Sweet & Smoky Spare Ribs

These are a-MAZ-ing. Even my children had fourths.

Adapted slightly from Smitten Kitchen.

Ingredients:
1 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
5 pounds pork spareribs, cut into 2 slabs, rinsed and patted dry
1 tablespoon cider vinegar (red or white vinegar would work in a pinch)

Directions:

Heat oven to 200 degrees. In a mixing bowl, combine the brown sugar, chili powder, salt, garlic powder, cloves and cinnamon; you can do this easily with a fork. Place each slab of ribs on a piece of foil large enough to fold into a packet. Sprinkle spice rub over the ribs, patting it in generously on all sides. Turn the ribs meat side down and tightly fold the foil to make sealed packets.

Put a cookie cooling rack on a baking sheet, and place the rib packets on top of the rack. Bake for 4 hours at 200 degrees, then reduce the temperature to 175 for another two hours or until a fork easily penetrates the meat. Open each packet carefully and pour the accumulated juices into a saucepan. Boil the juices and reduce them by half, at which point you will have a syrupy sauce that easily coats a spoon. Stir in the vinegar.

Remove the ribs from the foil and either coat them with the sauce or serve the sauce alongside the ribs. For extra caramelization, the ribs can be finished for a few minutes under the broiler, before being coated with sauce.

Tips & Tricks:

I'm still getting to know my oven, but these things were done in 4.5 hours instead of 6. If you're going to err one way, err on the side of cooking in a cooler oven rather than a hotter one for more tender meat. Use an oven thermometer if at all possible to make sure the temperature is accurate (I wish I would have done this).