Sweet and Spicy Oven-Baked Ribs with Homemade Barbecue Sauce

Preheat oven to 275 degrees.

Rinse ribs in sink and pat dry. Salt and pepper both sides liberally and set aside.

Combine all spices (except for the bay leaf, salt, and pepper) in one bowl and mix thoroughly.

Lay out two cookie sheets, one for each rack of ribs. On each cookie sheet, lay out two lengths of heavy-duty alunimum foil, overlapping. Each length of foil should be approximately twice the length of the cookie sheet to allow you to roll up the foil and seal it.

Place one rack of ribs on a foil-covered cookie sheet. Rub liberally with half of the spice mixture. Lay rubs curved side down so that there is a space under the ribs. Place one bay leaf in the center of the curvature. Fold up foil and seal completely.

Repeat with second rack of ribs.

Bake at 275F for 3 hours.

Remove ribs from oven and carefully open foil packages. There will be lots of steam. Let ribs cool, then drain juices and reserve. Set ribs aside.

Skim the fat from the top of the drained juices and pour into a medium saucepan. Bring juices to a boil and continue boiling until liquid is reduced by 50%. Add 1/2 cup tomato catsup and stir. Reduce heat to low. Add salt to taste, if needed.

In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup water with 1 tablespoon corn starch. Slowly stir corn startch mixture into barbecue sauce, stirring constantly, until thickened.

Remove barbecue sauce from heat and pour over ribs on a serving platter.

Serve.