Flashback Friday - Ribs and Dry Rubs

This flashback only goes back to early last year, but it's a post on ribs and dry rubs, and since tomorrow is the Fourth of July, I thought it could be appropriate. Last minute, but appropriate.

Happy Fourth!

This post was originally published on  February 28, 2014.
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Ribs and Dry Rubs

Some time ago, oh, 20-odd years or so, I took a long overnight drive with a couple of friends. After 16 hours of No-Doz and coffee, griping, bitching, and desperately trying to keep one of us (not me) from popping a Dylan tape into the cassette deck, we found ourselves at our destination--Chicago. There, after a much-needed nap, we indulged in some of the things the Windy City is most famous for: Cubs baseball, Chicago dogs, blues music, and barbecue.

One of our evening excursions during our stay involved both blues and barbecue. As this was long before teh Innernets, I'm not sure how we discovered that a restaurant called Brother Jimmy's had both the ribs we were craving and live music, but we found the joint and paid it a visit. The place was packed, but we squeezed into three seats and ordered a bunch of food. We decided to try every type of ribs they offered, and that included their sauce-less dry rub ribs. Now, this was back before my palate was used to eating spicy food on a regular basis, and I could swear that my nose hairs were singed a bit when I lifted one of those dry rub ribs to my lips. They were incendiary, at least to us, but they were so good. I think I ate the majority of them, even though my mouth went numb after the second one.

I've eaten a lot of ribs since then. Heck, I've cooked a lot of ribs since then. I use Alton Brown's method of steaming the meat in foil with a bit of liquid before putting them under the broiler (or on the grill) to char with a little sweet sauce. The ribs are moist and succulent that way, but much of the dry rub seems to wash off, leaving them on the bland side. I decided to change the method a bit to see if I could keep the rub from coming off yet cook the meat in the same way.

The first step: make a dry rub. I usually just toss some seasonings with kosher salt and brown sugar (I do not use Alton's recipe--it is outrageously salty). This time, I wanted to achieve some nice heat, so I piled on the chiles.

The second step: cut back on the liquid used for steaming the ribs. Alton puts his ribs into little foil packets with a half cup of liquid in each. I used a scant quarter cup. The ribs still were very tender, but the liquid didn't wash off the spice. Remember--while the ribs are cooking, they produce still more liquid, so they really don't need all that much to start with.

While these ribs weren't nearly as spicy as the dry rub ribs from Brother Jimmy's, and I did coat them with a sauce later, I think they were some of the best ribs I've made to date.

Spicy Ribs

1 rack of St Louis-style or baby back ribs

For the dry rub:
3/4 cup brown sugar
4 teaspoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon paprika
2-3 teaspoons ground chipotle powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1-2 teaspoons ground pasilla negro
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

For the glaze:
3 tablespoons reserved dry rub
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
4 tablespoons honey

To make the rub: Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Reserve three tablespoons for glaze.

Place a sheet of aluminum foil on a large rimmed baking sheet and set close by.

If you're using a slab of St Louis-style ribs, cut the slab into three pieces. Tear three large sheets of heavy-duty aluminum foil, each large enough to hold one of the slabs. Place the sheets, one on top of the other, on the counter in front of you, horizontally. Place one slab of ribs on the top sheet; coat the top and bottom of the ribs liberally with rub, pressing it into the meat. Take the top and bottom edges of the foil and bring them together like a tent. Fold the edges together and roll them down towards the meat to make a package. Roll the open sides of the package up toward the center to seal all sides. Repeat with other two slabs of ribs. Place all three wrapped packages on the prepared baking sheet.

(If you're using baby backs, leave them whole and use only one large sheet of aluminum foil.)

Refrigerate ribs for 6 hours or overnight.

To make the glaze: Place all ingredients in a small saucepan. Heat until warm, stirring to combine. Remove from heat and set aside. Refrigerate until ready to use.

To cook the ribs: Preheat oven to 300°F.

Gently unroll one short end on each package. Pour in a scant quarter cup of liquid of your choice--apple juice, Dr Pepper, water, whatever as long as it's not alcohol (you don't want to tempt a fire)--and re-roll the end. Keeping the packets on the rimmed baking sheet, put the whole thing into the oven.

Cook 1 1/2 - 2 hours, until meat is fork tender.

Remove tray from oven and turn on the broiler. Gently unroll one end of each package and pour out the liquid. Cut ribs into two-rib pieces. Place the ribs on a foil-lined baking sheet and brush the top side liberally with the glaze. Broil for 5-8 minutes, until sauce is bubbling and charred in spots. Turn meat, brush with more glaze, and repeat broiling.

