Who doesn't love to dig into a few tender, spicy and succulent pork ribs? I do, I can tell you that much. But, and here's the catch, pork ribs, just like their bigger counterpart, the beef ribs, pack good amounts of fat and saturated fat. Now, I don't want to bust my gut or have to hit the gym every time I eat these so I leaned a little bit on a recipe by Dr. Mehmet Oz of the "Dr. Oz Show".
I know what you're thinking... He's nuts! What's next, burgers from Dr. Phil?? Ball-buster Cream Puffs from Dr. Laura??
Well, hold your horses. This is a modified version of Oz's recipe to make it even better while at the same time keeping the fat content significantly down. By the way, you can make these in two ways: The old-fashioned way, on the Barbie, which I prefer, or in the oven and that's the method we'll use here.
For what it's worth, I'm using the oven not because I'm too lazy to fire up the grill but because of a restrictive law here in California that prohibits the use of open-flame/gas BBQ grills on patios in multiple-unit dwellings. That is the main reason you see some recipes on here where the use of a BBQ would have been optimal, such as steaks, burgers, shish kabobs, etc. At the same time, though, most of the dishes also turn out amazingly good in a home oven and this is one of them.
So bear with me and keep reading...
Before I go into the ingredients needed for the ribs themselves, I'd like to start with a Cajun-style BBQ sauce, which gives the ribs a spicy, smoky and typical BBQ flavor. For that we'll need:
(double the amount if using two racks of ribs)
1 1/2 cups sugar-reduced ketchup (Heinz)
3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp liquid smoke
1 Tbsp smoked chili powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp white pepper
1 tsp granulated onion
1 tsp granulated garlic
1 tsp dry oregano
1/2 tsp dry parsley flakes
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp paprika powder
Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and allow the flavors to blend for at least one hour. If you prefer the sauce to be a tad on the sweeter side, I suggest you add 1 Tbsp of Agave Nectar, which has a lower glycemic index and is therefor a healthier alternative than processed sugars, corn syrup or artificial sweeteners.
Moving on. Now for the ribs...
1 or 2 racks of Baby Back Pork Ribs
1 (2) white onion, halved & sliced
8 (16) large garlic cloves, peeled, ends removed and halved
freshly ground black pepper
sea salt
While the BBQ sauce is hanging with the spices, peel and slice the onion. Peel the garlic and remove the wooden ends, then slice in half. Place those in a bowl, cover and set aside.
Preheat your oven to 400°F.
Rinse the ribs under cold water, pat dry and trim most visible fat off the ribs.
Take a large baking sheet and cover it with a double layer of heavy aluminum foil. Place the ribs on the foil and season them liberally with salt and pepper. Take one cup of the BBQ sauce and spread evenly over the ribs and flip them fat side down.
Now add the onion and the garlic.
Place another layer of aluminum foil on top and wrap the ribs tightly, creating an envelope of sorts. Make sure the seams and ends are folded in tight so that no steam can escape. Place them in the oven on the middle rack, set the timer for 75 minutes and make yourself a couple of drinks because from now on we just have to wait and let the oven do its thing.
Once the 75 minutes are up, take the ribs out and carefully open the package. Extremely hot steam(!) will escape so be cautious. Don't want to get burned! Discard the top aluminum cover layer.
Pour off the excess liquid, discard the onion & garlic cloves and flip the ribs fat side up. Baste with about a 1/2 cup of reserved BBQ sauce and return them back to the oven.
Lower the temperature to 365°F and bake for another 20 minutes or until the top is browned to your liking and the meat is tender.
Enjoy!
Damn good ribs
ReplyDeleteGlad you liked them.
ReplyDelete