There is nothing like a beautiful rack of pork ribs on a nice summer night, flavorful, spiced just right with a compilation dry rub and a finishing of olive oil, then off to a nice hot grill. The key to not burning these babies, is attentiveness and careful heat control.
There are so many different ways of cooking ribs, some people boil them before grilling, some smoke them slowly with a favorite wood like apple wood. Myself I love a nice dry rub, combinations of garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, ground coriander, sea salt, black pepper, brown sugar, and the freshness of some herbs like rosemary, oregano, parsley, and chives. I mix all those beautiful ingredients and give that rack of ribs a nice massage and at the end drizzle some tasty extra virgin olive oil just to seal all those flavors in. Let that sit for a bit and what you’re left with is an aromatic scrumptious piece of meat. That smell does it to me all the time, I lift the plastic cover and a waft of herbs and flavors hits my senses and I can’t wait to sink into eating these bad boys. I think that when cooking meats the ones with the bones in are so flavorful and juicy. Meat cuts like T-bone steak, lamb chops, pork chops. I know a lot of bbq houses make ribs with layers of bbq sauce, family recipes of secret ingredients and a lot of pride and passion make these ribs really good too, but again for me sometimes I want to really taste the flavor of the meat and love the caramelization of those spices and the sugar and oil, enhancing the texture and taste of the meat.
The orchestration of the grilling of these ribs demand attention, and heat control. What I usually do is get the grill to a nice 450 degrees F then turn off one bank of burner and place the ribs there, occasionally putting the ribs to the flame side to caramelize all that flavor. It is almost like having them on a rotisserie turning them over and over again making sure to cook the pork ribs evenly, and ensuring them to be cooked thoroughly. You may think that it is a lot of work but it really is enjoyable, especially in a beautiful backyard. For us who live close to the north and winters are harder and long we take every opportunity to savor the experience of those beautiful summer days and nights.
The crispy bits that form on the top layer combined with the succulent juiciness of the meat close to the bone, is absolutely wonderful, my mouth is watering as I write this.
We served these bbq pork ribs with a nice fresh salad of greens and cherry tomatoes, accompanied by a nice chutney that I had made with some rhubarb we picked from my parents place. This dish was a balance of flavors, savory and sweet.
Keep those summer days and nights alive and that barbecue fired up.
Happy grilling!
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PinIngredients
- 1 rack of pork ribs approx (2kg)
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon coriander ground
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
- 1 teaspoon of chopped fresh chives
- 1 teaspoon of chopped fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon of chopped fresh oregano
- 1 teaspoon of chopped fresh rosemary
- 2 table spoons extra virgin olive oil
Chutney:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small onion chopped
- 1 cup chopped rhubarb
- 1/4 cup peach/mango fruit juice
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon Chinese five spice
Instructions
- Blend onion powder, garlic powder, coriander, paprika, salt and pepper.
- Combine chopped chives, oregano, rosemary, and parsley.
- Take rack of pork ribs and rub the dry mixture into the flesh making sure to evenly distribute the rub all over the ribs.
- Once rub is done take the olive oil and drizzle all over the rack of ribs.
- Let rest while you make the chutney.
- Chutney: In a saute pan bring 1 tablespoon of olive oil to heat.
- Add onions and rhubarb and cook till onions are translucent and rhubarb has softened.
- Pour in juice and salt, pepper, five spice.
- Finish by sprinkling in brown sugar.
- Cook till thickened.
- Cool and place in a jar.
- Ribs: Preheat barbecue to about 450 F.
- Turn one burner off and place ribs there and close lid of barbecue.
- Let cook for about 5 minutes and turn over and close lid again.
- Take ribs and with lid open place on flame side of bbq.
- Turn frequently to keep from burning.
- Alternate from flame side to indirect heat side till ribs are cooked.
- The cooking time will be about 35 minutes depending on the thickness of the pork ribs.
- You could also use a thermometer and check the temperature to match that on the thermometer for pork.
- Toss some salad and cherry tomatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper.
- Serve with a nice dollop of the onion rhubarb chutney.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4 servings
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