Rooibos Spare Ribs

I am not entirely sure whether I can take all the credit for discovering the delight that is spare ribs with this sticky, sweet and chilli glaze. I believe my husband is the one who discovered  the Southern style glaze for the pork ribs, and since learning it, I have not turned my back on this recipe; it is absolutely delicious. Over the years I have made minor variations and now I have made my own variation of the glaze that works every time. I am happy to share my recipe with you.

This glaze works very well with ribs that have been boiled gently for an hour. Now, I get asked the question, why boil the ribs? I think it is because the sauce is sweet, if the ribs are grilled for too long, sauce may burn. Not too sure, but I tried it this way and the ribs were magnificent. Does anyone want to try it without pre-boiling?)

Ingredients

• 8 to 2kg spareribs
• 1 rosemary sprig
• 1/2 cup sugar
• ¼ cup water
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 rooibos tea bags
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon Tabasco sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Preparation

1. Cover the spare ribs and rosemary sprig in water and heat to the boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 1 hour or so.
2. Meanwhile, heat rooibos syrup, ketchup, vinegar, orange juice, garlic, Tabasco sauce and salt to boiling in a small saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to low; simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes or until mixture is thickened. (I honestly leave it to thicken a little longer so it is well and truly sticky!)

Preheat grill to medium (I preheat to BURN!) or preheat oven to 230 degrees C (I converted from 450 Fahrenheit). Place ribs on rack on grill or pan. Brush ribs with rooibos syrup sauce. Cook 20 minutes or until heated through, brushing occasionally with rooibos syrup mixture and turning once.

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• Prep Time: 1 hour
• Cook Time: 25 minutes

• Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
• Yield: Serves 4