Sweet and sticky BBQ ribs

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These ribs never fail to bring in a crowd. They're sweet, sticky and tender, cheap to make and simple to prepare, yet guaranteed to be a showstopper at any dinner party. However, they do require a long, slow cook (4-6 hours ideally) to ensure that the meat is succulent and falling off the bone.

The thing that makes these ribs so special is the added cider or coke, which reduce down significantly during cooking. Using cider will give your sauce a fantastic, tangy, "apple'y" undertone - pork and apples is of course an undeniable match made in heaven! - while coke will result in a sweeter, stickier coating for your ribs.

Either way, they're damn tasty so why not try out both and see which one you like the best!

Preparation

1. Pre-heat the oven to 150-160°C.

2. In a deep roasting tray or big pot suitable for the oven, mix together all the sauce ingredients together thoroughly then cover over all the spare ribs.

Cooking

3. Cook for at least 4-6 hours without a lid, basting and turning the ribs over every so often to make sure they don't burn (if they do start to 'catch' too often, turn down your oven by 10° or so).

4. Towards the end of the cooking time, the ribs will start to break up and fall apart slightly – this is a good sign but you want to keep them as whole as possible (ready for grilling) so be careful when turning.

5. Obviously, you can eat as they are but ribs are always better after they've been grilled slightly. A BBQ would be better for these, but oven grilling will work just as well.

6. Remove the ribs from the liquid and grill for just 3-5 minutes until nicely charred. Serve with a drizzle of the sauce and a sprinkling of finely chopped spring onion and enjoy!