Cherry Cola Glazed Pork Ribs

I tried a new recipe last night that a foodie friend had actaully shared with me a few years ago. The glaze is very good though time consuming. Mind you not labor intensive at all. It's very simple actually. It's one of those things to make though when you have a relatively quiet day at home. You can store the glaze in the fridge up to a week and it can be frozen. I actually cut the glaze recipe in half and still have enough left to use on grilled boneless skinless chicken breasts this week. I did change the recipe a bit, see notes.

Before using the cherry cola, pour it into a bowl and allow it to stand at room temperature until no longer effervescent, about four hours.

4 12-ounce cans cherry cola (flat) (I used regular Coke because it is what I had on hand)
2 cups cherry jam or preserves
2/3 cup Dijon mustard with horseradish (I used Maille tradtional Dijon and added 1 teaspoon prepared horseradish)
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons malt vinegar or apple cider vinegar (I used cider vinegar)
1 tablespoon hot pepper sauce (did not use)
7-1/4 to 7-1/2 pounds well-trimmed pork spareribs (I used boneless country pork ribs instead, and a smaller amount since there was just David and me)

Boil cherry cola in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat until reduced to 1-1/2 cups, about 45 minutes.

Stir in next 5 ingredients.

Reduce heat to medium and simmer until mixture is reduced to 2-1/2 cups, stirring occasionally, about 35 minutes.

Transfer glaze to large bowl. (Can be made 1 week ahead. Cover; chill. Bring to room emperature before using.)

Position racks in top and bottom thirds of oven and preheat to 325F. Sprinkle ribs with salt and pepper. Wrap each rib rack tightly in foil, enclosing completely. Divide foil packets between 2 rimmed baking sheets. Bake until ribs are very tender, switching positions of baking sheets halfway through baking, about 2 hours total. Cool ribs slightly in foil. Pour off any fat from foil packets. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Keep covered in foil packets and refrigerate. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour before continuing.) Note: The ribs come out very tender and moist.

Prepare barbecue (medium-low heat). Cut each rib rack between bones into individual ribs. Set aside 1 cup glaze. Add ribs to bowl with remaining glaze and toss to coat. Grill ribs until brown and glazed, turning to prevent burning, about 5 minutes total.

I baked the country ribs in the oven, wrapped in foil as the spareribs would be. Then I cut them into fairly large pieces, put them in the glaze, and then broiled theminstead of grilling. They are on the grill such a short time it didn't really make a difference.