pocketful of mumbles

So I over estimated the number of ribs my guests would eat, which means now, I have photos of the ribs that were featured at my most recent barbecue. This time however, they will be finished in the oven.

Along with the ribs, I made a tomato salad and pumpkin, all ingredients that I used for my barbecue to complete dinner this evening.

Five days prior to cooking, I prepare the ribs and dry rubbed them. I got the ribs from a pork seller in Balestier who cleans up the ribs and is almost ready to be used.

I have no pictures of this step, so here is a picture to keep you inspired.

(Okay, for those of you in the know, you will immediately see the flaw of these ribs as a result of poor temperature control. But I shall defensively say: a lot of restaurants in Singapore don’t get this right either! By the way, all those drippings and burnt bits on the tray are damn good to eat. And if you don’t polish it off, mix a bit of dog biscuit in it and serve it up to the dogs. They’ll love you for it.)

Dry Rub

• Brown sugar.
• Chilli powder.
• Onion powder.
• Garlic powder.
• Ground cayenne pepper.
• Salt.
• Black Pepper.

The dry rub’s main ingredients are the brown sugar and chilli powder. I don’t really have any measurement. I just go by taste and go along. As I wanted it spicier this time, I cut back some brown sugar.

The result of that, means that the rub is drier and there’s less osmosis happening, which means the rub doesn’t penetrate as much into the meat. But this doesn’t mean it’s any less tasty.

On the day of the rib preparation, I heat up the oven to about oh… 180 degree C. (I confess, I’m not very good with oven temperatures, I pretty much wing it, based on the position of the knob.)

For this particular rib, I placed the ribs in a deep pan and filled it with orange juice - the type on the shelves that doesn’t require refrigeration, but is not from concentrate. I covered this with foil and popped this into the oven. This method of cooking is called braising.

I cook this at 180 for about 1 - 2 hours, depending on quantity of ribs. Then I turn it down to about 110 degrees or so and go on cooking it till the meat pulls from the skin. The degree of pull away from the skin determines how the meat will fall off the bone.

In my case this time, I made them with a bit of bite. I usually make them softer, with the meat falling off. Also, I found that the orange taste wasn’t strong enough. I may try adding orange rind and perhaps using orange juice made from concentrate for a more robust orange flavour.

When the meat is cooked, empty out the liquid that was used in cooking into a pan. Make sure you scrape the pan clean.

Up the oven’s heat to max and proceed with the barbecue sauce.

Barbecue Sauce

• Braising liquid from the ribs above.
• Orange juice.
• Honey.
• Ketchup.
• Worcestershire sauce.
• Ground cayenne pepper.

I mix the above without the braising liquid and just adjust it to taste. Then bring it to a boil with the braising liquid. Reduce the mix till it coats the spoon. This is the barbecue sauce.

Glaze the ribs (meat part) with the barbecue sauce and pop it back into very hot oven. The glaze will burn a little in about 2-3 minutes. Just eyeball it. You don’t need to be precise about time here. Take the ribs out. Reglaze. Keep doing this until you have a nice dark reddish colour with bits of burnt sugar.

(By the way, if you’re wondering why the glazing is so uneven, it’s because I don’t have a basting brush. I’ve never had one, because I’ve never found something I like. I use the back of a spoon instead.)

Turn to the bone side of the ribs and do the same.

Take it out from the oven, cut it up, plate it up and it’s time to eat it. The time you have taken to plate it up allows the meat to rest.

So that was how I did my ribs.

For the tomato salad, I made a very simple dressing. To taste, mix without the parsley.

• Balsamic vinegar.
• Sugar.
• Olive oil.
• Black pepper.
• Chopped garlic.
• Chopped parsley.

Instead of potatoes, I used pumpkin, because we have so much of it. I seasoned it simply with salt, black pepper, olive oil. I wish I hadn’t forgotten to add cayenne pepper, a bit of cumin, and possibly… curry powder. This I had in the oven for about 30 minutes at 170 deg C. You can leave it in longer if you want it softer, and you may want to raise the temperature at the last part of cooking to caramelize the pumpkin a little.

So that was dinner. And I hope you enjoy the pictures.