

A little more effort is required with a big rack of spare ribs, which won’t cook through evenly if you just leave it alone. Every 15 to 20 minutes these ribs need turning. It’s not a burden if you’ve got liquid refreshment to keep you company. The hoisin is a thick sweet paste available in the Asian section of supermarkets, but you can use ketchup if it’s too hard to find. This recipe is a briquet-free zone as well.

Serves 4-6.

What you Need;

• ½ cup soy sauce
• ¼ cup rice wine vinegar or cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons minced ginger
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• ¼ teaspoon chili flakes
• 2 racks pork spare ribs, about 2 ½ pounds each (membrane on the bony side removed)
• 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce (or ketchup)

Next:

1. Preheat a gas grill on medium, lid down, for 10 minutes. Combine all ingredients except the ribs and hoisin sauce. Lay each rack of ribs in the center of a large sheet of heavy-duty foil and drizzle each rack with ¼ cup of the soy sauce mixture. Fold the foil up and over and seal tightly.

2. Turn off one side of the grill and lay the foil-wrapped ribs on the grill rack on that side. Lower the lid and cook for 1 ½ hours, turning and swapping the packages every 15 minutes or so.

3. After 1 ½ hours, unwrap the ribs, lightly oil the grill rack and lay the ribs directly on the rack over the flame. Stir the hoisin sauce or ketchup into the remaining soy sauce mixture, and
brush lightly on the ribs.

4. Grill, turning and basting, for another 4-5 minutes, until the glazed ribs are browned. (Turn often so as not to char the sweet glaze.)