Happy Mother's Day Mom! Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms out there. I was going to cook something dainty and sweet this weekend for Mother's Day. Then I realized that women dig foods that are hearty and robust just as much as any guy I know. Plus, I am madly in love with a carnivore addict, and he brings out the 'pit- master' side of me. I settled on ribs. I bought a full rack of pork ribs, rubbed them down with a very simple rub, seared them on the grill, allowed them to slowly roast in the oven with beer, and then finished them on the grill slathered with sauce! Sounds a little putsy? Well, maybe, but that's kinda what I have grown to love about BBQ.
First the rub. The rack I had bought was a bit too big to fit on our grill, so I started by halving the rack. Then I sprinkled each side with sea salt, lots of fresh cracked pepper, brown sugar, and chili flakes. I wanted a touch of sweetness and lots of kick, hence the hefty sprinkling of fresh cracked pepper. The chili flakes add additional spice, different from that of the black pepper, and could be omitted depending on your personal taste. Normally I go a little nuts coming up with spice blends, but I kept it simple this time. Cumin, smoked paprika, allspice, cocoa powder, and ginger would be great additions. Play around with it. You'll probably come up with something really interesting. I allowed the ribs to hang out, all rubbed in spices, while my fella and I went for a 6 mile hike around the Devil Track River.
The searing. When I cook ribs, I go to the braising method. Braising is a combination cooking method using both moist and dry heat. Typically the food is seared over high heat and then finished in a covered pot with liquids. Pot roast would be an example. So, I seared the ribs on the grill so they would have the smokiness and a bit of the charred edges, which I am fond of. Just before I removed the ribs, I brushed them up with apple cider vinegar. Then I removed the ribs from the grill, placed them in a roasting pan with 2 cups of chicken stock, and 1 Sam Adams Cherry Wheat beer. This particular beer was left behind from a seasonal sample pack of beers. While it may not be my favorite drinking beer, it's cherry notes worked perfectly with the pork. Hard cider would be a good choice too. I let them roast for about 1 1/2 hours.
The finish. Remove the ribs from the roasting pan, and place them on a preheated grill. I like to add more smoky depth and crisp up the exterior a bit at this point. Now is a good time to slather on BBQ sauce if you like, and allow it to grill into the meat. Below is a run down of the BBQ sauce I came up with.
Remove the ribs from the roasting pan, and you are left with about a half of a cup of reduced liquids. This stuff is gold. Place the roasting pan on the burners of your stove top. De glaze the pan with a splash of red wine or beer, whatever you happen to be drinking. Scrape up all the bits and juices. To this pan add:
2 Tbl apple cider vinegar
2 Tbl agave (honey or maple syrup would do wonderfully)
1 Tbl stone ground mustard
1 Tbl chili powder
1 tsp chili sauce ( I used Sriracha)
1/2 cup ketchup
fresh cracked black pepper, to taste
smoked sea salt, to taste
Whisk all of the above ingredients together with the pan juices. If it seems too thick, add more liquids to thin it out. Here again, I encourage you to create this to your own tastes. Everyone's palette is different. Maybe some of you like more tang. Up the vinegar.You've got a sweet tooth, up the sweetener. I kept it simple again, and kept with the black pepper and chili spices. I try to balance the sweet, smoky, tang, and spice. Hope you enjoy! Belly up!!
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