Cola and Jam Spareribs – Jam, cola, and ginger make the perfect marinade for these baby back ribs. The taste of barbeque without the grill.
You know that snapping sound your mouth makes when you lick some goodness off your fingers?
There was four of us at the dining room table making that exact sound while eating these ribs.
Talk about a good piece of meat. WOW!
I had that rack marinating for over 24 hours in my fridge. Then I placed it in a roasting pan and cooked it, nice and slow, for 2 hours.
The delicious marinade is a mixture of orange juice and apricot jam, accompanied by a blend of spices.
The recipe called for Chinese five-spice, but since I didn’t have any, I made my own blend; cinnamon, chile powder, peppercorns, savory, and celery seed. Finished it off with some ginger and garlic salt.
Half hour before pulling out the ribs, I added in a cup of Coca-Cola, then basted the meat every 5 minutes until it was done.
Finger-licking GOOD.
ENJOY!
Cola and Jam Spareribs
Ingredients
- 1/3- cup apricot jam
- 1/3- cup orange juice
- 1 whole lemon , juiced
- 1-1/2 teaspoons Chinese five-spice powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- salt and fresh ground pepper , to taste
- 1 rack (about 3-pounds) spareribs
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 cup Coca-Cola
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350.
- In a small saucepan, combine apricot jam and orange juice and heat for 1 minute, or until mixture starts to simmer.
- Remove from heat and let stand 1 minute.
- Stir in lemon juice. Set aside.
- In a small dish, combine chinese five-spice powder, ginger, salt and pepper; mix until thoroughly combined.
- Cut the rack of ribs in half.
- Make a slash in between every 2 ribs. Do not cut through.
- Rub the ribs with the spice mix and with the jam mixture.
- At this point, you can place the ribs in a plastic bag and marinade for about 3 to 4 hours, or you can continue without marinading.
- Place spareribs in a baking pan/dish. (You may need to use 2 baking pans if ribs are too large.)
- Pour water around the ribs.
- Bake for 45 minutes; remove from oven and baste the ribs. If bottom of baking dish is dry, add a little water.
- Slide back into the oven and continue to roast for an additional 45 minutes, basting occasionally.
- Remove from oven and pour Coca Cola around the ribs; put back into the oven and continue to roast for 30 minutes, basting them every 5 to 10 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let stand for 15 minutes.
- Cut the ribs apart and serve.
Notes
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 30 Min
Slow Cooker
Freezer Friendly
One Pot
Low Carb
Instant Pot
Gluten Free
Keto
Chicken
Beef
Thanks for the recipe guidance. We used a variation of the ingredients you listed above for our ribs and they turned out wonderful.
I am so glad you loved it!!
I love ribs. I can actually eat it 5 days a week (just 2 days to recover). Of course I already bookmarked this and I’m so ready to try. I can eat the whole slabs…seriously. Thank you SO MUCH for sharing this recipe.
These ribs look perfectly prepared and I love the sound of that marinade 🙂
Great job Kate.
Wow, check out those sticky, shiny ribs! They look delicious.
Your ribs look delicious! We enjoyed these at well at our home.
We loved these, too. I think marinating them ahead of time makes a real difference to the flavour. Good for you for making your own five-spice powder!
These ribs are slammin girl!!
Every time I serve ribs to company I know I’m going to have a happy crowd. I’m going to have to pick up that book just for this recipe. Yum!
I’m intrigued by the idea of using cola for these. It sounds great, and looks delicious. Perfect for summer barbecuing!
This ribs look amazingy tasty and flavourful, Kate!! And I love the photos 🙂 I do feel like I can grab some of the ribs right through the monitor :))
I really love your spice blend! You ribs look very juicy, must be the 24 hours soaking in goodness!
Those spareribs look divine! It is one of my favourite cuts of meat! Great pictures Kate! 🙂
Oh wow!! These look fabulous!! Lip smacking, finger lickin’ fabulous!!
I’m such a meat lover. This looks AMAZING. Finger looking amazing.
And . . . I just visited Fridays with Dorie and her blog. I keep hearing about it. Interesting! I’ll check out her cookbook . . . I love French food. I agree – your first photo is captivating!
Oh, these sound perfect. A friend has a friend who is a chef and makes his ribs with cola. I haven’t tried them but have heard great things. With the jam and spices you’ve used, I can just imagine the flavors!
