Connie’s notes
Cooks have different recommended techniques for cooking pork ribs. And almost each one swears that his or her technique is the best.
I say the best technique for cooking pork ribs depends on what kind of ribs you have. Spare ribs? Country-style ribs? Rib chops? Baby back? Are the ribs going to be cooked as a slab or as individual pieces? The cut, the amount of meat in relation to the bones, the ratio between meat and fat… these are only some of the things you should consider before deciding how to cook your pork ribs.
In this recipe, I started with a rack of ribs cut from the belly. Plenty of meat beautifully marbled with fat. To make sure that the meat cooked to tenderness, I opted to combine two cooking techniques.
First, the ribs were seasoned, covered with foil and roasted at a low temperature. When the meat was tender and the fat had turned gelatinous, the foil was peeled off, the oven temprature was raised, the ribs were smothered with barbecue sauce and cooked until the surface was crusted and had acquired the deep dark color of the sauce.
The recipe for the barbecue sauce that I used is given in the recipe below. If you want to take a short cut and use store-bought sauce, go right ahead. I recommend that you get Korean barbecue sauce which, for me, is far superior to any brand of American barbecue sauce.
Ingredients
- 1 rack of pork belly ribs about 1.7 kilograms / 3.74 pounds
- 2 tablespoons salt
- 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
Barbecue sauce
- ½ cup dark brown sugar
- juice of one lemon
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cayenne powder
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1 tablespoon finely minced garlic
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200F.
- Mix together the salt, pepper and sugar. Rub all over the pork.
- Cover an oven tray with a large piece of foil. Place the pork on the foil. Take another large piece of foil. Cover the pork loosely and crimp the sides.
- Roast in a 200F oven for two to three hours. For best results, check the meat after two hours, slice off a small piece and try the meat. If you’re happy with the tenderness, remove from the oven.
- While the pork roasts, mix together all the ingredients for the sauce.
- Take the pork out of the oven. Peel off the top sheet of foil. Brush the sauce all over the pork, including the sides and bottom.
- Option 1: As soon as you take the pork out, turn up the oven temperature to the highest setting. If you have a “broil” option, choose it. Transfer the pork to a rack, put it back in the oven and cook for five to seven minutes. Take it out of the oven, brush it whatever remains of the sauce, put back in the oven and cook until nicely browned.
- Option 2: About 10 minutes before you expect the pork to be done, fire up the grill — as hot as it can go. Grill the slab of meat, turning it over once one side is browned. When the meat appears to absorb the sauce, brush it again with the remainder of the sauce and continue grilling until nicely browned and charred.
- Place the cooked meat on a chopping board. Allow to rest for at least 10 minutes. Cut into portions between the bones for a mouthwatering presentation.
- To serve, arrange the sliced roasted and grilled pork ribs on a platter. They’re perfect with mashed potatoes or salad, or both.
Marbled butterscoth and chocolate brownies
