I was actually after some Beef Short Ribs from the plate. But alas the butcher was closed in the week between Christmas and New Years, and the Waitrose butcher looked at me like I should be the one behind the counter. So I settled for the pork ribs rack, which is usually around £2.50 and I find that one rack is enough for two people.
People have taught me many methods of cooking these ribs to the point where the meat is falling off the bone, and you may have your own personal favourite. Cooking it on a low oven with a bit of water at the bottom of the pan to steam it for 1.5 hours is a good method, but I prefer to boil the ribs first so I can skim the scum off the top, rub with the marinade, rest for an hour then put in a hotter oven for around 25 minutes. Brining is another method to penetrate flavour into the meat as well as making it soft and juicy after it's been in the oven. Whichever method works best for you, use it.
I used a barbeque rub for this. If I was cooking this after work, I'd slap on ready made BBQ sauce like the one from Abel & Cole. On that sunny summer Sunday, I would make my own BBQ recipe (see below). I have purposely left out the quantities because I play it by ear and really have no idea how much stuff I put in. I know what the end is supposed to be like though, smokey, sticky, rich, spicy with that kick of heat that lingers in your mouth. Yummy...
I wanted to make a potato salad because I was craving as part of my summer dream, so I used up the remaining Pink Fir Apple potatoes I had for this. They're so cute and knobbly, delicious when simply boiled. I am quite particular about my mayonnaise, I love it when it's rich and has an eggy flavour to it, nothing like that bleached Helmans stuff! I use mayonnaise from Abel & Cole because it has the right flavour, consistency and it beats making my own everytime! I like to add a hard-boiled egg to my potato salad too, not everyone enjoys that, so leave it out if you want. The one thing I think was missing was a sharpness, so I would add capers to the salad, I didn't have any this time, but it's necessary with the sweet sticky ribs.
Honestly, this dish is so easy to make I feel like I'm cheating you by putting it up, but it's so damn satisfying to lick you fingers and lips at the end of it. So if you've never made ribs before, try it!
Ingredients
rack of Pork Ribs
1/2 cup of BBQ sauce (see below)
two handfuls of small salad Potatoes
1 small red Onion, roughly chopped
1 Egg, hard-boiled and roughly chopped
3 tbsp Mayonnaise
1 tbsp Capers
Salt & Pepper
Smokey Spicy BBQ Sauce - fry the onion garlic & chilli in oil, then add the rest, leave to simmer for 15 minutes until thick.
Onion
Garlic
Chillis
Orange juice & zest
tinned Tomatoes or Passata
clear Honey
Worcestershire sauce
ground Cumin
smoked Paprika
shot of Bourbon
Recipe
Fill a large saucepan with water (one that can fit the ribs) and set to boil. Once boiling, add ribs and simmer for 40 minutes skimming the scum from the top every so often. Once cooked, transfer to baking dish. Smother with BBQ sauce and let rest for 1 hour.
Fill a smaller pan with water and add potatoes. Place on medium-high heat until boiling. Cook for 20 minutes or until potatoes are soft. Drain, and leave to cool.
Put ribs in pre-heated oven set at 200 degrees and cook for a further 25 minutes.
Potatoes should be cool now, so add onion, mayonnaise, salt, pepper, egg and capers. Mix and put into fridge until ready to serve.
Take ribs out of the oven, potatoes out of the fridge and serve.
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