I have seen a few of these rib recipes in the blogosphere since many people are participating in the french fridays with dorie club. Like i told the others, i can’t believe cola can be used to make these savory ribs. That sounds super duper cool!
Your pictures are beautiful as always 🙂
These spare ribs look wonderful. I love seeing what everyone has cooked up for this 🙂
They look like they came out really well for you. Wow – very juicy looking, for sure.
Jam?!? Cola?!? are we still talking about ribs or some dessert?
amazing photos!!!!
Sorry about double commenting, Kate, but I just wanted to let you know that I’ve given you a few awards on my blog. You can find them here – http://theharriedcook.blogspot.com/2011/06/homemade-boursin-some-awards.html
That looks so finger lickin” good! I love cooking with cola and I can imagine how that goes with the spice. I like the addition of jam ’cause I like it sticky.
Amazing… That looks absolutely incredible! I really need to get my hands on that book… Great post, Kate!
Nice looking ribs. I should have marinated mine longer…like overnight…ours lacked enough flavor, so we poured on the BBQ sauce and then we loved them. Nice post.
Kate I love your first photo!! You have really improved so much this year!
Ah I could kiss you!! mwah!!! That means sooo much coming from you… THANK YOU! I’m doing as much as I can with a regular camera… maybe I’ll do wonders once I get a dslr! 😉
wow, great job with those ribs!!! seriously, it’s hard to photograph meat well, this looks so juicy!
I’e had a cherry-cola recipe that I’ve been wanting to try – for about 3 years – but I may just scrap that plan and do this!
Those ribs do look good. The pictures are fantastic. Glad you enjoyed
this recipe. Tricia and I, not too much. The flavors just didn’t work
for us. But, at least we tried the recipe and that’s what this is all about.
Absolutely! We’ll never know until we try. Glad you guys gave it a shot!!
Wow, these look finger-licking good!
Oooh Kate- you marinated for 24 hours? The ribs look amazing and now I have a massive craving.
Wow what a unique recipe! Those ribs are making my mouth water!!!
Your ribs look really delicious! The photos are great too! Extra praise for making your own 5-spice powder!!
I was also thinking I might have to mix my own 5 spice powder and even found a recipe for it online, but then I managed to find something at my local grocery store called Chinese Spice Blend and I thought that might do the trick. Seemed to work. Your photos are just lovely!
Oh, I love ribs!! These look amazing! Juicy, saucy – yum!
oh wow! beautiful
I love ribs so much. You are just right up my alley with hot dogs and ribs.
I can’t wait till you see what grill items I’ve been working on! 🙂
nice photo Kate have seen this around the web this is by far the best picture… hadn’t heard much about how these taste but by looking at yours they do look wonderful!
Gorgeous photos, Kate…and finger lickin’ good is right!!!
So glad you enjoyed these as well!! I only marinated mine for an hour or so, next time I will have to let them marinate longer!
I loved this recipe! Yours look great!
How perfect is this for the start of grilling season? I’ve made a citrus glaze for ribs before but I’ve never used apricot jam. I love the idea. I’ll be bookmarking this in my cookbook. 🙂
Have a great weekend, Kate!
Oh my word!! These look to die for! I can’t wait to make them this weekend!!
Looks great! I love that you just mixed up your own 5-spice powder. I wanted to like these, but they were a flop for me. There’s always next week. Have a good one.
OMG So wanna try this…thanks for posting!
Such a gorgeous photo, love the light in it;-) I’m glad you found the ribs tasty and enjoyed the flavors, great job with your post 😉
This is so incredibly delicious, and mouthwatering…I’m so happy that I can look up the recipe, since my daughter Lora has the same Dorie book. I’ve been posting my ribs, in previous posts but this is a new one for me.
Fantastic!!!
Jam and cola That sounds fantastic! I’m totally making these with pork!
Woo hoo! This might be my new favorite FFwD! I just saw Lizzy’s version at That Skinny Chick Can Bake. You ladies are whipping up some of the sexiest looking ribs ever! Well done 🙂 Buzzed
Although the basting process at the end was a little more hands on than what I’m used to, I loved the sticky sweet glaze too. I only wish I had been more liberal with salt and pepper.
jam!? coca cola? orange juice? I NEED TO MAKE THIS!!!
I never would have guessed this was a French recipe either, but holy cow! These look AWESOME! Nicely done. Don’t you love it when a meal turns out finger lickn’ good?! I think hubby wants ribs for Father’s Day – thank goodness, because now I’m craving them!