There are many different ways to cook spare ribs, but they all come down to the same thing, very strong flavours combined with sweetness. Spare ribs also vary in size, from babyback through to very large, decide what you like and the butcher can provide. Spare ribs are also cooked in two stages: slow cooked in a marinade so the meat is soft; and, then hot cooked over coals to provide that caramel finish.
600g/1 lb of spare ribs
Marinade
2 tbl brown sauce
4 cloves garlic crushed
2 tbl tomato ketchup
2 tbl dark brown sugar
2 tsp dark soy sauce
2 tbl red wine vinegar
Method
Mix all the marinade ingredients together. Pour over ¾ of the marinade on the spare ribs and mix well. Marinade for at least one hour, but preferably overnight. Heat the oven to 120C fan/130C. Put the ribs in a baking tray. Cover with foil and cook for an hour and a half. At this point you can eat them, but they are much better for the second stage cooking. Let them cool completely.
Either on a barbecue or medium hot oven (180C fan) put the spare ribs. Using the rest of the marinade and a pastry brush, brush the mix over the ribs every couple of minutes. This is how they come out with a dark caramel coating. Cook for 5- 10 minutes depending on how dark you want the outside. Eat with your fingers.