Jamaican Jerked Ribs (Baby Backs!) combine two grilling favorites to make a delicious and flavorful entree sure to impress.
Ja Mon! “I don’t like jerk!” (said no self-respecting foodie. Ever.) You can make this in the oven or out on the grill. I like to grill mine for that smoke and spiciness, but yeah. Sometimes it rains! This recipe starts with a Jerk style barbecue sauce, which can give you all the flavor you want without a marinade or rub.
Jamaican Jerk Sauce
You may have seen me use this sauce on other things, such as Jerk Chicken. It really is quite a versatile sauce!
This sauce is a finishing sauce like barbecue sauce which is perfect for basting chicken, ribs, chops and burgers with. Give your grilled hot dogs a dip in this for extra zazz. Also good as a spicy ketchup-like dip for french fries and potato wedges.
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons pickapeppa sauce
- 2 tablespoons molasses
- 2 tablespoons vinegar (cider vinegar)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar (or Splenda brown sugar, If youlike a sweet sauce increase to 3/4 cup)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground allspice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon habanero pepper sauce (use 1 tsp. for less spicy)
- 1 tablespoon liquid smoke
METHOD: (and how easy is this?!?)
Step 1
Whisk together in a saucepan and simmer for 20-30 minutes or until thick.
(that’s it!)
Next you need to prepare your ribs. You may like to remove the membrane on the back, but many people don’t bother. It really is easy to remove. Just take a sharp knife and work up the edge of that. Then grab it with paper towels (for a good grip), and slowly pull it off. Don’t pull too fast! It is kind of like tape. Ever pull tape off too fast and have it tear, never to find the edge again? I thought not. But I have! rofl! But dear reader, there is always a first time for that to happen. They say Mercury is in retrograde right now, whatever that means. I just know that crap happens. You know…
I find it easy enough to season them up with salt, pepper, and garlic.
Of course you may brine them.
Of course you may marinate them.
Of course you may apply a dry rub.
Of course you may baste or mop them.
They are your ribs, after all. Nuff said.
Perhaps these as-yet-unblogged recipes would interest you? They are mine and I can vouch for them.
Basic All Purpose Brine for Meats, Chicken and Turkey
You may have noticed that I like Jerk. Just the facts, ma’am.
Moi? Yes, that’s a fact. I am a chilehead. And sometimes, I am what I eat.
Honesty prevails, but don’t ask me to admit that twice. Not the chilehead part. rofl!
Okay, preliminaries aside, I assume your ribs are ready to go. Still in the fridge? They are not ready to go.
Jamaican Jerked Ribs (Baby Backs!) – Outdoor (grill) and Indoor (oven) cooking options:
Warm them to room temp. And right after that go start your grill for indirect cooking. Or preheat your oven. I can’t tell which you will do, and I wouldn’t tell if I knew. We can be discreet here about cheating and baking ribs. Well, maybe some people can’t handle that. But it’s your food, you do what you want with it. I think it will tasty good any way you do it.
Grill Method:
Step 1
Using a drip pan, prepare a grill for indirect cooking
Step 2
Place the ribs over the drip pan and grill using indirect medium heat (test by placing your hand over the heat- you should be able to keep it there for about 3 seconds).
Step 3
Cover grill and cook for 1 1/2- 1 3/4 hours or until the ribs are tender, and the meat has pulled back from the edges of the bone slightly.
Step 4
Add additional coals or wood chunks during cooking if needed.
Oh, by the way, you can smoke these too. Use the instructions on your smoker and cook until they are done as in the grilling method.
Oven METHOD:
Step 7
Bake ribs at 250° F./121° C. for 3 hours, then remove from oven.
Step 8
Finish ribs on the grill, adding bbq sauce as soon as you put them on, and grilling for 6-8 minutes or until sauce sets. Or sauce and put back into the oven until the sauce thickens and sets. Your choice.
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