Sticky ribs, 6 hours — cookly.recipes

Low smoke, then a glaze that sets in the last twenty minutes instead of burning off.

WHAT YOU GET

The chef's hidden note — the technique no cookbook prints
Every component built from scratch, each with its own spec
Films on choosing and judging the produce before you buy it
Gross and net gram weights for every ingredient, per portion
Time and temperature at each stage, as run in the restaurant
A photo at every step that can go wrong
Substitutions for anything hard to find where you live
What usually goes wrong, and what to do about it

Yours for good once bought. Updates from the chef included.

BEFORE YOU BUY

Equipment: Oven or smoker, Probe thermometer, Wire rack
Allergens: Mustard
Method: 26 steps · 11 photographed · 5 filmed
Components: 4 made from scratch
Films: 3, 15 min

4 RECIPES INSIDE THIS RECIPE

Each with its own weights, steps and timings

The sauce, the cure, the dough, the dressing — a restaurant makes these itself, and so will you. Every one below is a full sub-recipe: its own ingredient list, its own method, its own yield and shelf life. Nothing says «use shop-bought».

Dry rub, eight spices

A ground spice blend of paprika, brown sugar, salt, garlic, onion, pepper, mustard and cayenne.

Shop rub is mostly salt and anti-caking agent, and its sugar burns long before the ribs are done.

Smoked paprika000 g
Dark brown sugar000 g
Something cured000 g
A hard cheese000 g
The bitter leaf000 g

Steps: 6
Time: 20 min
Hands-on: 12 min

Makes 180 g · enough for two racks, keeps 3 months airtight

Up to 3 months ahead; at minimum the night before, so the salt has time to work

Weights and method unlock on purchase

Spritz and wrap liquid

A cider vinegar spray for the smoke phase, plus the butter and sugar that go inside the foil wrap.

Plain water dries the crust out so smoke slides off; this keeps it tacky, and the wrap butter stops the rub setting hard.

Cider vinegar000 g
Apple juice000 g
Something cured000 g
A hard cheese000 g
The bitter leaf000 g

Steps: 4
Time: 10 min
Hands-on: 8 min

Makes 500 ml spray plus 60 g wrap butter · use within 2 days, refrigerated

The morning of the cook, before the ribs go on

Weights and method unlock on purchase

Glaze

Film

A tomato, molasses and cider vinegar sauce simmered down until it coats the back of a spoon.

Bottled barbecue sauce is thin and sugar-heavy, so it runs off the ribs and scorches instead of setting.

Tomato paste000 g
Molasses000 g
Something cured000 g
A hard cheese000 g
The bitter leaf000 g

Steps: 9
Time: 45 min
Hands-on: 20 min

Makes 400 ml · keeps 3 weeks refrigerated

Up to 3 weeks ahead, or while the ribs are sitting in the wrap

Weights and method unlock on purchase

Quick cucumber pickle

Thin cucumber slices salted, drained, then steeped in warm sweetened vinegar for forty minutes.

Jarred gherkins are soft and taste only of brine; these stay crunchy and are sharp enough to cut the fat.

Cucumber000 g
White onion000 g
Something cured000 g
A hard cheese000 g
The bitter leaf000 g

Steps: 6
Time: 55 min
Hands-on: 12 min

Makes 450 g drained · keeps 5 days refrigerated

At least 40 minutes before serving, up to 5 days ahead

Weights and method unlock on purchase

WEIGHED

INGREDIENTS

A taste of the list · the rest locked

A few ingredients to show you what the dish is built on. Every one on the full list carries a gross and a net weight per portion, and a note on what you can swap it for where you live.

Pork spare ribs000 g
Smoked paprika000 g
Dark brown sugar000 g
Cider vinegar000 g
Tomato paste000 g
Smoked something000 g
A whole bulb000 g
Cold-pressed oil000 g
Aged for weeks000 g

The full list, weighed, unlocks on purchase

WATCH BEFORE YOU SHOP

3 films · 15 min

Most of what goes wrong is decided at the counter, before you cook anything. These are filmed by the chef: what to buy, how to tell it is good, and how to set your own kitchen up for it.

CHOOSING6:00

Choosing ribs at the counter: what to reject

TECHNIQUE4:00

Reading the bark — when it is done, not brown

KIT5:00

Two-zone heat in a domestic oven

METHOD

STEP BY STEP — 26 STEPS

11 photographed · 5 filmed

Written the way a restaurant writes a technical card: one operation per step, each with its own time and temperature. 11 of the 26 carry a photo of what it should look like at that moment, and 5 carry a short clip for the parts a still cannot show.

Hardest step: wrapping at bark set, not clock — step 16 of 26.

01
Read the whole method before you start, then weigh everything out. Every timing below assumes the next ingredient is already within reach.
Free preview
02
03
04
05
06
+ 20 more steps, timed and photographed

WHERE IT USUALLY GOES WRONG

3 things Ray Whitfield watches for every service. You can read what they are right now — the answer to each one comes with the recipe.

01
Pulling the membrane in one piece
What to do about it
02
When to wrap, and when wrapping ruins it
What to do about it
03
Why the rest is longer than you think
What to do about it

The chef's hidden note

Why the glaze goes on three times, and what changes each time.

Written by Ray Whitfield. Visible only to people who bought this recipe.

Read it — $0.99

NOTES FROM THE KITCHENS

233 verified cooks · 67% said it worked

Only people who bought the recipe and showed the dish they made can leave a note. Nobody is paid for it.

PAY $0.99 ONCE

233 people cooked it, 67% got it right, and that is the entire reason it costs $0.99 rather than nothing. It has reached the top of the ladder.

One payment · Yours for good · No subscription