High Fructose Corn Syrup Free Honey & Ginger BBQ Pork Ribs
Sticky, smoky, and deeply satisfying, these oven-baked baby back ribs deliver everything you want from a rack of ribs without a single drop of corn syrup anywhere near the sauce. Most store-bought BBQ sauces are loaded with high fructose corn syrup as their primary sweetener, which makes finding a clean option at the grocery store genuinely frustrating. Here, honey does all the heavy lifting in a homemade glaze built from tomato paste, apple cider vinegar, coconut aminos, fresh ginger, and garlic — real ingredients that you can actually read and recognize. The low-and-slow oven method wrapped in foil does the hard work of breaking down the meat until it's pull-apart tender, and then a blast of high heat caramelizes that glossy sauce into something that looks and tastes like it came off a competition smoker. Pulling the membrane off the back of each rack before seasoning is a small step that makes a huge difference, letting the smoked paprika, cumin, and turmeric rub sink deep into the meat. The reserved sauce served alongside means every bite gets that bright, tangy-sweet finish. Whether you're cooking for a crowd or just treating yourself, this is the kind of recipe that makes you wonder why you ever reached for a bottle in the first place.
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Learn more →Ingredients
4 servings
For the ribs
- 2 racks baby back pork ribs (about 4 lb total)
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp salt
For the BBQ sauce
- 1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
- 3 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp coconut aminos
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger, finely grated
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
- ¼ cup water
For serving
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Heat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Line a large rimmed baking sheet with two layers of aluminum foil, leaving enough overhang on all sides to wrap the ribs into a sealed packet.
- 2
Flip each rack of ribs bone-side up. Slide a butter knife under the thin membrane at one end of the rack, grip it with a paper towel, and pull it off in one piece — removing it allows the rub to penetrate and the meat to become tender.
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