Sticky Balsamic Ribs Recipes

STICKY RIBS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
• Combine the brown sugar, granulated sugar, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, 2 teaspoons salt and a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper in a small bowl (I did 30 grinds).
• Place the ribs on a piece of foil large enough to fold over and seal, then place on a baking sheet. Sprinkle the dry rub all over the top of the meaty side of the ribs. Wrap the foil around the ribs and seal tightly so that no juices can escape during baking. Bake until the meat is tender and can easily be pulled away from the bones with a fork, about 2 hours.
• Heat the BBQ sauce in a small pan over medium heat until warm. Remove the ribs from the oven and open the foil pack. Remove the ribs from the foil and pour any juices that have accumulated into the BBQ sauce and mix to combine. Continue to simmer the sauce until thickened, about 7 minutes.
• Heat a grill or grill pan for cooking at medium-high heat.
• Slice the ribs into 1-bone pieces. Brush all over with the BBQ sauce. Place the ribs on the grill and cook until grill marks appear, a few minutes on each side. Brush with more BBQ sauce and remove from the heat, then serve with the remaining BBQ sauce on the side.

SWEET AND STICKY PORK RIBS

Steps:

• For the ribs: Place the ribs in a roasting pan, cutting the racks in half to fit if necessary. Combine the garlic, rosemary, brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, salt and cayenne in a small bowl, and rub the mixture evenly all over the ribs. Allow the ribs to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour and up to 4 hours.
• Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Pour 1/2 cup water into the roasting pan and cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil. Roast the ribs until the meat is very tender and separate easily from the bone, about 1 1/2 hours. While the ribs are roasting make the BBQ sauce.
• For the sauce: Place the balsamic vinegar in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil then lower the heat to medium and cook the vinegar until it is reduced by a third, about 8 minutes. Whisk in the ketchup, apple cider vinegar, honey, mustard, molasses, Worcestershire, hot sauce and salt. Bring the the sauce back to a boil then lower the heat and simmer until thickened, 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.
• To finish, remove the ribs from the oven and transfer to 2 aluminum-foil-lined baking sheets. Increase the oven temperature to 450 degrees F. Brush both sides of the ribs generously with the BBQ sauce and bake uncovered for 10 minutes, until the sauce is browned and sizzling. Allow the ribs to rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

BALSAMIC-GLAZED OVEN-BAKED RIBS

Steps:

• To prepare the ribs, heat the oven to 350 degrees. If the butcher has not removed the membrane on the back of each rack, gently pry it up by sliding a sharp implement (like the tip of an instant-read thermometer) under it, then lifting gently. Grab the membrane with a paper towel and peel it off.
• Spread a 24-inch sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil, shiny side up, on a work surface. Place one rack on top, rub it all over with oil, and generously season both sides with salt. Place 2 parsley sprigs and 2 garlic cloves under the concave side of the rack and 2 thyme sprigs on top. Wrap the ribs in the foil, pleating the edges to seal well. Repeat with the second rack. Place the rib packets in a large roasting pan.
• Roast the ribs for 30 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 250 degrees. Cook 1 1/2 to 2 hours more, until the meat has shrunk back from the ends of the bones by 1/4 to 1/2 inch and the ribs are tender enough to pull apart with your fingers.
• Meanwhile, prepare the barbecue sauce. Place the balsamic vinegar in a large nonreactive saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook until reduced by a third. Add the remaining barbecue sauce ingredients with 1/4 cup water, bring back to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer until thick, 30 to 40 minutes. If the sauce starts to thicken too much, add a little water. The sauce should be highly seasoned; adjust to taste by adding vinegar, brown sugar or salt.
• Remove the ribs from the oven and let cool briefly, then open the foil, being careful of the escaping steam. Transfer the ribs to a baking sheet. Turn on the broiler or raise the oven to 450 degrees.
• Slather the ribs on both sides with the barbecue sauce. Broil the ribs until the sauce sizzles and browns, 2 to 4 minutes on each side. Alternatively, bake in the oven 8 to 12 minutes. Baste with the barbecue sauce and serve at once with any remaining sauce on the side.

