The juicy secret to stellar baby back ribs
In 1853, a grape varietal from farmer Ephraim Wales Bull won first prize at an exhibition for the Boston Horticultural Society. He had been working on this particular type of grape for a decade: a sturdy, sweet-tart purple fruit that could survive the harsh winters in Concord, Massachusetts, where he lived. These days, Concord grapes are most often sold as juice and jelly, concentrated down to their fruitiest essence.
The intense berried juiciness of grape jelly can also lacquer a rack of baby back ribs, yielding gleaming, tender batons that are ideal for watching the Super Bowl or just enjoying for dinner.
As a pairing, fruit preserves and fatty meats go way back. Just look at mint jelly and lamb chops; orange marmalade and duck breasts; strawberry jam and yangnyeom chicken. The retro combination of grape jelly and meatballs, sometimes known as “Chafing Dish Meatballs,” was a popular cocktail party recipe in the 1960s and ‘70s, according to food writer Rebecca Firkser. It’s the same reason Concord grape jelly and ribs work: The fruit’s jammy aroma punctuates the pork’s savoriness. Any lingering gaminess is tempered as well.
This recipe’s sweet and sour glaze — a glossy shellac of grape jelly, soy sauce and rice vinegar — is a glorious celebration of Bull’s amethyst fruit. The shiny, berry- dark sauce tastes divine on its own or simply brushed onto ribs, but blasting a sauced rack under the broiler chars the glaze, lending intense barbecued f lavor without a smoker or a grill.
The oven is good for the meat, too: If you envelop a
large rack of baby back ribs in foil, as if you’re wrapping a birthday present, and let it cook slowly in a low oven for a couple of hours, you’ll be left with melting pork that slips off the bone. Be sure to wrap the foil tightly to lock in moisture, as the steam from the ribs helps tenderize the meat, imbuing it with its own porky flavors. This is pork on pork, and one of the best ways to ensure the juiciest results.
Another is the simple glaze you then prepare on the stovetop. The trick is to use a large skillet for increased surface area so that the jelly- soy-vinegar mixture can cook down quickly and reduce into a sticky lacquer, like purple flavor incarnate. Brush the ribs with this wonderful stickiness and broil them, just for a few minutes, until your
kitchen smells like Korean barbecue.
Depending on the occasion, you can serve these baby back ribs as a gameday snack with beer or as a sit- down meal with white rice. It’s up to you. One thing you should do is see if your guests can guess the surprise ingredient. When they do, they can thank Bull for the grapy sauce they’re licking off their fingers.
Baby Back Ribs With Sweet and Sour Glaze
This sticky baby back ribs recipe needs just two things: time in the oven and a jammy, savory sauce. Inspired by old-fashioned cocktail meatball recipes from the 1960s and ’70s, this sweet and sour glaze — a shellac of Concord grape jelly, soy sauce and rice vinegar —
lacquers tender baby back ribs that cook from start to finish in the oven. Whether you serve these with beer at a party or with white rice as a fun dinner, you’ll probably need napkins. -- Eric Kim Yield: 4 servings. Total time:
2 1/2 hours. INGREDIENTS
1 large rack baby back pork ribs (3 to 3 1/2 pounds)
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
1 teaspoon onion powder 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 garlic cloves, crushed but left whole
3/4 cup Concord grape jelly 2 tablespoons rice vinegar 1 tablespoon soy sauce
DIRECTIONS
1. Position an oven rack 6 inches from the broiler and another rack on the bottom of the oven. Heat the oven to 325 degrees. If you’d like to remove the membrane from the bony underside of the ribs, use a small knife to release one corner of the thin membrane, then pull off the rest with your hands and discard.
2. In a small bowl, stir together the salt, onion powder and black pepper. Season the ribs on both sides with the spice mixture. Wrap the ribs tightly in aluminum foil as if wrapping a present, place on a sheet pan flesh-side down and bake on the bottom rack until the meat is tender and pulls away easily from the bones, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
3. Remove the ribs from the oven, then heat the broiler. Unwrap the ribs and, reserving the foil with its juices, transfer the ribs to the sheet pan flesh-side up. Carefully tip the juices from the foil into a large skillet. Stir in the garlic, jelly, vinegar and soy sauce, and bring to a simmer over medium-high. Cook, whisking occasionally, until the glaze is syrupy and reduced by about half, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from the heat.
4. Brush or spoon half of the glaze, including the garlic cloves, over the ribs. Place back in the oven and broil until charred in spots, 1 to 3 minutes. (Don’t step away!)
5. Place the ribs on a cutting board and spoon over the rest of the glaze. Cut between the bones into individual riblets and transfer to a large platter to serve.