Sweet & Heat Ribs for the Win

An appropriate amount of bling for the 2012 Rib Fest Champions.

It all began with a “I make the best chili” remark on my neighbour’s driveway about a year ago. With that single moment in one-pot confidence I had inadvertently launched my household and three others into a series of cooking competitions. This month we 4 houses took on the rib. Competition was fierce and the meat coma intense but I’m ecstatic to share that Brett and I claimed the official title of ‘Los Toscana Rib Fest Champions 2012‘. {Wooo!! Yeah!! The crowd goes wild!}

Ribs are a peculiar dish to compete with; there is a full range of approaches that can appear on your plate, from dry to schloppy, boiled to baked, Texan to baby back, pork, beef, lamb, so on and so on. With judging based on tenderness, flavour and overall appearance, Brett and I decided to take a classic Southern approach to our submission. We used a smoky chipotle dry rub, slow cooked the marinated ribs in sweet Dr. Pepper and finished it all with plenty of hot & sweet sauce on the barbecue to caramelize our entry to perfection.

Before the party began, I was nervous that there our ribs offered too much spicy heat for this crowd, I now believe that is exactly what secured our win. These ribs deliver a delicious evolution of sweet and sticky that turns to smoky chipotle heat in your mouth. More than just a great rib, they are a winning experience to be enjoyed with world’s best neighbours/friends and heaps of coleslaw, with or without score cards.

Note: Like most great things, amazing ribs do take time. Creating these winning ribs is a 2 day process that shouldn’t be rushed so plan ahead and reap the rewards the following day.

Day 1:

Step 1) Choose your meat. I am a believer of pork (ribs and beyond). Pork ribs are sweet and succulent and pair perfectly with sweeter sauces and brines. We took a traditional approach with 2 racks of side ribs. Pork loin ribs make great baby back ribs, the belly (side) ribs are more of a classic cut ideal for spare ribs and there is technically a “country-style rib” from chops from the shoulder blade. Talk to your butcher about your prep plans and they can recommend the best cut for you. Just, please, buy untreated ribs.

Step 2) Prep your meat. Whichever your cut, racks of ribs are attached to a thin silvery membrane. Remove this membrane, it’s chewy and unpleasant and is best to just remove. If you’re not a fan of getting down and dirty with your raw meat simply ask your butcher to help. This is their area of expertise and everyone likes an opportunity to shine at their job.

Step 3) Rub it in. (I don’t mean gloat, at least not yet. ;)) Mix each of the vibrant rub flavours listed below together in a bowl, massage it into your meat and let it sweat it out in the fridge for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.

Rub Art.

(Winning) Sweet & Heat Ribs

Preps 2 racks, feeds 8 judging neighbours
Adapted from the Homesick Texan

Ingredients:

Two racks pork side ribs
1 cup of Dr Pepper

For the rub:

1/4 cup of salt
1/4 cup of black pepper
1/2 cup of brown sugar
4 teaspoons of mustard powder
1/2 teaspoon of cayenne
2 teaspoons of chipotle powder
1/2 teaspoon of allspice

For the sauce:

2 cups of Dr Pepper (not diet, never diet)
1 cup of ketchup
1/2 cup of mustard
1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons of molasses
2-4 teaspoons of chipotle powder

Day 2: Rock those ribs.

Heat the oven to 300° f and bring the ribs to room temperature.
In a foil-lined large baking or roasting pan, arrange the ribs with the meat side up, pour in 1 cup of Dr Pepper (you want the liquid to come half way up the side of the rib, add a little more if needed), cover pan tightly with foil and place in the oven.
Meanwhile, place all the glaze ingredients in a pan, bring to a boil and then simmer for 20 minutes until thick and syrupy.
After an hour and a half, take the ribs out of the oven and spread some of the glaze on each side of the racks. Place back in the oven, meat side up and cook uncovered for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, take out the ribs and spread more glaze over them and cook for 30 more minutes or until ribs are desired tenderness. We cooked ours for a total of 3.5 hours at 300° f.
At this point, preheat the BBQ to a high heat. Take the ribs out of the oven, spread more glaze on them and place them on the grill (lid open) for about 10 minutes each side. You want the sauce to caramelize and the ribs to look sticky but not dry.

Don’t cut your ribs until you are ready to serve, you want all of those marinated juice to stay in the meat as long as possible. Once it’s GO time, cut portions of two ribs (2 bones) and serve warm to room temperature. The centre of the ribs will be plumpest with meat and the ends will offer a little more kick with the caramelizes sauce crust. Don’t forget that coleslaw – a lime vinaigrette slaw with cilantro pairs perfectly with a rich rib such as this. Enjoy! xo