Home oven baked baby backed ribs are VERY simple.
We can even make them ahead of time, and hold them in the fridge for a day or two before the final broil.
I break it down into 3 phases for the ribs, plus making a dry rub, and a "bbq sauce".
First, the PREP (15min active, 2-48hrs inactive)
Make sure the ribs are ready for cooking.
Remove the membrane behind the ribs (trim some to get a good grip with a kitchen towel and just rip it off).
Rinse the ribs in cold water, make sure that there aren't any impurities, bone flakes, dried blood etc.
Place the ribs on some foil, and rub your dry rub (recipe ideas coming) all over the meat, then wrap your foil over the meat, folding in the sides to seal the meat in a foil packet.
Put the marinated meat into the fridge for a few hours, up to 2 days to marinate.
Second, BAKING LOW AND SLOW (1min active, 2-3hrs inactive)
Take your wrapped up ribs and without unwrapping them, bake them in the oven at approximately 275F /135C for 2-3 hours, in the middle rack.
The ribs will cook low and slow until they are fall off the rib tender.
After this part, you can put your cooked ribs into the fridge, or go straight to the final stage.
If you are going directly to the final stage, open up the foil packets, and drain off any liquids from the ribs into your BBQ sauce. It will bring a richness of flavor that beats the store bought stuff.
Third, BROILING THE BARK
Open up your foil packets if you haven't already, and coat the top of your ribs in your homemade BBQ sauce.
Then return the ribs to the oven (top rack) and broil for 5-10 minutes till the sauce caramelizes into a bark. I've added a sprinkle of sugar and garlic powder on top to help it along.
Dry Brine
The basic dry brine is SALT and SUGAR. I would go with around 0.5%-1% of the rib's weight in salt, and an equal amount of sugar / brown sugar.. A teaspoon of ground black PEPPER (or white pepper) balances out the flavor, and a teaspoon SWEET PAPRIKA for some smokiness,
Additional optional ingredients can enhance your dry rub. Add 1-1/2 a teaspoon of these depending on how much you enjoy the flavors they bring. I'm not convinced any of these flavors penetrate much into the meat though, so if your BBQ sauce has these flavors, feel free to skip any of these.
CAYANNE POWDER (or any chili powder) and MUSTARD POWDER for some heat
GARLIC and ONION POWDER are also classic flavors. A little GINGER POWDER / GALANGAL POWDER also add an interesting background.
GROUND ROSEMARY / THYME / CUMIN POWDER bring a little herbal flavor.
CINNAMON POWDER / GROUND CELERY SEEDS add a little earthiness.
BBQ SAUCE
Mix and match your own flavors, using more from each flavor profile.
Major flavor notes we are trying to hit are SWEET / TANGY / SPICY.
Minor flavor notes should be SALT, UMAMI and FUNK
KETCHUP is a good base to use for most BBQ sauce, bringing in sweetness and tangy flavors. MUSTARD sauce brings in some spice as well (it's basically vinegar, water and ground mustard).
We can enhance the sweetness with HONEY / SUGAR / MIRIN / MOLASSES. We can also cook down some finely diced onions for a more subtle flavor, or diced fruits for a different sort of sweetness.
Tangy flavors can be helped by some type of VINEGAR, or LIME / LEMON JUICE. I've also tried cooking down ORANGE or some other fruit juice with my minced onions for a slightly more interesting flavor.
Some type of pre-packaged HOT SAUCE brings some heat to the table. I enjoy using a store bought Thai sweet chili sauce, as well as some Chinese fermented bean chili sauce for a bit of funk. Tabasco and Frank's red hot are also standards. I've also soaked some chili peppers in vodka for some pure heat to add to sauces (or spike bloody marys with).
Salty and Umami comes in the form of Worcestershire Sauce / Soy Sauce / Oyster sauce / Fish sauce or Salt.
Garlic powder / freshly minced garlic often finds its way into my BBQ sauces as well. Liquid smoke can also be added.
We can either just mix the sauces outright, or cook it down (especially if we are using some finely diced onions / fruits). Season as you go, and make extra for a dipping sauce. BBQ Sauces usually store well in the fridge for a week or so, as the component parts are very sweet/ acidic / salty, and generally inhospitable to bacteria.
If you are cooking down your sauce, adding some alcohol to it also brings some interesting esthers to the dish.
Mix and match according to what you have. One ingredient from each other the major flavor notes if you are going for a basic sauce.
.
Comments
Post a Comment