Love Ya Back, Baby

So much for the weekly update. For some reason, in the last month, I haven’t been able to write new entries or cook something interesting. It’s probably a result of all that writing at work. Maybe I was all “written out.” My brain was mush. Excuses, excuses. In any case, all I wanted to do was watch tons of DVDs, catch up on my reading, and catch up on sleep.

But I also felt like cooking something just the same. I just didn’t want to do anything complicated. So I went to the supermarket to check out what was available. There was a slab of fresh baby back ribs, so I decided to do a barbecue in the oven (I live in a building where there’s no space to set up an outdoor barbecue near the unit, unless you want to smoke out the neighbors as you cook…). I had all the other ingredients at home anyway.

It’s Not About the Size

Contrary to what some people believe, baby back ribs are not the ribs of a baby pig. They’re ribs located at the back, attached to the spine. They’re smaller in size—hence the “baby” monicker—compared to the spare ribs located near the belly area.

Now I know some people don’t think much of baby back ribs because they’re not exactly known to have a hefty amount of meat clinging to the bones, but this particular piece—weighing somewhere between 800 and 900 grams—was quite meaty.

To ensure that the meat would be tender, I first seasoned and braised it in some aromatics, broth, and part of the barbecue marinade for about an hour (or until I could prick the meat with a fork). True barbecued ribs are cooked on an outdoor grill for hours. But since I don’t have an outdoor grill and the luxury of time, I settled for braising before broiling. I didn’t allow it to become too tender, though, because I was going to cook it a few more minutes in the oven. I then brushed some of the barbecue sauce/marinade onto the meat before I popped it into the oven. Fantastic!

Bourbon Baby Back Ribs

Yield: 4 to 5 servings as appetizers, 2 to 3 servings as main course

1 slab baby back ribs (at least 750 grams)
½ head of garlic, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
2 parts brown sugar
1 part soy sauce
1 part vinegar or mustard
splash of Worcestershire sauce (optional)
splash of bourbon (I actually used more than one splash, though)
beef or chicken broth, or water
salt
freshly ground black pepper
olive oil

1) Preheat oven to 400°F.
2) Combine sugar, soy sauce, vinegar (or mustard), Worcestershire sauce (if using), and bourbon until sugar is dissolved. Set aside.
3) Season ribs with salt and pepper.
4) Heat olive oil in a pot. Add garlic and onion and saute until onions are soft.
5) Add baby back ribs and allow to steam in the garlic and onion mixture for a few minutes.
6) Add a cup of barbecue sauce/marinade mixture and broth or water. Do not submerge the whole slab in the liquid.
7) Allow the liquid to simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover pot and braise ribs until you can prick the meat with a fork (about an hour).
8) Once it’s tender, set the ribs aside and reduce the liquid. You can thicken this with flour paste if you want to use it as sauce later.
9) Brush the remaining barbecue sauce/marinade onto the ribs. Broil ribs in oven for about 30 minutes, brushing it with sauce every once in a while.
10) Once cooked, remove the ribs from the oven and brush with sauce.
11) Carefully separate each rib and arrange on a platter. Pour barbecue sauce over the ribs. As main course, serve with steamed vegetables or arugula greens with vinaigrette.