This is a Wickedfood adaptation of a recipe for bbq ribs from, by Twillard Mayweather of Memphis, Tennessee. His secret to succulent ribs—barbecue the meat in a deep pit, with hickory, for the better part of a day—can be hard to duplicate, so we created a version for home use.

2 x 2kg racks pork spareribs

For the marinade
2 cups cider vinegar
½ cup worcestershire sauce
Juice of 2 lemons
1T Spice Mix (see recipe below)
1t cayenne pepper

For the Spice Mix
1T paprika
¼t chili powder
½t crushed red pepper
¼t black pepper
½t celery salt
½t garlic powder
1/8t onion powder
1/8t cayenne
¼t salt

For the sauce
1½ cups ketchup
¼ cup butter
¼ cup cider vinegar
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ cup worcestershire sauce
Juice of 1/4 lemon
1½t dry mustard
½t cayenne pepper

For the Spice Mix:

Dry roast the paprika, chili powder, crushed red pepper, and black pepper in a small frying pan over medium heat for about 5 minutes, with out oil. Pulse in a spice grinder until fine, then add celery salt, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, and salt. (Makes about 2T.)

For the marinade:

Place ribs in a shallow pan. Combine all marinade ingredients in mixing bowl, then pour over ribs, turning to coat well. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 120°C. Pour off excess marinade from pan and cook ribs for 3 hours. (If they look as though they are about to burn, or coloring too fast, cover with tin foil). At this stage, once cooked the ribs can be cooled and stored in the refrigerator for up to two days

For the sauce:

Cook all sauce ingredients with ¾ cup water in a saucepan over medium heat until thick, about 15 minutes.

Finish ribs on a cool fire or gas grill. Cook, turning once, until lightly browned and crusted. At this point, baste ribs with sauce and cook, turning once, for 5 minutes per side. Serve ribs with additional sauce on the side.

Serves 4-6.

Wickedfood Cooking School

Sunninghill – (011) 234-3252 sunninghill@wickedfood.co.za

Wickedfood Cooking School runs Johannesburg cooking classes throughout the year at its purpose-built cooking studios in Sunninghil. Cooking classes are run in the mornings and evenings 7 days a week (subject to a minimum of 12 people). The venue is also popular for corporate events and private functions – team building cooking classes, birthdays, kitchen teas, and dinner parties with a difference.

Our classes are hands-on, where every person gets to participate in the preparation of the dishes. They are also a lot of fun where you not only learn new skills, but get to meet people with similar interests. For corporate groups and teambuilding cooking classes these classes are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.