FALL-OFF-THE-BONE STICKY BARBECUE RIBS

Steps:

• If there's a thin membrane on the back of the ribs, peel this off as best you can. The length of the ribs will be determined by the size of your roasting tin and barbecue - leave them whole or cut in half or thirds. Tip the ribs into a large, deep roasting tin. Whisk the rest of the ingredients together in a bowl until completely combined, then pour this over the ribs. Toss the ribs in the sauce using your hands to ensure they're completely coated. Cover the tin with foil, shiny-side down. To cook straightaway, simply leave to marinate while the oven heats up, or chill the ribs overnight.
• Heat the oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3 and bake the ribs for 2 hrs 30 mins-3 hrs, turning once or twice until the bones are exposed and the meat is pull-apart tender. When the ribs are cooked, leave to cool a little, then lift onto a tray using tongs. Pour the sauce from the tin into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 25-30 mins, stirring occasionally until thickened. Leave to cool. The sauce and ribs can be prepared up to two days ahead and chilled.
• Light the barbecue and wait until the coals are ashen, or set a gas barbecue to medium. Put as many ribs on the grill as you can fit, then brush generously with the sauce. Working quickly, grill the ribs, basting with more sauce and turning every minute or so until the ribs are well-coated, charred at the edges, caramelised and sticky. Repeat with any remaining ribs and sauce if they didn't all fit on the grill at once. Serve piled high on a platter with the reserved sauce on the side for slathering on top. Any leftover sauce will keep chilled in the fridge for up to a week.

STICKY SPICY RIBS

Steps:

• Whisk together brown sugar, salt, and spices in a small bowl.
• Line a 17- by 12- by 1-inch heavy-duty baking pan with a double layer of foil, then oil foil.
• Pat ribs dry and arrange in baking pan. Rub ribs all over with spice mixture and marinate, meaty sides up, covered and chilled, 2 1/2 hours.
• Bring ribs to room temperature, about 30 minutes.
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.
• Cover pan tightly with foil; bake 1 1/4 hours. Remove foil.
• Make sauce while ribs bake:
• Cook onion, garlic, and ginger in oil in a 2-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 6 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes.
• Purée sauce in 2 or 3 batches in a blender until smooth (use caution when blending hot liquids). Set aside 1 cup sauce for serving with ribs.
• Grill ribs:
• Prepare grill for cooking over indirect heat with medium-hot charcoal (moderate heat for gas); see Grilling Procedureepi:recipelink.
• To cook ribs using a charcoal grill: Lightly oil grill rack, then transfer ribs to area of rack with no coals underneath, reserving pan juices, and cook, covered with lid, basting generously with pan juices and sauce and turning over and rotating ribs every 10 minutes (keep ribs over indirect heat), until tender and browned, 30 to 40 minutes total. Transfer ribs to a cutting board and let stand 5 minutes before cutting into individual ribs.
• To cook ribs using a gas grill: Lightly oil grill rack, then transfer ribs to rack above shut-off burner, reserving pan juices. Grill, covered with lid, basting generously with pan juices and sauce and turning over and rotating ribs every 10 minutes (keep ribs over shut-off burner), until ribs are tender and browned, 30 to 40 minutes total. Transfer ribs to a cutting board and let stand 5 minutes before cutting into individual ribs.

REALLY STICKY RIBS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. In a large bowl, mix together the passata, garlic, soy sauce, honey and Worcestershire sauce.
• Add the pork ribs to the bowl and mix well to coat evenly. Lay the ribs and all the sauce into a large, shallow roasting tin. Cover with foil and bake for 35 mins.
• Remove foil from tray and bake the ribs for a further 45-60 mins, turning them a couple of times, until sticky and almost all of the sauce has disappeared. To make ahead, cook or half-cook the ribs the night before and keep in the fridge until needed.

SWEET-AND-SOUR BALSAMIC-GLAZED SPARERIBS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 250°F and place each rack of ribs on a square of aluminum foil. Sprinkle the ribs generously with salt, add a few sprigs of thyme to each, and then wrap well. Place the rib packets on a cookie sheet and bake for 3 to 4 hours, until the ribs are extremely tender. Allow the ribs to cool slightly in their packets before opening.
• To make the glaze, combine all of the ingredients in a large pot on medium-low heat. Allow to simmer, stirring every so often, for a few hours, until the sauce is nice and thick. Set aside.
• To bring the ribs and glaze together, do the following. Turn on the broiler (if you don't have a broiler, get the oven up to 450°F). Cut the rib racks into individual ribs, place them on a foil-lined cookie sheet or broiler tray, and brush them aggressively with the glaze. Pop them under the broiler and watch them carefully: all that sugar makes them burn very easily! You want the glaze to fuse with the ribs; it takes 3 to 4 minutes. If you're cooking the ribs in the oven, do so just until the glaze begins to bubble, 4 to 5 minutes. Serve the ribs hot with lots of napkins-trust me, you'll need them.