I got this recipe from the August 2009 issue of Food and Wine. They were, indeed, sticky. This is a recipe from Mogridder’s, the famous barbecue truck in the Bronx. I have mixed feelings about them.

I didn’t use baby backs because I had some St. Louis ribs already in the freezer. They were good and tender, a little fatty, and not plentiful enough. If I made these again I’d use the baby backs, and more of them. They were definitely missing the smoke of a real barbecued rib, but for an indoor/oven version they weren’t bad at all. However, broiling anything for that long can lead to some fun smoke detector adventures. Adam and I were both kind of cranky by the time the ribs were actually finished. I’d also line my rimmed cookie sheet with foil, that sauce destroyed it. I halved the recipe, but here’s the full one.

Mo’s Sticky Ribs (from August ’09 Food and Wine)

2 1/4 pounds baby back ribs
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Granulated garlic, for sprinkling
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
1 tablespoon whole cloves
One 12-ounce bottle of lager
1 cup ketchup
1 cup peach or apricot jam
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 300°. On a rimmed baking sheet, season the ribs with salt, pepper and garlic. Drizzle with oil and scatter the cloves over the ribs and in the pan.

Pour the beer over the ribs, cover with foil and bake for 2 hours, until the meat is tender.

Strain the pan juices into a saucepan. Whisk in the ketchup, jam and lemon juice and boil over high heat until reduced to 1 1/2 cups, about 20 minutes.

Preheat the broiler. Set the ribs meaty side down on the baking sheet, brush with glaze and broil 4 inches from the heat for 7 minutes.

Turn the ribs and brush with half of the remaining glaze. Broil for 10 minutes, until starting to char.

Brush with the remaining glaze and broil until browned, 10 minutes.

Let rest for 10 minutes and serve.