Serve with wetnaps.



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Korean Baby Back Ribs

Believe it or not, I think baby back ribs are one of the easiest and tastiest things to prepare for a weekend dinner. Note that I did not use the words "fastest" or "quickest"--the process is rather time-consuming. However, the actual work is pretty simple. Normally I'll put together a dry rub (or get Mr Minx to do it) and apply it to the ribs the night before. The next day, the ribs get a dose of moisture in the form of juice or even soda and spend several hours lounging in a slow oven. Once the meat is fork tender, it gets slathered in sauce for a trip under the broiler.

I find slightly charred barbecue sauce to be a delightful scent. Someone needs to make a candle. But not Yankee Candle.

Oven braised bbq ribs are a perfect lazy weekend dish. As long as I don't make a lot of sides, it affords me free time to catch up on my reading or knitting or whatever. (Napping, too.) And two giant racks of ribs for two people means a week's worth of leftovers. Or two dinners for us plus enough left over to bribe my brother into watching the dog while we head off to a media event in Frederick.

I was feeling in a Korean food mood (as often happens) so I designed the dry rub and sauce with that in mind. To my palate, Korean food is all about sweet, garlic, and heat. The dry rub includes all three elements in the form of brown sugar, garlic powder, and kochukaru, or Korean red pepper flakes. The sauce also incorporates those flavors, plus the tang of rice vinegar and the toasty mustiness of sesame oil.

I put some jarred kimchi into the sauce because we had it. (It's available in the refrigerated produce section of Giant and other supermarkets, believe it or not.) If you don't want to invest in a jar, then just add another garlic clove and some chopped scallions to the sauce.

I make ribs fairly often, and I think this is my favorite version to date.

Oven-Baked Baby Backs with Korean Flavors

For rub:
4 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons kochukaru (Korean pepper flakes)
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder

For sauce:
1/2 onion, diced
1/4 cup kimchi, chopped (or 1 clove of garlic and 3 whole scallions)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 heaping teaspoon grated fresh ginger
6 heaping tablespoons brown sugar
2 heaping tablespoons gochujang
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon unseasoned rice wine vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

For ribs:
2 racks baby back ribs, 6-7 lbs total weight
1/2 cup apple juice

To make the rub: Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Reserve three tablespoons for glaze.

Remove the thin membrane that covers the concave side of each rack of ribs. You can do this by grasping one end with a paper towel and pulling. If you're lucky, it'll come off in one sheet. (Like this.)

Place a sheet of aluminum foil on a large rimmed baking sheet and set close by.

Tear two large sheets of heavy-duty aluminum foil, each large enough to hold one of the racks, with several inches of overhang on all four sides. Place the foil sheets, one on top of the other, on the counter in front of you, horizontally. Place one rack of ribs on the top sheet; coat the top and bottom of the ribs with half of the rub, pressing it into the meat. Take the top and bottom edges of the foil and bring them together over the ribs like a tent. Fold the edges together and roll them down towards the meat to make a package. Roll the open sides of the package up toward the center to seal all sides. Your package should look like this. Repeat with other rack of ribs. Place both wrapped packages on the prepared baking sheet.

Refrigerate ribs for 6 hours or overnight.

To make the sauce: Cook the onion over medium heat in a bit of oil and pinch of salt for about 10 minutes, or until soft. Add the kimchi, garlic, and ginger. Stir to combine and let cook for an additional couple of minutes. Add the brown sugar, gochujang, soy, and rice vinegar. Turn up the heat and bring to a boil. Let sauce thicken a bit, then remove from the heat and stir in the sesame oil. Use an immersion blender to make a mostly smooth sauce. Place sauce into a covered container and refrigerate until ready to use.

To cook the ribs: Preheat oven to 250°F.

Remove ribs from the fridge. Gently unroll one short end on each foil package. Pour a quarter cup of apple juice into each, and re-roll the ends. Keeping the packets on the rimmed baking sheet, put the whole thing into the oven.

Cook 1 1/2 - 2 hours, until meat is fork tender.

Remove tray from oven and turn on the broiler. Gently unroll one end of each package and pour out the liquid. (Carefully - it will be very hot!) Place the ribs on a foil-lined baking sheet and brush the top side liberally with the glaze. Broil for 5-8 minutes, until sauce is bubbling and charred in spots. Remove meat from broiler, brush with more glaze, and repeat broiling.

