Smokey Sweet BBQ Ribs
Lots of time needed, and quite a few pressure points.
Heat the oil in a medium saucepan until shimmering. Add the onion and the garlic, and cook, stirring occasionally until softened.
Add the remaining ingredients, whisk to combine, and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and continue to simmer, whisking occasionally, until the flavours have melded and the sauce is reduced to around 2 cups. Should take around 40 minutes, and end up thick and glossy. Set aside until ready to grill the ribs.
Serves four to six.
Place all the ribs ingredients except the beef itself in a medium bowl and combine. Place the ribs in a disposable aluminium baking dish, evenly spaced in a single layer. Evenly rub the spice mix on all sides of the ribs quite liberally. Tightly cover the dish with aluminium foil, and refrigerate for 8-24 hours.
Heat the oven to 180 degrees. Remove the ribs from the refrigerator and set aside until room temperature. Place the ribs in the oven (still covered with foil), and bake for 1½ to 1¾ hours. Check at 1½ to see if they are fork tender. While they are cooking make the BBQ sauce.
Heat a gas or charcoal BBQ grill. Place the ribs on the grill and brush them with some of the BBQ sauce. Grill until grill marks appear in about 5 minutes. Turn the ribs and brush with more of the sauce; cook another 5 minutes. Flip and brush each 5 minutes until sauce has formed a glaze, and the ribs are heated through, about 20 minutes in total.
Transfer the remaining sauce to a bowl and serve with the ribs.
THE BBQ SAUCE:
1 tbs vegetable oil
½ onion finely chopped
2 cloves garlic crushed
6 anchovy fillets chopped finely
2 cups tomato sauce
¾ cup packed dark brown sugar
¾ cup water
½ tbs apple cider vinegar
3 tbs worcestershire sauce
1 tbs pickled jalepeno chillies chopped finely
2 tsp smoked paprika
¾ tsp freshly ground black pepper
INGREDIENTS:
FOR THE BEST RESULTS USE BEEF RIBS THAT HAVE BEEN CUT ACROSS THE RACK. THESE ARE CALLED 'FLANKEN CUT'. RIBS CUT ALONG THE BONE (ENGLISH CUT) WILL STILL WORK, BUT THE MEAT WILL SHRINK AWAY FROM THE BONE DURING COOKING, AND YOU MAY BE SERVING WITHOUT THE BONE. YOUR BUTCHER WILL BE ABLE TO CUT FOR YOU GIVEN A LITTLE NOTICE.
YOU CAN OF COURSE ADJUST THE HEAT WITH QUANTITIES. AS MADE HERE IT WILL BE MEDIUM/SPICY.
MEAT WILL BE VERY TENDER, AND FULL OF SOUTHERN SPICE FLAVOUR. GOOD SERVED WITH CHILLI SPICED CHIPS AND STEAMED SPROUTS.
DON'T FORGET TO USE A DISPOSABLE ALUMINIUM BAKING TRAY FOR THE RIBS - YOU DO NOT WANT TO CLEAN A NORMAL ONE!
“MARINATED IN A SPICE RUB AND COVERED WITH SMOKEY BBQ SAUCE - THERE IS MOUNTAINS OF SOUTHERN FLAVOUR”
THE BBQ SAUCE:
¼ cup paprika
2 heaped tsp ground chilli
1 heaped tsp ground cumin
1 tbs packed brown sugar
3 tsp salt flakes
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 kg beef short ribs (see note)