Winter Ribs

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/08/dining/081mrex.html

½ tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon paprika
About 4 pounds spareribs.

1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Mix seasonings together and rub ribs all over with this mixture. Put them in a roasting pan in one layer. Bake, pouring off accumulated fat every 30 minutes or so, for 2 hours or longer, or until ribs are cooked through and very tender. (If you are in a hurry, cover roasting pan with aluminum foil, which will shorten the cooking time by about a third.)

2. When you are ready to eat, roast ribs at 500 degrees for about 10 minutes (or grill them or run them under a broiler), until nicely browned; watch carefully for burning.