After a scrumptious visit to one of Toronto’s famous ribfests in the summer of 2008, I was determined to cook something equally yummy at home. I scoured the Internet and found a wide range of methods and recipes all claiming that they were “Smack-Yo-Momma” good. I tried many of them, but I found that practically I had constraints. I live in a condo, which means no barbecue and no smoking. My early attempts at staying true to the popular indirect smoking method triggered my building fire alarm and would have surely resulted in my eventual eviction. Also, I’m an impatient cook. I chewed through my right hand (which tastes surprisingly good with BBQ sauce) waiting 7 hours for a particular “low and slow” recipe.
After much trial and error, I turned to braising – a tried and true method for turning tough, uncooperative chunks of meat into submissive, tender bites of yum. Braising makes the ribs soft and tasty, but the moist heat leave the ribs gray and without the crispness that dry heat would. To remedy this, the last step is to broil the ribs to caramelize the sauce and slightly crisp the meat.
Summary
Preparation Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 3 1/2 hours
Servings: 4-6 servings (depending on size of rack)
Cost: $25-30
Meal type: Main
Recipe Rating: 
Ingredients
- Pork back ribs – 2 racks – Approx. $20
- Diana’s Maple BBQ Sauce – 2 cups or enough to cover the ribs three times over – Approx $5
- Liquid Hickory Smoke – 4 tablespoons – $5
- Honey – 2 tablespoons
- Chili Flakes – 1 teaspoon
- Waterloo Dark – 1/2 a bottle or enough to cover the bottom of the baking sheet about 1/4 inch deep – $3
Back ribs are the best cut, but if you’re looking for something a bit leaner and cheaper (but less tasty!), side ribs work well.
Use your favorite BBQ sauce. There are many resources on the internet if you’re looking to make your own and tastes vary widely. I used a bottled sauce for speed and convenience.
Since I live in a condo, and I’m cooking these ribs in an oven, traditional indirect heat smoking is just not an option. But I needed that smokey taste I loved so much. This works and gets me the flavour without eviction.
Braising the Ribs
1. Trim excess fat from the ribs
2. Place the ribs on a baking sheet, convex side up.
3. In a bowl, combine the BBQ sauce, liquid smoke, honey and chili flakes. Mix well.
4. Add beer to the pan. Don’t pour the beer over the ribs, but instead into the corners.
5. Baste the ribs in the sauce. Cover generously. It’s not necessary to baste the side facing down. Save a bit for the last step.
6. Pre-heat your oven to 270 degrees.
7. Tent the foil over the baking sheet. Make sure that the foil doesn’t sit on the ribs, and that you have a tight seal with the making sheet. This is very important, because if the steam escapes, you’ll have very dry ribs.
Tip: If your piece of foil isn’t large enough, join two pieces together, by simply folding the length-wise edges over each other.
8. Place the ribs in the center of the oven then sit back and relax for the next three hours. Enjoy the remaining 1/2 bottle of beer or watch them cook with your dog.
Finishing the Ribs
1. Remove the ribs from the oven and drain the liquid.
2. Take the remaining BBQ sauce and coat the ribs
3. Turn your oven on broil and place the ribs in the middle rack of the oven.
4. Watch closely, it’s very easy to burn the ribs at this point. What you’re looking for is the sauce to start bubbling on the surface of the ribs. Once the ribs are bubbling everywhere, take them out of the oven.
Optional: If the sauce you’re using is runny or you like your ribs extra saucy, baste and broil the ribs one more time.
5. Coat the ribs lightly one last time and they’re ready to serve. If everything is done right, the ribs should just pull apart.
Results
Serve with garlic mash potatoes and a simple salad for a complete meal. The flavouring choices I made here are wide open to your own personal tastes. Try different braising liquids – I chose beer because it adds some bitterness (a great dish must have four flavours: salt, sweet, sour, bitter), and use a sauce that even your hand will taste good with. If you can’t decide, follow the directions to a tee, you’ll still come out with some ribs that you’re sure to enjoy!
Let us know below how your ribs turned out!
No related posts.
Tags: bbq, best ribs, braising, liquid smoke, ribs
