Tender, crusty ribs can cook in the oven

Conventional wisdom holds that pork ribs taste best when cooked outdoors on a grill or smoker. Conventional wisdom hasn't experienced the sweet-sour balsamic-glazed St. Louis-cut spare ribs at Animal restaurant in Los Angeles.

"I'm a firm believer that you can't have barbecue without fire," chef Jon Shook said. "But in California, the health department is a giant pain, and a smoke-scrubbing ventilation system that complies with environmental regulations would have cost more than $1 million."

Shook and fellow chef Vinny Dotolo have been obsessed with ribs from the moment they met at culinary school. In Los Angeles, they began experimenting with an alternative technique to true barbecue: seasoning the ribs with herbs and grapeseed oil, wrapping them in foil and roasting them slowly in the oven. The process made the meat supernaturally tender but not quite soft, with the deep, sonorous flavors a Southern pit master would achieve with a half-day's cooking over wood.

For most people, ribs aren't complete without barbecue sauce. At Animal, this takes the form of a bracingly acidic slather designed to play the sharpness of balsamic vinegar, grainy mustard and Tabasco sauce against the sugar rush of honey, brown sugar and ketchup. The chefs sizzle the sauce into the meat under the broiler, which gives the ribs a spicy crust. "Some bites even get a little charred, as they would on a grill," Shook said.

How To: Simplify: Classic Barbeque Spareribs

Yesterday morning, my husband woke up with a craving for ribs. As for me, I could eat ribs any day of the week so I was more than excited to prepare a rib recipe. Having never cooked ribs by myself, I broke out my cookbooks and researched recipes that we could try. In my food recipe magazine binder , I came across a couple different rib recipes that I ran by my husband. We both agreed on a classic sparerib recipe in hopes of satisfying our cravings. After stopping by the grocery store and selecting all of the essential ingredients, we returned home, opened a bottle of wine, and began preparing what was soon to be the best ribs we've ever had. Ever. From the homemade barbeque sauce to the first bite where all the meat fell off the bone, these ribs made for the best dinner that we've had in our entire lives and we've both had some pretty amazing meals. Preheat oven to 275 degrees and line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Make the rub: Combine the chili powder, coffee, cumin, brown sugar, cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper. Place the ribs on the prepared baking sheet. Rub the ribs on both sides with the spice mixture. Wrap the rack in aluminum foil. Bake for 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until the internal temperature of the ribs reaches 160. The ribs should be tender and easy to pull from the bone. Make the sauce: Combine the ketchup, vinegar, molasses, tomato paste, brown sugar, and black pepper. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened (about 8 to 10 minutes). Remove the ribs from the oven and coat them with about 1 cup of the sauce. Heat grill to medium-high. Grill the ribs, basting with the extra sauce and turning occasionally, until the rack begins to char slightly. Transfer the ribs to a serving platter and serve warm.

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