Sticky Soy Spare Ribs #FoodieExtravaganza

This month, the Foodie Extravaganza celebration is all about honey. September is National Honey Month! So, host Rebekah of Making Miracles invited us to "bake, cook, grill a dish that utilizes honey, and showcases this deliciously sticky natural sweetener."

A Veritable Honey-Phile

Back in 2013, I had a piece published in Edible Monterey Bay entitled "Bee Yourself: Honey, Anarchy, and Saving the World, One Hive at a Time." You can read it in their archives or on my blog. And it was also my first cover!

"Bee Yourself" was one of the first feature pieces I wrote, versus smaller sidebars, and it required copious amounts of research, numerous visits with beekeepers, and - my family's favorite part - a bunch of honey tastings. Furthermore it cemented my love of all things bees and all things honey! So, when Rebekah mentioned this month's theme, I knew I was in!

First, here's this month's line-up...

Honey Chicken Wings In Potato Baskets by Sneha's Recipe

Honey Roasted Figs by Palatable Pastime

Honey Soy Baked Chicken Thighs by Making Miracles

Hot Honey Chicken Wings by Karen's Kitchen Stories

Mustard Honey Buttered Carrots by Food Lust People Love

Sticky Soy Spare Ribs by Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Sticky Soy Spare Ribs

When I was trying to decide what to make, I remembered that I had a jar of sage honey from just down the coast. I love local honey. And I wanted to do something savory. So, I decided to make a glaze for ribs.

I picked up a rack of spare ribs and had the butcher slice them horizontally to about 2" lengths.

Ingredients

• 1½ to 2 pounds lean spareribs, cut into roughly 1½ to 2" long pieces
• 1 organic onion, peeled and thickly sliced
• 3 cups cold water
• 3 Tablespoons raw, local honey (I used a sage honey)
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• 2 Tablespoons toasted sesame oil
• 2 Tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• black sesame seeds for serving, optional

Procedure

Pour water, honey, salt, sesame oil, and soy sauce in a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Heat a large saucepan (I used my braiser) or wok and add olive oil.

Add spare ribs and brown on all sides over medium heat, approximately 7 to 8 minutes.

Add in the sliced onions and pour in the water-honey mixture. Bring to a boil. There should be enough liquid to cover the spareribs. Cook over medium high heat until liquid is greatly reduced and sauce becomes thick and caramelizes. This process should take about 30 minutes. Here's what mine looked like. This was after 10 minutes....

This was after 20 minutes....

You will need to be vigilant after about 25 minutes as the sauce is really caramelized and can easily scorch. As soon as the sauce is thick - like molasses - turn off the heat.

Turn the spareribs to fully coat each piece with the caramelized honey sauce. Remove to a serving platter. Garnish with black sesame seeds, if using.

Enjoy! It's that easy.

That's a wrap for the #FoodieExtravaganza honey celebration. Next month we'll be back with another sweet line-up as Kelley of Simply Inspired Meals hosts a caramel event. Stay tuned!