Finger lickin' good (Secret Recipe Club)

Another month, another exciting challenge with the Secret Recipe Club!  This was even more exciting than usual, because the blog assignment I received had endless wonderful possibilities.  Jane from The Heritage Cook has a delicious and diverse collection of recipes, which made it pretty tough to choose just one.  But, the fact that I'd just purchased a rack of baby back ribs a few days before getting my assignment made it a bit easier.

Comfort food is a must this time of year, and ribs scream just that.  I very rarely make them at home so I didn't have a go-to recipe...until now :)  SO GOOD.

My mouth was watering when they came out of the oven.  I couldn't wait to get them on the table!  Easy, comforting and delicious, and all done without a grill.  I cut the recipe back using just one rack of ribs and it worked out well.  We loved it!

If you haven't visited Jane's blog yet, do it soon...you won't regret it!

Baby Back Ribs with Tuscan Espresso BBQ Sauce
from The Heritage Cook

For the ribs:
3 racks baby back ribs
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the sauce:
1 cup honey
1/4 cup soy sauce (I used reduced sodium)
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup espresso
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons minced garlic

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Cut each rack of ribs in half and season with salt and pepper.  Stack ribs on foil covered baking sheet in two piles of 3 pieces each.  Bake for about 2 1/2 hours, or until tender, rotating ribs every 30 minutes.

Remove ribs from oven and cover with foil.

To make the sauce:
Whisk the honey, soy sauce, vinegar, ketchup and espresso.  Set aside.

Place oil and garlic in a medium pot and cook for about one minute, or until garlic turns golden brown.  Lower heat, add honey mixture and stir to combine.  Simmer for about 15 minutes.

To complete the ribs:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees (or preheat a grill).  Brush sauce on both sides of ribs and arrange in single layer on foil covered baking sheets (or directly on grill).

Turn and baste ribs as they cook.  Remove after ribs are glazed and caramelized, about 15 minutes.