Easter 2014 Ribs

Easter this year fell on the 20th of April. The kids had stayed off meat for the period of Lent while I had stayed off sugar. The kids had stayed off Desserts as well. So for Easter dinner, the request was firstly for a nice dessert - "doesnt have to be something new Dads, your Tiramisu will be fine" - and something meaty and tasty!

The Lovely Wife makes a great BBQ Ribs but she uses loose ribs. We've always liked the ribs that are served in restaurants in a slab where you cut each rib of the slab and then devour it - like in Morganfields or Tony Romas. So for our Easter Dinner, I decided I was going to make some ribs.


I decided on Pork Ribs but you could use beef ribs as well. I used two type of ribs - baby back and normal ribs. I actually always thought that baby back ribs were the flat kind but apparently the baby backs are the ones that look more like a rack of lamb. Anyway, I seasoned the ribs with a dry rub of garlic, pepper corns, paprika powder and cayenne pepper powder all chucked together into a pestle and pounded with a little olive oil. The mix was then rubbed on both side of the ribs and then wrapped in foil.




I didnt have much time to cook the ribs as I only came back from my son's hockey training at around 4.30pm. The ribs sat in the oven at 160C for about 2 hours and then I removed the ribs from the foil, raised the temperature to 180C and spread the BBQ sauce over the ribs and let it cook for another hour, basting constantly with more sauce.

The sauce was loosely based on Jamie Oliver's Epic BBQ Sauce and I must say it turned out rather spectacular.

Ingredients
900g Pork Rib
600g Baby Back Ribs
3 cloves garlic
Handful Black Pepper Corns
2 tsp Paprika Powder
2 tsp Cayenne Pepper Powder
Olive Oil

Method
Pound the garlic, pepper, paprika and cayenne pepper together with a little olive oil to make a paste. Rub all over the ribs and then wrap in foil and allow to sit in the fridge for at least 30 mins. Slow roast the ribs for at least 2 hours but preferably 3 hours at 160C. Remove the foil and cover ribs with BBQ sauce. Roast for another hour at 180C basting constantly with more sauce.


BBQ Sauce


1 medium onion, peeled and quartered
8 cloves garlic, peeled
olive oil
4 bay leaves
2 teaspoons paprika
juice of 2 oranges
200 g soft brown sugar
6 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
200 ml tomato ketchup
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
3 teaspoons English mustard
2 Tbsp Chilli Sauce
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper


Method

Process the onion and garlic together in a food processor. Heat a little olive oil in a pan and gently fry onion and garlic on a low heat. Add in the bay leaves and continue frying till nice and soft and fragrant.

Add in sugar and stir well till you get a brown paste. Pour in 285ml of water and cook for 2 more minutes, then squeeze in the juice of both your oranges and add all the remaining ingredients. Stir well and bring everything to the boil, then turn down the heat a touch and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes, until the mixture starts to thicken slightly.

The BBQ sauce is very much dependent on taste so add in more mustard of vinegar as you go along to suit your palate. I'd have liked to add in some Tabasco Sauce but sadly there was none available in the fridge. We had invited Lynn over as well and everyone thought that the ribs were really really good.

What I would do differently next time though is to let the ribs roast for a little longer so that the meat really falls off the bone.




I know I have hit on a winner when TLW admits that my version of ribs are better than hers!

Happy Easter 2014 everyone!