Pork BBQ Ribs

INGREDIENTS

chili powder
light brown sugar
minced garlic
coarse salt
pork spare ribs
olive oil plus additional for brushing
onions, chopped
ketchup
strong coffee
apple-cider vinegar


DIRECTIONS

Whisk together 4 tablespoons chili powder, 1/4 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons garlic, and the salt in a small bowl for dry rub.

Preheat oven to 350 degree F.

Rinse and pat pork dry and place in 2 lightly oiled large baking pans.

Rub pork all over with dry rub and cook in upper and lower third of oven until meat is slightly pink, about 30 minutes, depending on thickness.

Meanwhile, heat 3 tablespoons oil in a large saucepan over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and cook onion, stirring, until softened, about 8 minutes.

Add remaining 6 tablespoons chili powder and 4 tablespoons garlic; cook, stirring, 1 minute.

Stir in ketchup, coffee, vinegar, and remaining 1/4 cup sugar; simmer, stirring occasionally, until reduced to 4 cups, about 40 minutes.

Remove pan from heat, transfer 2 cups sauce to a bowl for basting and place remaining sauce in a small bowl for serving on side.

Preheat grill. Brush top of ribs with some of barbecue sauce and place sauce side down on a lightly oiled rack;

cook over moderately high heat, turning once and basting remaining side with sauce, until browned and cooked through, about 10 minutes.

Transfer ribs with tongs to a platter and let stand 10 minutes.

Separate ribs by cutting between the bones with a sharp knife

Serve with Confetti Coleslaw and remaining sauce on side.

Recipe by: Ladies' Home Journal

Everything About Barbecue

Smoke and time create good barbecue, but it takes more than that to make award-winning ribs or briskets. Every pitmaster has an arsenal of secret spices, herbs, rubs and sauces.

MARINADES
- A marinade usually contains acidic ingredients, like lemon juice or vinegar, that break down proteins and work as liquid tenderizers. They also add flavor to meat and help keep everything moist. They're especially good on dry pieces of meat, like chicken breast.

RUBS
- A rub is a dry mixture of herbs, salt, spices and sometimes sugar. It's rubbed over the meat before it gets set in the smoker or grill. Since barbecue uses low heat, the rubs don't burn like they would if the meat was grilled quickly over high heat. Rubs add flavor, but they also contribute the textural elements of crunch and crust. Traditionalists often refrain from adding extra sauces to meat that has been rubbed and smoked.

MOPS
- A mop is similar in taste and consistency to a marinade — thin and acidic. But, unlike marinades, mops don't usually contain oil or butter and they tend to be more straightforward flavor-wise, often containing nothing more than vinegar, salt and black pepper. Beer is also a popular mop ingredient. Mops mainly contribute moisture. They aren't typically used on small cuts of meat. Instead, a mop might be applied every hour-and-a-half to a six-pound pork shoulder as it smokes over a long period of time.

SAUCES
- For many barbecue styles and enthusiasts, the quality of the barbecue is determined by the flavor of the sauce. Most sauces stem from a handful of regional variations:

* South Carolina sauces are usually spiked with mustard.

* North Carolina sauces leave out tomatoes and go extra heavy on vinegar.

* Western barbecue typically uses a tomato base.

* Kansas City pitmasters make thick tomato sauces laced with molasses.

* Texas barbecue often skips the sauce, but if included it usually uses spicy cayenne or other hot peppers.

Using sauce is tricky since it can easily burn. As long as you maintain a low heat, any barbecue sauce, even sugary ones, should bo okay. But even a few short bursts of flame can turn a decadent, sweet glaze into a charred mess. Sauces that don't include too much sugar can be added before, during or after cooking. But to play it safe, sugary barbecue sauce is often added to the meat right before or after it's taken out of the smoker.

By Douglas Brown

photo credit: www.inmagine.com