July 14-17 Smoky Hoisin Ribs

 

July 14     Super Duper  PETs - Egg Salad Sandwiches with crispy pancetta and tomato
July 15     Dinner out at Vivetha
July 16     Lobster rolls, scallops with The Neighbours and The Sisters
July 17     Smoky Hoisin Ribs with Cavatappi and Pesto


We had a good eating week this week. On Thursday I made THE best egg salad salad sandwiches ever, according to The Kid. This was only possible because Shack was out of town and egg salad is verboten when he is home - sensitive sense of smell on the poor, delicate thing. 


Friday we were pleasantly surprised with a week night evening with our Shack of the sensitive nose so we went out for a really nice dinner at Vivetha,  a local Beaches restaurant that we have , somehow, never been to yet. Ice cream at Ed's Real Scoop after our dinner and then cruising in the convertible, cranking the Elvis tunes  and doing our best impersonation of old farts made for a perfect Friday night. 


On Saturday, we had lobster rolls and scallops that came fresh from New Brunswick with The Sisters. The Sisters are three larger than life, fun loving blondes from the Mirimichi and just happen to be the siblings of M,  our larger than life, fun loving blonde, otherwise known as The Neighbour. The food was delicious, the cocktails flowed, we all sang old country music until we were hoarse and everyone barely escaped with their lives. All in all, it really was a weekend of stellar old fart behaviour.


Sunday was hot as hell so a bbq was in order and Little Shack invited a friend to go to the mall to engage in a Warhammer mega battle. If you have to ask what Warhammer is, consider yourself lucky and spare me a modicum of pity, for I am intimately acquainted with the world of Warhammer. Shack and I dropped the kids off and went shopping. We saw some yummy pork ribs so dinner was decided since I had read my new Chatelaine a few days before and thought this rib recipe looked tasty. I have never par boiled ribs and usually only do slow and low on the bbq or in the oven but The Kid and I had some bbq'd ribs at a friend's cottage last week and they par boiled them and grilled them and they were falling off the bone, tender, juicy and delicious.


These ribs were pretty good but I think there were two things I would change next time. First of all, although the sauce was really tasty and the ribs were tender and had a nice texture, the depth of flavour wasn't there the way it is when you dry rub the ribs the night before and cook them for hours and hours on low heat. We discussed par boiling them the day before or in the morning and then dry rubbing them and putting them in the fridge all day. I will play around with making the par boiling liquid more aromatic and flavourful.


Also, next time we won't start the fire with only smoking wood chips and no charcoal and then, when we realize that the wood chips are not hot enough to get the sauce nice and glazed and caramelized, I have to run out and grab charcoal and then, because it's getting late, start cooking the ribs before the charcoal has ample time to settle down to a nice ash so they are really a bit more burnt than one would really like. Bottom line, the sauce is tasty and I am no longer violently opposed to par boiling ribs and am open to exploring this method further.

Smoky Hoisin Ribs
adapted from Succulent and Smoky Ribs from Chatelaine


3 lbs pork back ribs
1 bottle of corona
about 4 beer bottles full of water
a few grinds of black pepper
1 clove garlic


sauce:
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
1 huge clove of garlic, minced
1 tbls chopped ginger
1 tbls canola oil
2 tbls chinese rice wine
1 tsp garlic chili sauce


Cut the ribs into portion sized pieces and put them in a big pot and cover with the beer and water (I used my beautiful Le Crueset pot of course) with the garlic and black pepper. Bring to a boil and let simmer, covered, for about an hour to an hour and 15 minutes.


Remove and let drain.


Mix all of the ingredients together for the bbq sauce.


When it's time to cook the ribs, heat the oiled grill to medium. Brush ribs with sauce and place on the grill. Barbecue, turning and basting often with sauce, until well glazed and hot throughout, about 15 minutes. When ribs are done, remove from the grill.