Get grilling this holiday weekend
Get fired up over great ribs with great sauce and rub recipes
Are you ready for the unofficial kickoff of the grilling season?
We are, and we know ribs are popular fare for cookouts. Here’s a selection of rib recipes along with a few favourite sauce and rub recipes to get you all fired up for the holiday weekend.
Chinatown Spareribs with Beijing Barbecue Sauce
Makes 2 racks, enough to serve 4
2 racks spareribs (3 to 4 pounds each)
Cherry or apple wood chips 5-4-3-2-1 Rub (recipe follows)
1⁄2 cup Chinese rice wine (Shaoxing), sake, or dry or cream sherry
1⁄2 cup apple cider
Beijing Barbecue Sauce (recipe follows)
Preparation time: 15 minutes; total time: 4½ to 5 hours
Arrange the ribs on a rimmed baking sheet. Remove the thin papery membrane from the back of each rack of ribs. Sprinkle the rub on both sides of the ribs, rubbing it into the meat. You’ll need 3 to 4 tablespoons of rub for each rack of ribs. Set up your smoker following the manufacturer’s instructions and preheat to between 250 and 275 F. Add the wood as specified by the manufacturer.
Place the ribs directly on the rack in the smoker, bone side down, or use a rib rack. Smoke the ribs for one hour.
Place the rice wine and apple cider in a spray bottle and shake to mix. Start spraying the ribs with this mixture on both sides after one hour of smoking. Repeat every hour.
Brush the ribs on both sides with the sauce after four hours of smoking. Brush again in 30 minutes. The ribs are cooked when the meat has shrunk back from the ends of the bones by about ½ inch and you can pull the individual ribs apart with your fingers.
Serve the ribs hot out of the smoker with any remaining barbecue sauce on the side, cut into individual bones. Or set up a grill for direct grilling and preheat to high. Brush and oil the grill grate. Brush the ribs on both sides with more barbecue sauce and direct grill until sizzling and browned, one to two minutes per side. Serve at once with any extra sauce on the side.
To make the 5-4-3-2-1 Asian Barbecue Rub:
Mix together 5 tablespoons turbinado sugar or dark brown sugar, 4 tablespoons coarse sea or kosher salt, 3 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper, 2 tablespoons Chinese five-spice powder and 1 tablespoon onion powder. This recipe will give you more rub than you need for two racks of spareribs (or four racks of baby backs). Store any excess in a sealed jar away from heat and light; it will keep for several weeks.
To make the Beijing Barbecue sauce:
In a small saucepan mix together 1 cup hoisin sauce, 3 tablespoons dark sesame oil, 3 tablespoons honey and 3 tablespoons sriracha. Gently simmer the sauce for five to eight minutes to blend the flavours.
From “Project Smoke: Seven Steps to Smoked Food Nirvana” by Steven Raichlen (Workman, $22.95). Nutritional data not available.
Sweet-and-Smoky Baby Back Ribs
Makes 8 servings
Ribs
4 to 6 racks baby back ribs
1 1⁄2 cups good quality bourbon
Rub
3 tablespoons coarse salt
3 tbsp packed brown sugar
3 tbsp paprika (regular or smoked)
2 tbsp ground black pepper
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp chili powder
Grill
2 cups hickory wood chips
2 cups beer
Sauce
Bourbon Barbecue Sauce (see note)
Preparation time: 30 minutes ( plus chilling time); total time: two hours
Remove the thin membrane on the back of the ribs, starting at one end of the rack and pulling toward the other. Unless you are using a rib rack, cut the ribs into four or five portions so that they will fit nicely on the grill. Place the ribs in a large roasting pan and pour the bourbon over them. Chill them for about an hour, turning the ribs often. Pour off and discard the bourbon.
Meanwhile, whisk together all the rub ingredients in a small bowl. Sprinkle the rub mixture over both sides of the ribs.
Refrigerate one hour. Meanwhile, place the wood chips in a medium size bowl and pour the beer over them. Let stand one hour.
Preheat or prepare the grill for indirect cooking, meaning you will cook the ribs away from the heat source.
Remove 1 cup of the wood chips from the beer and drain. Scatter the chips over the coals. Fill a foil loaf pan halfway with water and place opposite the coals. Place grill grate on grill. If using a gas grill, put the soaked chips in a foil packet with holes poked in it or use a smoker box.
Arrange ribs on the grate above the loaf pan and away from the direct heat.
Close the lid, positioning the top vent directly over the ribs. Check the temperature by placing the stem of an instant-read thermometer through the vent with the gauge on the outside, it should register about 325 F. After about 40 minutes, the temperature will start dipping down but don’t let it fall below 275 F. Adjust vents if needed by opening them wider to increase the heat or closing to decrease the heat.
You can heat more charcoal briquettes in a charcoal chimney starter to have ready in case the temperature dips below 275 F. Use tongs to add briquettes.
If you need to add more wood chips, drain the remaining 1 cup of wood chips and sprinkle over the charcoal. Place the grate with the ribs back on the grill, cover and continue cooking until the ribs are very tender and the meat pulls away from the bones, about 45 minutes longer.
During the last 15 minutes of grilling, brush on the sauce.
To make the Bourbon Barbecue Sauce:
In a large, heavy saucepan, whisk together 2 cups ketchup, 1½ cups mild-flavoured molasses, 1/3 cup bourbon, ¼ cup Dijon mustard, 3 tablespoons favourite hot pepper sauce, 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, 2 teaspoons paprika, 1 teaspoon garlic powder and 1 teaspoon onion powder. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, stirring frequently, until the sauce thickens and the flavours blend, about 15 minutes.
Adapted from Bon Appetit’s July 2000 issue.
Per serving:
443 calories (53 per cent from fat), 26 grams fat (10 g saturated fat), 26 g carbohydrates, 26 g protein, 1,035 milligrams sodium, 103 mg cholesterol, 1 g fibre.