Baby Back Ribs with Chipotle Honey Barbecue Sauce

YIELD: 4 servings

For the sauce:
1 cup honey
1 cup ketchup
½ cup apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsps. reduced sodium soy sauce or tamari
2 canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, stems trimmed, chopped
2 Tbsps. adobo sauce (from the can of chiles)
2 tsps. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. fresh garlic, grated
1 tsp. coarse salt

For the ribs:
2 racks baby back ribs (about 2 ½ lbs. each), each rack halved
coarse salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

1. For the sauce, place all sauce ingredients in a small saucepan. Heat on medium-low until simmering. Cook, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Let cool.
2. Season the ribs on both sides with salt and pepper and rub in. Place ribs in a 2-gallon, resealable plastic bag and add the cooled sauce. Refrigerate for 4 to 24 hours, turning the bag occasionally.
3. When ready to cook the ribs, preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a large roasting pan or a rimmed sheet pan with aluminum foil. Fit a rack in the pan and place ribs on rack. Pour sauce into saucepan and gently heat over medium heat for 5 minutes. Brush ribs with the sauce.
4. Roast ribs for 1 ½ to 2 hours, basting lightly and turning every 20 minutes, until the meat begins to pull away from the bones. The ribs can be made ahead and left to stand for up to 2 hours in refrigerator.
5. Preheat broiler on high. Brush ribs lightly with sauce and broil for about 2 minutes, until browned and bubbly. Cut between the ribs and pile them on a platter. Heat the leftover sauce to a gentle boil and simmer for 3 minutes before serving with ribs.

Recipe: Taste of Honey: The Definitive Guide to Tasting and Cooking with 40 Varietals by Marie Simmons/Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC