These darkly glazed sticky ribs are always a crowd pleaser – and it’s somehow extremely satisfying to use a whole bottle of coke to create a relatively small amount of gooey glaze. Don’t use diet coke. I tried it, and the ribs tasted of chemicals. Very odd and a bit spooky when you think about it. It’s enough that one of us put the thought “I know, let’s make a ribs, only a bit more diet†into foolish action.
1 liter bottle of coke
30 mini ribs
2 limes
2 tsp chili flakes
3 tbsp cherry preserve
Salt and Pepper
- Tip the ribs into a zip lock bag, add the zest and juice in 1 and ½ limes, the cherry preserve, the chili flakes and enough of the cola to cover. Marinate for 2 hours in the fridge or overnight, whichever is easier
- Preheat the oven to 350 (180 C)
- Pour the rest of the coke into a pan and boil until it’s reduced to about a cup
- Tip the ribs and the marinade into an oven tray (I cover mine with foil to make the washing up less awful) Season with salt and pepper, then pour over the reduced cola.
- Cover with more foil then roast for half an hour
- Turn the ribs over, then roast for another half an hour
- Turn the oven temperature up to 400, take off the foil, and roast for a further half an hour until the liquid is a sticky glaze (keep roasting until it is – ovens vary massively, and the amount of cola in the marinade varies, so check after 15 mins, and be flexible about the timing)
- Spritz with the remaining half lime juice, then serve
These first appeared with betting, a conspicuous lack of Methodist guilt and a Super Bowl party.