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Few meat-eaters are not fond of spare ribs and all the top South African steak houses usually carry a choice of Karoo lamb rib or well matured beef rib. Still, for sheer eating pleasure, pork still makes many people’s favourite sticky ribs - and it is the least expensive of the three.

Ribs make a perfect  dinner treat – fingers must be used rather than cutlery and half the fun of tasty, sticky ribs is wiping off your chin afterwards! This recipe is for fairly spicy ribs, so if you prefer yours less spicy (or more), use spices to suit your taste.

To serve four to six portions of oven baked ribs you will need:

Ingredients

2 kg spare ribs, sliced into three rib serving-size pieces
12 black pepper corns, crushed
6 cloves, crushed
24 cloves of garlic, peeled but left whole
2 tablespoons salt
2 red or green chillies, seeds removed and finely chopped
6 Bay leaves
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
2 cups dry red wine
½ cup water
2 lemons, sliced
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce
2 lemons, quartered for serving

Method

Mix the 6 crushed cloves of garlic with the salt, cloves, pepper corns, paprika, cayenne pepper, sugar, wine and water.
Place ribs in a large, flat dish and paint liberally with the sauce.
Scatter the lemon slices over the meat.
Marinade for 4-6 hours.
Remove ribs from marinade and place in a shallow baking dish.
Add the remaining 12 garlic cloves, plus a cup of the marinade sauce.
Cover and bake at 160 degrees Celsius for 60 minutes, basting and turning the meat every 15 minutes.
Remove cover and bake for another 15 to 30 minutes or until meat is tender and nicely browned.
Serve with lemon quarters.

A large green salad and a baked potato – or chips - goes nicely with the sticky ribs. A washcloth usually does, too!