The best BBQ sauce ever!

I recently discovered pork spare ribs and fell in love. Not only are they an eminently reasonable $3.50/lb from my special supplier (ha ha), but they require no grill or special equipment, can be on the table in 15 minutes, and are enjoyed by everyone in our family, Oliver included. Making the BBQ sauce requires a little time and effort (and may be a bit of an expense to get all the required seasonings on hand), but once you make it, you can enjoy many dinners from this one batch. Feel free to double or even triple the recipe! And of course, once you invest in all the necessary spices you will have enough to last you ages and many many batches of this delicious sauce.

I snagged this recipe from the Food Network, and tweaked it a little, mainly substituting natural sweeteners for all the brown sugar. It came out SUPER (actually, it's vaguely redolent of those naughty BBQ potato chips we all secretly love).

BBQ Sauce

3 T unrefined sea salt (NOT table salt!)
1 T chili powder
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 t cayenne
1/2 t jalapeno seasoning (I use extra chili powder for this)
1/2 t Old Bay seasoning
1/2 t thyme
1/2 t onion powder
2 T garlic powder
2 T lard (or bacon fat)
1/2 cup white wine *NOTE: recipe updated 1/2/11. See comments below.*
2 T vinegar
2 T Worcestershire sauce
3 T honey (I recommend raw)
7 T maple syrup (I recommend grade B, organic)
1 T molasses (I recommend Blackstrap)
*NOTE: do not cut down on the amount of sweeteners or the balance will be off. If necessary you can use all honey in place of the maple syrup and molasses.*

Combine all and reduce over low heat until thickened, stirring frequently. Pour into a jar or small pitcher and store in the refrigerator, covered with plastic wrap. If you store it in an oven-proof pitcher like I do, you can stick the pitcher in the oven for a few minutes while the ribs are cooking to soften it, then use what you need and refrigerate the rest; repeat indefinitely.



This will refrigerate well and get your family through many meals of ribs! To cook spare ribs, simply place ribs on a baking sheet and cook at 400 degrees for about 10-15 minutes, depending on thickness.


You may turn them over once during cooking if you like. Remove from oven, slather with BBQ sauce, and cut ribs apart. Get ready for a succulent and delicious taste experience! Serve with cornbread and greens, or with sweet potato fries, or even just a simple acorn squash, cut open, cooked in a glass baking dish face down (in 1-1.5" water), and filled with butter.


Make sure your pork spare ribs are sourced from a small local family farm. Contact me if you would like information about sourcing in NYC. **NOTE: PLEASE AVOID USING BEEF SHORT RIBS FOR THIS RECIPE! They need to be cooked a very long time, and I cannot speak for the suitability of this sauce for short ribs cooked that way. Go for the pork spare ribs.