Baked Chinese BBQ Style Baby Back Ribs
By Mr. Mike Love
There comes along a sale at the grocery store that is just too good to pass up.
Recently, my local store has had crazy sales on pork back ribs and St Louis style ribs. If you don’t know the difference between the two, see this website http://www.thekitchn.com/whats-the-difference-between-baby-back-ribs-and-st-louis-ribs-meat-basics-219386. I prefer baby backs as the cook time is shorter and there is less fat, in a nutshell. The sales they have had are pretty damn good so I bought a few racks and decided to experiment with my cooking skills with the aid of the internet. I made 2 racks in the traditional American style of BBQ. A dry rub, and a sauce for glazing. The 3rd set, I got a wild idea of making Chinese BBQ Pork, but, instead of using a tenderloin, I used baby back ribs. For those who have never had Chinese BBQ Pork, it is red in color and has a sweet and savory Asian flavor to it. WOW what a great idea!!! They came out very tender, juicy and LOTS of flavor. I made a second batch a week later just to make sure I could repeat the success. When something tastes that good, why not share it with the world!!! What better way to celebrate Chinese New Year on February 8th, 2016!!!
First Things First
This is highly recommended!!! Get an oven thermometer and check to make sure your oven is at the temperature it says it is. I know, most people will say “my oven is new and should be correct.” Sadly, there is a lot of variance in ovens, even if the same model. Even more variance depending if it is gas or electric. This step is important because, if the actual temperature is lower, your ribs will be under cooked (not good as under cooked pork can make you sick), or if it is too high, you will over cook your ribs and they will be tough and dry. Nuff said.
I am a perfectionist (to a point) when cooking, so, I follow measuring and cooking times closely, at least until I get a feel for what it is like and adjust it as I please. For this, I recommend following the recipe closely.
On to the good stuff………….
The Sauce
This can be made a couple of hours prior to actual cooking of the ribs.
Ingredients and amounts:
½ Cup Soy Sauce
1/3 Cup Honey
1/3 Cup Ketchup
1/3 Cup Brown Sugar (Light is preferred)
¼ Cup Rice Wine (Sake can be substituted)
2 Tablespoons of Hoisin Sauce
Red Food coloring, about 1 or 2 teaspoons, depending on color depth desired
1 Teaspoon of Chinese 5 Spice (McCormick’s is a good brand to use but any will do)
6 Thai peppers (OPTIONAL, If you dare)
Method:
I use a double boiler for this step instead of directly in a pot, as it can scorch and make a huge mess if left unattended. To make a double boiler, add water to a medium sauce pan and heat over medium low heat. Combine all ingredients in a heat resistant bowl and mix. Place the bowl with your ingredients on top of sauce pan and allow the water to simmer. Your sauce will get hot, without the mess in the pan.
If you are using the Thai Peppers, remove a small amount of sauce from the bowl and add to a small food processor. Cut the stems from the peppers and add into food processor. Grind until there are no large chunks of peppers in the sauce. Add back to bowl and heat on double boiler until hot, stirring occasionally. Remove bowl from pan and set aside.
The Dry Rub
This can be made a couple of days prior to actual cooking of the ribs.
Ingredients and amounts:
3 Tablespoons of Chinese 5 Spice (McCormick’s is a good brand to use but any will do)
1 Tablespoon of Brown Sugar (Light is preferred)
1 Tablespoon of Kosher Salt (you can reduce by half if you are watching your sodium level, like me)
1 Teaspoon of ground Cayenne Pepper
½ Teaspoon of Garlic Powder
Method:
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Make sure to break up all chunks of brown sugar.
NOW TO THE GOOD STUFF!!!
Preparing your ribs:
Remove your ribs from the package and drain off all residual fluids. I tend to blot the ribs with paper towels to remove all residual moisture, but it is not required. Lay out a good length of aluminum foil, about 2 or 3 inches beyond the ends of the ribs. Make sure shiny side is down. Place your ribs on the foil, meat side up. Apply a generous amount (about half) of the dry rub to the ribs making sure it is completely coated. Flip the ribs over, bone side up and repeat with remaining rub. Take another length of aluminum foil, shiny side up, and lay over the ribs. Roll the edges together to create a tight seal and place on a cookie sheet. I use a flat rack over the cookie sheet to give more convection underneath the ribs.
Baking:
Preheat oven to 250F (121C) degrees. Place ribs on sheet on lower rack and bake for 2 hours. NOTE use your oven timer for this, as over or under cooking can occur. After 2 hours, remove ribs from oven and increase the oven temperature to 350F (177C) degrees. Remove ribs from the foil wrap and drain excess fat. I will discard the foil and start with fresh foil, shiny side down. Allow ribs to rest for 10 to 15 minutes. Place back on cookie sheet, with new foil, with bone side up. Generously apply the pre-made sauce to the bone side and turn over, meat side up, and repeat. Place back in the oven for 10 minutes and remove and apply another coat of sauce. Repeat this process five times, for a total of 50 minutes additional cooking time. Remove from the oven for the final time and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Remove from the foil and cut into individual ribs. Drizzle excess sauce from foil over ribs and serve.
And above all………..
ENJOY!!!!