Serves 6-8



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Ribs and Dry Rubs

Some time ago, oh, 20-odd years or so, I took a long overnight drive with a couple of friends. After 16 hours of No-Doz and coffee, griping, bitching, and desperately trying to keep one of us (not me) from popping a Dylan tape into the cassette deck, we found ourselves at our destination--Chicago. There, after a much-needed nap, we indulged in some of the things the Windy City is most famous for: Cubs baseball, Chicago dogs, blues music, and barbecue.

One of our evening excursions during our stay involved both blues and barbecue. As this was long before teh Innernets, I'm not sure how we discovered that a restaurant called Brother Jimmy's had both the ribs we were craving and live music, but we found the joint and paid it a visit. The place was packed, but we squeezed into three seats and ordered a bunch of food. We decided to try every type of ribs they offered, and that included their sauce-less dry rub ribs. Now, this was back before my palate was used to eating spicy food on a regular basis, and I could swear that my nose hairs were singed a bit when I lifted one of those dry rub ribs to my lips. They were incendiary, at least to us, but they were so good. I think I ate the majority of them, even though my mouth went numb after the second one.

I've eaten a lot of ribs since then. Heck, I've cooked a lot of ribs since then. I use Alton Brown's method of steaming the meat in foil with a bit of liquid before putting them under the broiler (or on the grill) to char with a little sweet sauce. The ribs are moist and succulent that way, but much of the dry rub seems to wash off, leaving them on the bland side. I decided to change the method a bit to see if I could keep the rub from coming off yet cook the meat in the same way.

The first step: make a dry rub. I usually just toss some seasonings with kosher salt and brown sugar (I do not use Alton's recipe--it is outrageously salty). This time, I wanted to achieve some nice heat, so I piled on the chiles.

The second step: cut back on the liquid used for steaming the ribs. Alton puts his ribs into little foil packets with a half cup of liquid in each. I used a scant quarter cup. The ribs still were very tender, but the liquid didn't wash off the spice. Remember--while the ribs are cooking, they produce still more liquid, so they really don't need all that much to start with.

While these ribs weren't nearly as spicy as the dry rub ribs from Brother Jimmy's, and I did coat them with a sauce later, I think they were some of the best ribs I've made to date.

Spicy Ribs

1 rack of St Louis-style or baby back ribs

For the dry rub:
3/4 cup brown sugar
4 teaspoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon paprika
2-3 teaspoons ground chipotle powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1-2 teaspoons ground pasilla negro
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

For the glaze:
3 tablespoons reserved dry rub
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
4 tablespoons honey

To make the rub: Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Reserve three tablespoons for glaze.

Place a sheet of aluminum foil on a large rimmed baking sheet and set close by.

If you're using a slab of St Louis-style ribs, cut the slab into three pieces. Tear three large sheets of heavy-duty aluminum foil, each large enough to hold one of the slabs. Place the sheets, one on top of the other, on the counter in front of you, horizontally. Place one slab of ribs on the top sheet; coat the top and bottom of the ribs liberally with rub, pressing it into the meat. Take the top and bottom edges of the foil and bring them together like a tent. Fold the edges together and roll them down towards the meat to make a package. Roll the open sides of the package up toward the center to seal all sides. Repeat with other two slabs of ribs. Place all three wrapped packages on the prepared baking sheet.

(If you're using baby backs, leave them whole and use only one large sheet of aluminum foil.)

Refrigerate ribs for 6 hours or overnight.

To make the glaze: Place all ingredients in a small saucepan. Heat until warm, stirring to combine. Remove from heat and set aside. Refrigerate until ready to use.

To cook the ribs: Preheat oven to 300°F.

Gently unroll one short end on each package. Pour in a scant quarter cup of liquid of your choice--apple juice, Dr Pepper, water, whatever as long as it's not alcohol (you don't want to tempt a fire)--and re-roll the end. Keeping the packets on the rimmed baking sheet, put the whole thing into the oven.

Cook 1 1/2 - 2 hours, until meat is fork tender.

Remove tray from oven and turn on the broiler. Gently unroll one end of each package and pour out the liquid. Cut ribs into two-rib pieces. Place the ribs on a foil-lined baking sheet and brush the top side liberally with the glaze. Broil for 5-8 minutes, until sauce is bubbling and charred in spots. Turn meat, brush with more glaze, and repeat broiling.

Serve with wetnaps.



Posted on Minxeats.com.