PORK - BARBECUED ORANGE –MAPLE COUNTRY RIBS

Zest of 2 large oranges

1 cup fresh orange juice

¾ cup maple-flavored pancake syrup

¼ cup Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon Asian chili paste with garlic

7 pounds country pork ribs

Salt to taste

¼ cup catsup

2 teaspoons cornstarch dissolved in 2 tablespoons water

Mix the orange zest and juice, pancake syrup, Worcestershire sauce, and chili paste in a large bowl.  Divide the ribs between two 1-gallon zippered plastic bags.  Pour half of the marinade into each bag and close.  Marinate the ribs in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350F. 

Position a rack in the center of the oven and arrange the ribs in a roasting pan large enough to hold them without crowding (you can divide them between two pans if you wish).  Reserve the marinade.  Lightly season the ribs with salt and cover the pan with aluminum foil.

Bake the ribs for 1 ¼ hours.  Remove the foil and turn the ribs.  Continue baking until the ribs are tender, about 1 hour more. 

Meanwhile, combine the reserved marinade and catsup in a medium saucepan.  Cook over high heat until the marinade is reduced to 1 cup, about 10 minutes.  Stir the dissolved cornstarch into the marinade to thicken it and turn it into a glaze for the ribs.  Set the glaze aside.

When the ribs are tender, increase the oven temperature to 400F.  Brush the ribs generously with the glaze.  Bake until the glaze on the ribs bubbles, about 15 minutes.  Serve hot.

MY NOTE:  (1) Make this in a large roasting pan because the pork gives out a lot of liquid and it can spill over.  (2) Remove the liquid and pour it in with the reserved marinade to reduce later. (3) After the ribs are baked, pour all the reserved marinade in with the pork.  Make it in the morning; reheating will make the ribs tastier. 

From Kitchen Life by Art Smith.