Bacon ribs slowly braised in the oven until tender then finished with a simple, sticky apricot & mustard glaze, these things are very moreish!
The long (2½ hour) cooking time for this recipe masks how wonderfully easy this dish is to make, and you’ll definitely be back for more!
Glazed Cured Pork Ribs
I love ribs, they are the finest sharing finger food as far as I am concerned and my site is littered with them.
I have everything from oven-baked BBQ ribs to some glorious Instant Pot cooked Chinese spare ribs and even smoked BBQ pork ribs!
My latest offering is some wonderful apricot jam and dijon mustard glazed bacon ribs.
They are outrageously easy to cook, although they do take a bit of time.
First, they are slowly braised with mustard, treacle, bay, thyme and pepper. During this time you can chill out and relax because there is nothing for you to do!
Finally, they are glazed with apricot jam, dijon mustard and a little red wine vinegar, which takes around 20 minutes.
When you are done you get the most wonderful salty, sweet and sour ribs that will have you wondering why you didn’t make more!
Frequently Asked Questions
What are bacon ribs?
They are ribs, regular pork ribs that have been cured… just like bacon.
If you have never tried them be prepared to have your mind blown, because they are spectacularly good!
Are they smoked?
Most cured pork ribs in the UK are not smoked, they are brined. You may be able to find some, however this recipe has not been tested with smoked cured pork ribs.
Can I use a different glaze?
Yes, use anything that you like and the timing will be identical. You could get creative and make up your own, or, by all means, use your favourite store-bought glaze.
A word of advice though, avoid anything too salty, as you would expect from a brined piece of pork it already has plenty of salt!
You do need something sweet to balance that saltiness. However, if you want spicy think about something like the glaze on my mango and habanero wings or even my honey and Sriracha spicy chicken wings.
Serving Suggestions
Ribs are proper sticky finger food and these bacon ribs are no different, I like to serve them with similar style dishes, mainly featuring potatoes! After all, my site is called Potato (in Hungarian).
Here I have gone for some air fryer cooked potato wedges, and because the oven is used at a low temperature for most of the cooking in this recipe, an air fryer can help out.
You could just as easily knock up some air fryer chips, air fryer French fries or even air fryer sweet potato fries.
If you wanted to go to town you could rustle up some salt and pepper chips, which I also cook in the air fryer!
Air fryers are not for everyone though and there are plenty of other options for potato-based sides. Two that spring to mind are my crispy fried straw potatoes and my fried new potatoes.
Equipment Used
I only mention brands of equipment if I think that they make a material difference to a recipe. But, if you have any questions feel free to ask them in the comments section below the recipe.
- Oven.
- Hob/stovetop.
- Deep baking tray, with a baking grid. Mine is 30cm (12″) x 25cm (10″).
- Kitchen foil.
- Chopping board.
- Kitchen knife.
- Kettle or some other kit to boil water.
- 15cm or 6″ saucepan.
- Stirring spoon and basting brush.
- A combination of weighing scales and or a measuring jug, measuring cups and spoons.
Sticky Glazed Bacon Ribs Recipe
These slowly cooked and glazed cured bacon ribs are coated with a delicious and simple apricot jam and dijon mustard glaze, they are stupidly simple to make and taste incredible.
Ingredients
- 1kg (2.2lb) Sheet Bacon Ribs
- 1 (4 Cups) Litre Boiling Water
- 2 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
- 1 Tbsp Black Treacle
- 1 Medium Onion
- 2 Sprigs Fresh Thyme
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 18 Black Peppercorns
For the Apricot Glaze:
- 75g (¼ Cup) Apricot Jam
- 2 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
- 2 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
Instructions
- If your butcher has not removed the membrane from the bottom of the ribs, remove it. Pick at a corner and pull, using some kitchen paper or a tea towel leps with this, then give it a tug, if you are lucky it will come off in one piece.
- Top and tail the onion, then cut it into 4 rings.
- Pour the boiling water into a 30cm (12") x 25cm (10") roasting tin.
- Stir the treacle and the mustard into the boiling water until the treacle dissolves.
- Add the thyme, bay leaf, peppercorns and onion, then add the bacon ribs, cover with foil and transfer to the oven at 150°C or 300°F and cook gently for 2 hours.
- Just before the ribs are ready to come out of the oven, add the apricot jam, dijon mustard and red wine vinegar to a small (15cm or 6") saucepan and heat over a medium heat to form a glaze, then set aside.
- Remove the baking tray form the oven and turn the oven up to 220°C or 430°F.
- Remove the ribs from the cooking liquid, discard the stuff the ribs cooked in and add a cooking grid to the tray, place the ribs on the grid and brush them generously with the glaze on both sides. Return to the oven and cook for 10 minutes.
- Remove the ribs from the oven brush them with the remaining glaze and return them to the oven for a final 5-10 minutes.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
2Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 1344Total Fat: 85gSaturated Fat: 30gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 50gCholesterol: 327mgSodium: 1409mgCarbohydrates: 50gFiber: 1gSugar: 37gProtein: 91g
Calorific details are provided by a third-party application and are to be used as indicative figures only.
Donald
Friday 19th of April 2024
You mention salt however there isn't any salt in the ingredients? And Sheet Bacon Ribs? We don't have them in America what are they? I really want to make these. I'm going to try smoking them in my smoker using the 3-2-1 method But instead of baking in the brine I will prepare the brine and add a 1/4 cup of kosher salt place ribs in brine and refrigerate over nite and then smoke. I will let you know how it turns out.
Brian Jones
Sunday 21st of April 2024
Hi Donald...
There is no salt in this recipe, bacon ribs are already brined when bought, so I mention salt in my FAQ's to try and help people avoid adding too much salt to the recipe.
Bacon ribs are essentially regular pork ribs that are brined and cured, they are superb and I'm not sure they are particularly common outside of the UK, and even here they are not "supermarket" popular, but any decent butchers will get them in if you ask.
Looking forward to hearing how your experiment works out :)
Brian
Josh
Sunday 31st of March 2024
Hi Brian, Thanks for the recipe! I followed it today and it was great! One question though - I made 2kg and the ribs were not as soft as I'd expect. Do you think I had to double the oven time? Thanks, Josh
Brian Jones
Sunday 21st of April 2024
Hi Josh...
As the meat is cured it will always have a firmer texture than raw pork, but if your ribs had more meat on than the ones pictured, then yes a little longer in the oven would have helped.
All the best.
Brian