Ribs with Chipotle Sauce

Ann has been throwing hints out about ribs for months, although not so much recently, and yesterday I decided that I had enough time to surprise her with them while she was out chaperoning Carter's choir. (Although in the end, I almost didn't get them done. Our oven sucks and sometimes it appears to come on but will not actually heat. Yesterday it did this and I didn't catch it for an hour. Nothing like being behind by an hour when it comes to slow-roasting something.)

Pork Spare Ribs with Chipotle Sauce

These are St. Louis spare ribs (ends trimmed into a nice even rack) which I like better than back ribs because they are meatier, larger, and tastier than the smaller back ribs cut from the loin. I cobbled together a rub of pimentón, garlic powder, oregano, cinnamon, salt, and pepper: stuff I found in the spice drawer.

After rubbing the ribs down, I put them on a sheet tray on top of slabs of onion and wrapped the whole in foil. About three hours later, they were tender and delicious. Not as good as if I had done them low and slow outside, but what do you want for the first of December?

I have a standby three-ingredient pork sauce that works like a charm: a can of San Marcos chipotle salsa, a bit of agave nectar, and rice vinegar to taste. It's wonderful, spicy, and awesome with pork if you need a sauce. These ribs did not need a sauce.