Glazed Pork Riblets

First, pick up a rack of baby back ribs, which should weigh between 2 ½ and 3 pounds (St. Louis style will work as well, if that’s what your shop has in stock). Ask for them to be halved lengthwise so that you have two long strips, and then cut between each rib bone to make individual ribs.

In a large bowl, whisk together ½ cup unseasoned rice vinegar, 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, 1 cup maple syrup, ¾ cup English (or Dijon) mustard, and ⅔ cup gochujang until smooth. Season the ribs with kosher salt, toss to coat, and transfer to the marinade. Turn to coat ribs, and let sit 1 hour.

Preheat your oven to 375°. Transfer the ribs to a rimmed baking sheet and pour about 1 cup of the marinade over. Roast, uncovered, for 15 minutes, then baste with the reserved marinade. Roast for 15 minutes more, then turn the ribs over, baste again, and set timer for 10 more minutes (that would be the 40 minute mark, total). At this point, check the riblets. You should be able to see rendered fat on the pan, and around the edges some of the marinade may be reduced, bubbling, and starting to get dark. The ribs should be shiny, glazed and tender, with meat that has pulled back from the bone. Try one! If you think they need to be even more glazed, baste a final time, then roast 5–10 minutes longer (the ribs will eventually dry out if overcooked). Meanwhile, turn the marinade into a dipping sauce: Combine any extra marinade and ½ cup water in a medium sauté pan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat; cook 5–7 minutes, stirring occasionally, to slightly reduce (this step is important since the marinade was in contact with the uncooked ribs). Riblets, like wings, benefit from crunchy cold things alongside. I serve these with celery sticks that have been tossed with fresh lime juice and flaky salt—you could do the same with cucumbers, carrots, or jicama. Pour the extra marinade into a little bowl and pile the ribs into a perfectly imperfect pile. If you’re going to take a picture for Instagram, I suggest you use portrait mode and come in on a slight angle, which will give you that epic, retro Martha soft-focus vibe. It’s that combination of trashy and classy that sold me on riblets way back when, and it still really does it for me. Carla Lalli Music Food Director Bone Appetit Blog

Char Siu Spare Ribs – Easy Way

This is basically same recipe as “Chinese Style Sticky Pork Back Ribs“, main difference being that the ribs are cut into individual pieces before marinating and cooking. They come out tender and browned on all sides, just a delicious and messy carnivore delight.

Ingredients

1 side of pork back ribs

1/3 cup Oyster Sauce

1/3 cup Hoisin Sauce

1/3 cup Buckwheat honey or other dark honey

2 tsp. or to taste Sriracha Sauce

2 tsp. crushed garlic

Directions

Remove the membrane from bone side of ribs and separate rib sections into individual ribs. Mix all ingredients and rub the marinade on all sides of ribs. Place in resalable bag, remove as much air as possible and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or preferably overnight. Every now and then massage the ribs in order to redistribute the marinade.

Preheat oven to 350 °F. Bring ribs to room temperature. Remove the ribs from bag and place them on a sheet of aluminum foil large enough to make a bag with second sheet of foil on top. Reserve the leftover marinade. Seal the edges by folding them over several times, place on baking sheet and bake in middle of oven for 1-1/2 hours. Remove from oven and cut diagonal slots from corner to corner and fold open so that ribs are completely exposed. Brush on remaining marinade, increase oven temperature to 400 °F and bake until the meat is golden brown.

Serve and enjoy.

Chinese Style Sticky Pork Back Ribs

These sweet, spicy and sticky ribs are so addictive! I didn’t feel like making a real Char Sui sauce so I just mixed oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, buckwheat honey, garlic and Sriracha sauce. My “official taster” didn’t say a word during meal, she was so busy eating and chewing the ends of bones (the best part!). This is such an easy no-fuss meal to make: there is no chopping (garlic press does the work), no stirring, no standing over the stove…no work.

Ingredients

1 side of pork back ribs

1/3 cup Oyster Sauce

1/3 cup Hoisin Sauce

1/3 cup Buckwheat honey or other dark honey

2 tsp. Sriracha Sauce

2 tsp. crushed garlic 

Directions

Remove the membrane from bone side of ribs and pre-cut rib sections on meat side about half way. Mix all ingredients and rub the marinade on all sides of ribs. Place in resalable bag, remove as much air as possible and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 °F. Bring ribs to room temperature. Remove the ribs from bag and place them bone side down on a sheet of aluminum foil large enough to make a bag with second sheet of foil on top. Reserve the leftover marinade. Seal the edges by folding them over several times, place on baking sheet and bake in middle of oven for 2 hours. After 2 hours cut diagonal slots from corner to corner and fold open so that ribs are completely exposed. Brush on remaining marinade, increase oven temperature to 400 °F and bake until the meat is golden brown.

More Food for Rainy Cold Days

As I said before, I hope that this batch of comfort food is last one this spring. It is May, after all! Even though my barbecue grill is under roof it is still opened on two sides and when it rains the wind always finds its way right where I’m standing. Murphy’s Law rules, what more can I say?

As you can see on pictures my oven was a busy appliance: Ribs, Oven roasted potatoes, Chicken wings…

This is repeat of same recipe I’ve done last week. Ribs were on special and I wanted to test my new technique of roasting the ribs on parchment paper. It worked like a charm: the ribs didn’t stick to bottom at all. I love this technique!

Another repeat, but if your protein tastes like candy, what can I say? Perfect dessert for dedicated carnivore like me. This version of chicken wings was done with Char Siu sauce enhanced with  little bit of extra honey.