Ribs galore

I didn’t plan to make barbecued ribs, and certainly not almost 12 lbs. of them, in June.

The
opportunity just showed up.

@LifeByChocolate, a former software
engineer who’s now a New York chocolatier (you have to love that career
path) threw down the challenge to his Twitter friends and followers. The essence of it: make barbecued ribs or fried chicken and write a blog post/s about the results, complete with photographs, recipes, and information about the rest of the team by today, 6/29/09. Then Twitter about the #ThrowDown posts. (There’s more, but you get the idea).

“What the heck?” I thought. “If nothing else, it’s a fun challenge.” I signed up.

And then I, who had never made barbecued ribs before, started pulling out a few of my many cookbooks and got to work.

One
cookbook assured me the crockpot was my best way to go. It also advised that
for the most meat, we look for country style ribs. 

Of
the many barbecue sauce recipes this cookbook recommended for ribs, I
chose two sauces and a marinade. Recipes for each recipe I used are
included below in this post.

And over about a week of gradual
sauce-making, rib-basting and slow cooking, three different barbecued
pork rib dishes were complete by dinnertime last night.

As final
accompaniments to the third and final dish which I photographed at the
start and finish, I planned to roast potatoes, brussels sprouts and
carrots in balsamic vinegar. But when the thermometer showed 95+ at our
non-air-conditioned house, we opted for a cool balsamic
vinaigrette-dressed salad and corn on the cob, instead.

As a final touch to the third and final rib dinner we had this week, I tried a new biscotti recipe, merlot hazelnut.

Here
are the various barbecued rib recipes I used, all adapted from Not Your Mother’s Slow Cooker Cookbook, a cookbook by Beth Hensperger and Julie Kaufmann that I love and use often. We
liked all these recipes, and will make each one again.

Blueberry Barbecue Sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, diced
1/4 c. Zinfandel wine
1/3 c. cider vinegar
2-1/2 pints fresh or 2-1/2 lbs. frozen blueberries (we used fresh, from the local farmers’ market)
1/3 c. firmly packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Juice of 1 lemon
Large pinch of chili powder
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

In
a small skillet over medium heat, warm the oil and cook the onion and
garlic, stirring, until softened about 5 minutes. Add the wine and
vinegar and bring to a boil, scraping up the browned bits sticking to
the pan. Transfer to the slow cooker and add the remaining ingredients.
Cover and cook on low until thick, 6-8 hours.

Puree with a
hand held immersion blender or transfer to a food processor and process
until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Let cool, then transfer to a
jar and store, tightly covered, in the refrigerator up to 2 months.

Tangy BBQ Sauce

1/3 c. olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1/2 c. dry red wine
1/3 c. cider vinegar
1/3 c. fresh lemon juice
1/4 c. firmly packed light or dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 c. ketchup

In
a medium-sized skillet, heat the oil over medium heat and cook the
onion, stirring until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the wine and
vinegar and bring to a boil, scraping up the brown bits sticking to the
pan. Transfer to a slow cooker and stir in the remaining ingredients.
Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours.

Puree with a hand held
immersion blender or transfer to a food processor and process until
smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Let cool, then transfer to a jar
and store, tightly covered, in the refrigerator up to 2 months.

Barbecue Pork Ribs

I
used this recipe twice, each with a different one of the barbecue sauce
recipes I had already made, above (blueberry in one case, tangy in the
other):

2 c. barbecue sauce of your choice, homemade or prepared
1/2 c. ketchup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
4 lbs. pork spareribs or baby back ribs, cut into serving pieces of 3 to 4 ribs each, or country-style ribs

Combine
the barbecue sauce, ketchup, Worcestershire, and brown sugar in the
slow cooker. Add the ribs, submerging them in the sauce. If you have a
round cooker, stack the ribs, with the sauce in between. Cover and cook
on low until tender and the meat begins to separate from the bone, 8-9
hours.

Transfer the ribs to a platter. If there is extra sauce on the bottom of the cooker, place in a bowl and serve on the side.

Soulfully Good Pork Spareribs with Pineapple and Ginger

One 20-oz can pineapple chunks packed in juice, drained and 1/2 c. juice reserved
1/3 c. soy sauce
1/3 c. ketchup
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons dry sherry
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
4 lbs. pork spareribs or baby back ribs, cut into serving pieces of 3 to 4 ribs each, or country-style ribs

Combine
the reserved pineapple juice, the soy sauce, ketchup, vinegar, sherry,
brown sugar, ginger and garlic in a large, deep bowl; add the ribs.
Cover and marinate overnight in the refrigerator.

Grease the slow
cooker with some oil and add the ribs and marinade. If you have a round
cooker, stack the ribs, alternating them with the reserved pineapple
chunks. If you have an oval cooker, put the ribs in the crockpot and
scatter the pineapple around the ribs. Cover and cook on low until
tender and the meat begins to separate from the bone, 8-9 hours. Serve
immediately.

Here’s contact information for the initiator/instigator/founder of the challenge, Mark LaPolla, followed by the rest of the 2009 #ThrowDown team, listed in alphabetical order by blog name:

LifeByChocolate
Mark LaPolla, New York
Twitter: @LifeByChocolate

Fresh Eyes
Jan Richards, California
Twitter: @MrsRoadshow

Gluten Free Sanctuary
Leslie McLinden, Arkansas
Twitter: @lesliemac59

Grandma’s Gluten-Free Baking N Cooking
Joyce Paige, Kansas
Twitter: @SilknPearls or @GFGrandmaBNC

LunaCafe
SMS Bradley, Pacific Northwest
Twitter: @LunaCafe

Sensitive Pantry
Nancy Kohler, New Jersey
Twitter: @SensitivePantry