Updated

Chef Jacqueline Kleis of Wild Fork Foods—an online gourmet grocer—knows meat

"Wild Fork started in Miami, and that’s where a lot of the flavors in our recipes come from. Tamarind is one of my favorite ingredients — it’s a natural tenderizer that makes it perfect for pork or other cuts, and the tangy, sweet and sour flavor is flavorful and tropical," says Kleis. 

oven baked pork ribs

Oven-Baked Tamarind Pork Ribs by Wild Fork  (Wild Fork)

Get the full recipe for her go-to pork rib entrée below.

Oven-Baked Tamarind Pork Ribs by Wild Fork 

Makes 4-6 servings

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 2.5 hours

Ingredients:

3.5 lbs antibiotic-free pork St. Louis spare ribs, thawed

¼ cup canola oil

½ cup, smoked pecan wood rub or rub of choice

Coarse sea salt, to taste

2 cups BBQ sauce

⅔ cup seedless tamarind paste 

½ cup water

Instructions:

1. Pat pork racks dry with paper towels and rub oil all over the ribs. Mix smoked pecan wood rub or rub of choice with salt. Rub spice mix all over the ribs.

2. Place on a sheet pan lined with aluminum foil and cover tightly with additional foil. Refrigerate for 2 hours for better flavor.

3. Prepare the tamarind BBQ sauce: In a small sauce pan, heat the ½-cup  water. Whisk in tamarind paste and mix until diluted. Mix in BBQ sauce and keep warm.

4. Preheat oven to 325 °F degrees. Bake ribs until tender, about 2 hours.

5. Increase temperature to 400 °F. Uncover the ribs, brush the BBQ sauce over the ribs and continue to cook for another 15 minutes until nicely glazed and edges are browned. The USDA recommends cooking pork to a minimum internal temperature of 145 °F.