Rib dinner
I LOVE ribs. And over the years I've come to the realization that the secret to ribs is long, slow cooking. These leaves you with a set of ribs that are falling-off-the-bone tender and saucy. But it took a bit of practice and the discovery of one special secret to be able to produce a consistently good plate of ribs...
I actually cook my ribs THREE times.
First, I cut them into serving size pieces...
Set the oven to broil...
And brown them off until they look like this:
Then I pull out the first of my secret weapons...
Set to high...
Add the ribs...
And then--the first of the saucings!
As you can see, it doesn't really matter what kind of sauce you use, because what you're doing here is literally braising the ribs in sauce, and once they begin to melt, the sauce doesn't taste like ordinary sauce anymore, but sauce imbued with meaty goodness.
The key now is to walk away.
For hours.
The ribs should slow simmer in the sauce for a minimum of three and a maximum of five hours. You'll know when they're done because the meat will have started to pull away from the bones, and it will be a very scary process to actually lift them (with a pair of tongs, please) from the crock pot and onto a platter.
YUM!
YUM!
YUM!
Now...here is the REAL secret...
Shhh!
That's right--stick 'em in the fridge for a couple of hours.
During that chilling, the ribs will soak in their juices some more, and will firm up so that you can actually put them on the grill without having them fall through. It will also keep them from grilling too quickly, and will keep the inside moist and tender while getting the outside done to your desired level of char.
Here's another secret...
No, silly--the secret is not in getting the family grillmeister to grill them FOR you...
You see what he's doing?
Yup--he's adjusting the heat, to medium low. Low and slow, remember? Even at this stage, when the ribs are actually cooked through, you still want to keep the heat low, so that you can achieve that nice smoky taste.
In the last few minutes of cooking, sauce again...
As you can see, we're still working out of a bottle here, but this sauce imparts more taste to the ribs than the sauce in the crock pot did, so this is where you pick a good one. This one is Spicy Honey.
Now, as good as they are, you might not be interested in having JUST ribs for dinner. So you have to think about sides as well.
I like sweet potato fries.
Peel and slice, spread on sheet pan, and toss with canola, kosher salt and fresh pepper. Spread them in a single layer (try not to crowd--crowding makes for soggy fries) and bake at 450F for about 30-45 minutes, until they look like this...
I also can't seem to manage to eat ribs without cole slaw...so I always make a big bowl--with light dressing, of course.
When it's all done, this is what your plates should look like...
Oh--that's chipotle mayonnaise in the ramekin, which is nothing more than low-fat mayo mixed with chipotle powder, and which is a delicious, spicy accompaniment to the salty/sweet of the fries.
Oh, and this was tonight's wine pairing, which actually went quite nicely--sturdy, slightly fruity and quite nice with the rest of the sweet and savories.
What did you have for dinner?
X-posted to food_porn
I actually cook my ribs THREE times.
First, I cut them into serving size pieces...
Set the oven to broil...
And brown them off until they look like this:
Then I pull out the first of my secret weapons...
Set to high...
Add the ribs...
And then--the first of the saucings!
As you can see, it doesn't really matter what kind of sauce you use, because what you're doing here is literally braising the ribs in sauce, and once they begin to melt, the sauce doesn't taste like ordinary sauce anymore, but sauce imbued with meaty goodness.
The key now is to walk away.
For hours.
The ribs should slow simmer in the sauce for a minimum of three and a maximum of five hours. You'll know when they're done because the meat will have started to pull away from the bones, and it will be a very scary process to actually lift them (with a pair of tongs, please) from the crock pot and onto a platter.
YUM!
YUM!
YUM!
Now...here is the REAL secret...
Shhh!
That's right--stick 'em in the fridge for a couple of hours.
During that chilling, the ribs will soak in their juices some more, and will firm up so that you can actually put them on the grill without having them fall through. It will also keep them from grilling too quickly, and will keep the inside moist and tender while getting the outside done to your desired level of char.
Here's another secret...
No, silly--the secret is not in getting the family grillmeister to grill them FOR you...
You see what he's doing?
Yup--he's adjusting the heat, to medium low. Low and slow, remember? Even at this stage, when the ribs are actually cooked through, you still want to keep the heat low, so that you can achieve that nice smoky taste.
In the last few minutes of cooking, sauce again...
As you can see, we're still working out of a bottle here, but this sauce imparts more taste to the ribs than the sauce in the crock pot did, so this is where you pick a good one. This one is Spicy Honey.
Now, as good as they are, you might not be interested in having JUST ribs for dinner. So you have to think about sides as well.
I like sweet potato fries.
Peel and slice, spread on sheet pan, and toss with canola, kosher salt and fresh pepper. Spread them in a single layer (try not to crowd--crowding makes for soggy fries) and bake at 450F for about 30-45 minutes, until they look like this...
I also can't seem to manage to eat ribs without cole slaw...so I always make a big bowl--with light dressing, of course.
When it's all done, this is what your plates should look like...
Oh--that's chipotle mayonnaise in the ramekin, which is nothing more than low-fat mayo mixed with chipotle powder, and which is a delicious, spicy accompaniment to the salty/sweet of the fries.
Oh, and this was tonight's wine pairing, which actually went quite nicely--sturdy, slightly fruity and quite nice with the rest of the sweet and savories.
What did you have for dinner?
X-posted to food_porn