Davis Family Pork Ribs

Last night, I raised a glass to one of my American Uncles, Eddie
Davis. He passed away yesterday peacefully, surrounded by family. He
was a husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather, a rocket
scientist for NASA and a lover of fine whiskeys. A great bloke.  I will miss him.

Like many a Yank family, us Davis’ love a nice bit of barbecue action. And all week long I’ve  seen the vagrants along the Grand Canal drinking tinnies from 11.30 am with their tops off. That can mean only one thing, the Irish Summer has officially started! With the ever so slightly hotter season finally upon us, now is the time to start char grilling some meat on the barbie. It is your God given duty to do so, as important to the Nation’s identity as knacker drinking with your upper torso exposed to the elements.

The following recipe is a culmination of  the efforts  of three of my stateside Uncles, hence “Davis Family Pork Ribs.” The dry spice mix is my Uncle Brian’s. Many moons ago I spent a night in his house during a Christmas break. On the way to his gaff in his car, he asked me what my favourite food was. Anything barbecued I told him. So we had a cook off in the garden. I held an umbrella over him as the Pennsylvania snow started falling down. I love that. He said he was gonna lash out a barbie and not even the most severe weather conditions prevented him. My aforementioned Uncle Eddie showed me how to make the thick, gooey, sweet and spicy basting sauce. And my Uncle Jimmy shared with me the best secret ever to making your ribs perfectly tender, so that the meat just slides off the bone. Cook them overnight in cellophane. His ribs would have to be my death row meal.

Before you get started, here are some essential facts about Babyback ribs. Do not get them confused with spare ribs. Babybacks have more meat on them as they are taken from the top of the ribcage between the spine and the spareribs, below the loin muscle. Spare ribs are from the pork belly and have more fat on them. They are the ones that you tend to get from manky Chinese takeaways. Many butchers over here call babybacks, shortback ribs – in case they don’t know what you’re talking about.

DAVIS FAMILY PORK RIBS

INGREDIENTS:

2 Whole racks of Babyback Pork Ribs

For the dry spice mix: Combine the following together

1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon mild chili powder
1 tablespoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon cayenne

2 tablespoons of salt

For the basting sauce:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped yellow onions
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon of ground chili
1/2 cup red wine or cider vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
4 cups tomato sauce
1/2 cup molasses
2 teaspoons dry mustard
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt

METHOD:

For the sauce:

In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium-high heat.

Add the onions and cook them until they are slightly browned, should take 4 to 5 minutes.

Add the garlic and chillies, and cook for 1 minute. De-glaze the pan with the vinegar and lime juice and cook until the liquid is reduced by half, 1 to 2 minutes.

Add the tomato sauce, molasses, mustard, bay leaves and salt. Bring to a simmer and cook until thick, stirring occasionally, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and strain.

For the ribs:

Rub the spice mix generously all over the ribs. If you like you can remove the membrane on the bone side of the ribs before you put the spice on but I like to leave it on.

Wrap the ribs with a few layers of cellophane. Get it as airtight as you can.

Here comes the funny bit. Throw the ribs into your oven with the cellophane still on but at a 80 degree heat. The cellophane will not melt and don’t let any eco warriors tell you that the cellophane gives you toxins. That’s total bollocks.

Leave the ribs in the oven for as long as you can. Feel free to lash them in the oven before you go to bed and take them out 8 hours later. Definitely leave them in for a minimum of 6 hours.

After you’ve done that, remove the cellophane. Drain off any fat and stick it into the sauce. Let the ribs sit for a while and then baste them with the sauce. You can grill them on your barbie or just stick them under your grill in the kitchen. Give them another basting with the sauce if you can before you finish grilling them.

SERVE WITH:

Some baked potatoes and sour cream with some decent coleslaw and as much beer as you can swill. If you have guests round and you want to look like the mannerly type, it might be an idea to have some bowls of water with slices of lemon in them so they can wash their sauce stained hands. There’s always a chance one of them will pull a Tony Montana and drink the water and eat the lemon.