Barbecue Pork Ribs

This weekend, sit back, and savor America's freedoms with the simplicity of time-honored traditions and have a Barbecue. A July 4th Barbecue is not the same without ribs and this recipe is simple producing tender and juicy ribs without the long hours on the grill.  Although prep is tedious, it is worth the effort.  This recipe is adapted from  Bobby Chinn - Wild, Wild East.  The recipe calls for steaming the ribs and i used the pressure cooker which cut the steaming time by half. I did not brine as the ribs were fatty enough and the meat would not dry out besides like the saying goes - the nearer the bone, the sweeter the meat and don't need any brining.. 

Ingredients:

2 1/4 lb baby back pork ribs or St Louis Cut Pork Ribs

Dry Rub:

1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp ground paprika
1 1/2 tbsp garlic salt
1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp mustard powder
1/2 tsp ground dried sage
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1 tbsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Vinegar-based Barbecue Sauce:

1/2 cup cider vinegar
1 cup apple juice
5 tbsp tomato ketchup
5 tbsp molasses
2 - 3 tbsp crushed red pepper(to taste and optional)
Freshly ground black pepper

For the smoking:

Raw Rice
Sugar
Black Tea

Method:

To make the dry rub, combine all the ingredients well.  Store in an air-tight container for use as required.

To make the sauce, combine the ingredients in a saucepan.  Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes. While the sauce is cooking, throw in about half the dry rub.  It is pretty much up to you how much you use.

Clean the ribs and trim off excess fat.  Cut each rack in half. 

Put in about an inch of water in the pressure cooker and place a steamer rack on it.  Place the ribs on top of rack and close lid of pressure cooker.  Pressurized for 15 - 20 minutes until ribs are cooked through and tender.  I cook them until tender enough to pull the bone from the meat freely. 

Rub the surface of the ribs with the remaining dry rub - ready for smoking.

To smoke the ribs:

Line the wok with aluminium foil to prevent ingredients sticking and burning against the wok's surface
Arrange the smoking ingredients on the bottom of the wok.
Place a circular wire rack on top of the smoking ingredients
Place the tender ribs on top of the wire rack
Place the wok lid on top of the wok and seal with damp towels.
Heat the wok. As the wok commences to heat,  the rice, sugar and tea will begin to burn, filling the wok with flavoured smoke. The ribs will bake and at the same time become flavoured by the smoke.
Smoke for 20 minutes.

To grill:

Heat the grill and cook smoked ribs for about 4 minutes on each side.


To Serve

Place the cooked ribs on a cutting board, sprinkle about a tablespoon of dry rub over them and chop through every 2 ribs.

Drizzle some sauce on top of the ribs and serve.

Enjoy and have a Good July 4th Weekend!!!!!!