Ask your butcher to remove the membrane on the back of the racks which is often left on and can be tough. Wash off your ribs and pat them dry with kitchen paper.

Place in a large tray and liberally sprinkle on both sides with a dry rub or just plenty of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper if you prefer. Work the rub into the meat with your fingers and cover and refrigerate for two to four hours to allow the flavours of the rub to develop, you can leave them up to twelve hours preparing them the day before cooking.

Preheat your oven to 275 F / 140 C / Gas mark 1. Transfer the ribs to a deep baking tray and pour in sufficient water to cover the bottom of the tray to a depth of about one centimetre. Place the ribs, meat side down, in baking dishes.

Cover the baking dishes with silver foil and place in the oven. This will cook the ribs by braising them in the own juices with the rub flavourings and help keep the meat moist.

If your racks are trimmed and quite small check them after about three and a half hours. The meat should be very tender, if not replace the cover and return to the oven for another half an hour.

Carefully drain off the cooking liquor, which can be used as a stock in spicy bean soup and cover the ribs with barbecue sauce. Turn up the oven to 350 F / 180 C / Gas mark 4 and cook for twenty to thirty more minutes so that the sauce is bubbling and sticky and nicely caramelised.

Alternatively, when the ribs are cooked you can let them cool in the barbecue sauce then reheat them under a grill or on a chargrill or barbecue, turning often to prevent the sugars in the barbecue sauce from burning. The barbecue gives a wonderful smoky finish.