Ribs Ribs Ribs

Tell me, what can be better than ribs from the barbecue?? Oh okay, I admit maybe a few things, but they are definitely in my top 5! I've made them several times but I felt something was missing, I just couldn't find the best combination of marinade, rub and glaze. But now....this recipe comes close to what I'm looking for! Bet you'll wonder why it took me that long to find a (almost) perfect recipe, oh well, I'm a demanding person… and taste is personal!

Now, where have I found this recipe? It's coming from the book "Jamie’s America" from Jamie Oliver, and I first enjoyed these heavenly pieces of meat when a friend of mine had made them. She made them in the oven, and I was surprised by the taste which definitely had potential, but wasn’t quit convinced. Then I thought I just had to make them myself. On the barbecue, of course!

Now this is gonna be a long post, so get something to drink, and continue reading. The original recipe is slightly different, I think this recipe is better, but…I’ll let you judge that!

First we'll start with The Rub:

2 tablespoons smoked paprika powder
the zest of 1 orange
1 tablespoon thyme (dried)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
sea salt and pepper
3 cloves or garlic
Grind this in a pestle and mortar.

Next step:
Take a big shallow bowl and pour in 2 cups of apple juice and a splash of vinegar (I used cider vinegar).
Remove the membrane from the ribs and plunge them in the apple juice. Take them out and rub them with The Rub. Put the apple juice in the fridge for later use, and let the ribs marinate in the fridge for 24 hours.

The next day you'll start with making The Barbecue Sauce.
The ingredients for The Paste:
1 onion, peeled and quartered
5 cloves of garlic, peeled
1 red chili pepper
olive oil
Make a paste (use a blender or pestle and mortar) of the onion, garlic and pepper. Put a little bit of olive oil in a shallow pan and fry this (low) for about 5 minutes.

Herbs and Spices:
8 sprigs thyme, leaves picked
8 sprigs rosemary, leaves picked
10 sprigs coriander
6 bay leaves
1 teaspoon cumin powder
3 tablespoons smoked paprika powder
5 cloves
Put it in the blender, grind it coarsely and add:
the zest of 1 orange
Add the herbs, spices and orange to the paste, and fry for 1 minute. Then add:
1 cup brown sugar
Fry this for a couple of minutes until the sugar is almost resolved. Add 2 ¼ cup water and let it simmer for 2 minutes.
Now you can add:
the juice of 2 oranges
5 tablespoons balsamico vinegar
1 cup tomato ketchup
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons english mustard
1 cup apple juice
sea salt and pepper
Let is all simmer for 10-15 minutes. Strain The Sauce twice.
Let The Sauce cool completely. You can keep this in the fridge for a week, or maybe you want to preserve this in small jars.

And now it’s time for the fun work!!

Prepare your barbecue. The temperature of the barbecue in this recipe should be 130C / 265F. When you want to smoke the ribs (I recommend!), and using wood chips, don’t forget to soak the chips first. I used cherry wood chips. Make an indirect fire, add the wood and put the ribs on the grill (away from the coals, needless to say I think).
After 90 minutes smoking the ribs, they look like this:

Now you’ll need the apple juice you used yesterday and some firm aluminium foil.

Carefully fold the foil around one rack, leave one side open and pour in some of the apple juice, make sure you close the foil tight! Repeat this with the other racks and put them back on the grill. This way the ribs will steam in the foil, this will take 60 minutes.

Unpack the racks and baste them with The Sauce and put them back on the grill.

After 15 minutes turn them over and baste them again. My ribs were perfect after 30 minutes.

I served them with fries, a green salad and no wine this time: beer!

Hope you’ll give this recipe a try, and if you have some other suggestions, let me know!

ENJOY!!