onions. Cover the racks and onions loosely with foil and let rest for 20 minutes.
7. When ready to serve, slice the racks into chops (which will be extra-large), sprinkle each with some salt, and top with some Apple Chutney. Garnish with a few onions.
SIDES : Serve the racks with Best-Ever Mashed Potatoes and Honey-Glazed Carrots and Parsnips or try them with Wild Rice with Roasted Grapes and Walnuts and blanched green beans dusted with fleur de sel.
LEFTOVER TIP : For a great sandwich, thinly slice any remaining pork and mound on baguette or sourdough slices. Spoon some chutney on top of the pork and add some shaved white cheddar.
MARKET NOTE : Ask the butcher to prepare the racks by removing the feather and chine bones so that you will be able to slice the racks into individual chops. Also ask the butcher to french the racks, which means that the meat between the rib bones is trimmed away for a neat appearance. A thin layer of fat should cover the exterior of the ribs to keep the meat beneath moist as it roasts, but other excess fat should be trimmed.
Chili-Roasted Baby Backs with Homemade Barbecue Sauce
These baby back ribs are rubbed with a trio of peppers (chili powder, chipotle chili powder, and black pepper) along with other seasonings, then roasted for a couple of hours. During their last minutes in the oven, the ribs are brushed with a rich, dark barbecue sauce. When done, the glistening ribs have great depth of flavor and are tender to the bone. Plan on eating them with your fingers with plenty of napkins nearby!
Serves 6 to 8
COST : Inexpensive
PREP TIME : 10 minutes, plus 1 hour to make the Homemade Barbecue Sauce
START-TO-FINISH TIME : 4 hours, 45 minutes, including resting time for the cooked meat
4 baby back rib racks, about 2 to 2½ lb/910 g to 1.2 kg each (see market note)
½ cup/120 ml cider vinegar
4 tbsp/55 g chili powder
2 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp light brown sugar
1½ tsp garlic salt
1 tsp chipotle chili powder
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
Homemade Barbecue Sauce
1. With a sharp knife, score (making long slashes about 1 in/2.5 cm apart) the white membrane on the underside of the ribs. Place the ribs on a large, rimmed nonreactive baking sheet/tray and brush all over with the vinegar. Refrigerate, uncovered, for 2 hours.
2. Arrange a rack at center position and preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C/gas 4. Have ready two large, rimmed baking sheets/trays lined with foil.
3. In a bowl, mix together the chili powder, cumin, brown sugar, garlic salt, chipotle chili powder, and black pepper. Rub the mixture over both sides of the ribs.
4. Arrange the ribs in a single layer meat-side up, on the baking sheets/trays. Roast for 1¾ hours. Watch carefully and cover the ribs loosely with foil if the meat begins to brown too quickly.
5. Remove from the oven and brush both sides of the ribs with 1 cup/240 ml of the barbecue sauce. Roast for 10 minutes, and then brush both sides of ribs with another 1 cup/240 ml of the sauce. Roast for 15 minutes longer.
6. Remove the ribs from oven, cover them loosely with foil, and let rest for 15 minutes. Cut the ribs between the bones into 3 to 4 rib sections and mound on a platter. Serve with the remaining sauce.
SIDES : Year-round you can serve these ribs with your favorite baked beans and coleslaw, but in the summer you might like to offer them with potato salad and corn on the cob.
LEFTOVER TIP : Any leftover ribs can be cut into individual ribs and quickly reheated in the microwave for a few seconds, then used as very hearty appetizers.
MARKET NOTE : The head butcher at the store where I purchase my pork is an enthusiastic fan of baby backs. He says there is often less meat on this cut than on traditional spareribs, but the taste is better. Baby backs come from the top part of the rib cage and are shorter and curved, while spareribs are cut from farther down, near the belly, and are longer.
Ham with an Orange Marmalade Glaze
7. When ready to serve, slice the racks into chops (which will be extra-large), sprinkle each with some salt, and top with some Apple Chutney. Garnish with a few onions.
SIDES : Serve the racks with Best-Ever Mashed Potatoes and Honey-Glazed Carrots and Parsnips or try them with Wild Rice with Roasted Grapes and Walnuts and blanched green beans dusted with fleur de sel.
LEFTOVER TIP : For a great sandwich, thinly slice any remaining pork and mound on baguette or sourdough slices. Spoon some chutney on top of the pork and add some shaved white cheddar.
MARKET NOTE : Ask the butcher to prepare the racks by removing the feather and chine bones so that you will be able to slice the racks into individual chops. Also ask the butcher to french the racks, which means that the meat between the rib bones is trimmed away for a neat appearance. A thin layer of fat should cover the exterior of the ribs to keep the meat beneath moist as it roasts, but other excess fat should be trimmed.
Chili-Roasted Baby Backs with Homemade Barbecue Sauce
These baby back ribs are rubbed with a trio of peppers (chili powder, chipotle chili powder, and black pepper) along with other seasonings, then roasted for a couple of hours. During their last minutes in the oven, the ribs are brushed with a rich, dark barbecue sauce. When done, the glistening ribs have great depth of flavor and are tender to the bone. Plan on eating them with your fingers with plenty of napkins nearby!
Serves 6 to 8
COST : Inexpensive
PREP TIME : 10 minutes, plus 1 hour to make the Homemade Barbecue Sauce
START-TO-FINISH TIME : 4 hours, 45 minutes, including resting time for the cooked meat
4 baby back rib racks, about 2 to 2½ lb/910 g to 1.2 kg each (see market note)
½ cup/120 ml cider vinegar
4 tbsp/55 g chili powder
2 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp light brown sugar
1½ tsp garlic salt
1 tsp chipotle chili powder
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
Homemade Barbecue Sauce
1. With a sharp knife, score (making long slashes about 1 in/2.5 cm apart) the white membrane on the underside of the ribs. Place the ribs on a large, rimmed nonreactive baking sheet/tray and brush all over with the vinegar. Refrigerate, uncovered, for 2 hours.
2. Arrange a rack at center position and preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C/gas 4. Have ready two large, rimmed baking sheets/trays lined with foil.
3. In a bowl, mix together the chili powder, cumin, brown sugar, garlic salt, chipotle chili powder, and black pepper. Rub the mixture over both sides of the ribs.
4. Arrange the ribs in a single layer meat-side up, on the baking sheets/trays. Roast for 1¾ hours. Watch carefully and cover the ribs loosely with foil if the meat begins to brown too quickly.
5. Remove from the oven and brush both sides of the ribs with 1 cup/240 ml of the barbecue sauce. Roast for 10 minutes, and then brush both sides of ribs with another 1 cup/240 ml of the sauce. Roast for 15 minutes longer.
6. Remove the ribs from oven, cover them loosely with foil, and let rest for 15 minutes. Cut the ribs between the bones into 3 to 4 rib sections and mound on a platter. Serve with the remaining sauce.
SIDES : Year-round you can serve these ribs with your favorite baked beans and coleslaw, but in the summer you might like to offer them with potato salad and corn on the cob.
LEFTOVER TIP : Any leftover ribs can be cut into individual ribs and quickly reheated in the microwave for a few seconds, then used as very hearty appetizers.
MARKET NOTE : The head butcher at the store where I purchase my pork is an enthusiastic fan of baby backs. He says there is often less meat on this cut than on traditional spareribs, but the taste is better. Baby backs come from the top part of the rib cage and are shorter and curved, while spareribs are cut from farther down, near the belly, and are longer.
Ham with an Orange Marmalade Glaze
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