Mmm... Barbecued ribs.
Yeah, I know it's -10 degrees Celsius outside and snowing to boot, but its March and that means it's spring. So out come the ribs, off comes the BBQ cover and on goes my down filled jacket. Now I'm all set.
I used a recipe from Olive Magazine that shows an image of grilled ribs that would make even a vegetarian drool. The recipe starts with baking the ribs for about an hour at 350F in cola and star anise. Then the ribs are slathered in a sticky, spicy, sweet and sour sauce and marinaded, before their long slow grill.
I must say this recipe produced some amazingly, amazing ribs. I was originally apprehensive about the sauce because of its harsh acidic aromas while cooking. There were several moments where I had to flee the kitchen just to catch my breath. So needless to say that it was a huge relief when we ate them and found that the sour element had mellowed out during grilling. I was also surprised at how well the star anise came through. There was only one little star anise in a litre of cola, so I wasn't expecting it to power through the sauce and add such a distinct flavor. I'd say if you're looking for a reason to fire up the barbecue that these should be it. Even if, like me, you need to dig out your barbecue and wear winter boots.
Bourbon and Cola Ribs
pork ribs
1 litre cola
1 star anise
marinade:
3 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp malt vinegar
2 tbsp bourbon
1 clove chopped garlic
4 tbsp ketchup
4 tbsp HP sauce (I didn't have any so I used a steak marinade and added a few splashes of Worcestershire)
1/2 cinnamon stick
1 bird's eye chili finely chopped (I didn't have this either so I used a hefty spoon of sambal olek)
1 tbsp horseradish cream
Heat oven to 375F. Place ribs in an oven proof dish and cover with cola and 1 star anise. Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour, or until tender but not falling off the bone.
To prepare marinade, put the brown sugar in a pan and heat until it begins to melt and then add the malt vinegar. Do not breath at this time, or alternately RUN out of the kitchen, because this step produces a near toxic fume. Boil this until you have a syrup and then add the bourbon. Reduce this to a sticky sauce , before adding the garlic, ketchup, HP, cinnamon and chili. Add the horseradish and season with salt and pepper.
Take the ribs out of the oven and drain the cola mixture. Then brush with the sauce and marinate in the fridge for as long as you can. When it's time to cook the ribs, fire up the barbecue but not too hot or the sauce will burn. Cook the ribs for 20 - 40 minutes until they are blackening around the edges.
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