Mike Devlin's Take on Spare Ribs with Barbecue Sauce
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This week we are going to tackle something that might seem daunting the more you read this, but it really isn't, so don't panic, and you'll end up creating something that has that wow factor.
First off, this is going to take you 25 hours. No, don't run away, because most of that time you won't be doing anything. Go to bed, go out, tidy that cupboard you've been putting off, you just got to give this time, but not your attention. Let's begin, shall we?
What you need
A minimum 1kg/2lbs of pork spare ribs
Salt
Pepper
An orange
6 cloves of garlic
Thumb size piece of ginger
Olive oil
A huge pot
If your pot is big enough, then by all means get twice as many ribs. If you buy a rack, you will need to cut them into individual ones, which isn't a problem at all. The above is for the weight of the ribs I've stated, so if you use 2kg/4lb of ribs just double the rest.
In the pot, pour a good glug of oil, a fair bit of salt and pepper, the garlic cloves, the orange cut into quarters (not peeled), and the ginger (peeled obviously).
Now put your ribs in there, and fill with cold water all the way to completely cover everything (some things will float to the surface).
Put on medium heat, and wait until it starts to simmer (we don't want to boil, turn down the heat if it gets too excited). At this exact point, start a timer for 10 minutes.
You will see fat scum rise to the surface - we definitely do not want this - so skim it off with a spoon. You can throw this away (told you we don't want it).
After 10 minutes, turn off the heat, and put a lid on it. You're done. That's it. Don't worry about it for 24 hours. If you want to put it in the fridge, you can, but not necessary (unless the room temperature is silly high).
Now go sort that cupboard out!
24 hours later ...
You may find some fat on the surface, so you might want to remove that, because you will be putting your hands in there to retrieve the ribs. You can smell that wonderful garlicky fruity goodness, can't you? Anyway, pull the ribs out and put them in or on something. The rest of the contents? Throw them away.
Now we need to make the sauce.
What you need
10 tbsp Ketchup
2 tbsp Honey
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp White wine/Apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp English/American mustard
1 tbsp Brown sugar
Good pinch of Salt
Good pinch of Pepper
1 tsp Smoked paprika
1 tsp Cayenne pepper or Chilli flakes
4 cloves of Garlic
All of that is going in a pan.
Obviously, you need to finely chop up the garlic (or smush it up to a paste), but you knew that already.
Bring to a low simmer, and keep it there for a couple of minutes continuously stirring.
Give it a taste. Go on, it's fine. Does it need more salt? Is it sweet enough? Does it need a bigger kick? Too acidic? Is your cupboard tidy yet?
If so, then add a little of what you think it needs. I trust you. Because the beauty of this is that you can fine-tune it to YOUR taste (just remember what you did so you can replicate it).
Now turn on your grill/broiler (you could use the oven if you prefer, and if so go for 200c/390f). Get your grill rack or a tray and line it, because this is going to get very messy.
Place your ribs on it leaving a gap between each one, and brush your sauce all over them. You will have some leftovers, but this is fine.
Put under/in and cook. The whole process will take about 6-8 minutes, but halfway through this, turn them down baste again with the remaining sauce.
The end result will be a fruity, spicy, salty, sweet, stick awesomeness.
I'd pair them with either fries or rice and maybe some Tzatziki.
Now go tell who you are serving them to, that you slaved for 25 hours and still managed to sort out that cupboard.
