Yuan Hsieh
This is a recipe that I got from the net a
while back (from harvey@indyvax.iupui.edu).
[My comments will be italics and enclosed in
brackets].
[What's more important: your aorta or your taste buds?]
JAH's ``500 Mile Race Day'' Jamaican Jerk Baby-Back Ribs
[ Kill a pig, eat its ribs. ]
Marinade Ingredients (enough for 10 to 12 lbs. of baby-back ribs):
[I never measure my ingredients, so I cannot
tell you how this marinade will taste if you
follow this ingredient list.]
- 1 large onion, chopped (or 3 medium onions - about 2 cups)
- 6 shallots, chopped (or another medium onion)
- 6 scallions (green onions), chopped
[I also never have any shallots or scallions
handy, so I subsititue liberally with
onions.]
- 6 cloves of garlic, pressed or chopped
[6 cloves of garlic are barely enough, I use the whole head.]
- 5 TBS fresh ginger root, grated or chopped
[I also increase the amount of ginger root to offset the garlic.]
- 4 TBS freshly ground whole Jamaican allspice
[Jamaican allspice gives that nice jerk spice aroma, go wild.]
- 1.5 tsp nutmeg
- 1.5 tsp cinnamon
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 2 or 3 habenero peppers <= (or substitute 3 to 5 TBS caliente sauce
- 4 or 5 chiles pequin <=
(minced jalapeno) for all dried peppers)
[I like hot food, so I use a few more peppers. Use fresh ones if
you got them.]
- 2 TBS peanut oil (or other vegetable oil)
[I do not use any oil. I am on a diet. No oil for me.]
- 1 pint lime juice (I like Nellie and Joe's Key Lime juice)
For parboiling:
- 2 12 oz. bottles of beer
[A good chile/garlic beer or a dark malty
beer is better than a light lager. I also use
some pork and beef broth.]
For grilling:
[ You are what you eat: ribs or green bean salad, it's your choice.]
- Your "tools of the trade" (tongs, meat fork, basting brush)
- Your favorite BBQ sauce (optional, or use marinade)
- More beer
[Real Men don't eat quiche]
Ranges and substitution recommendations within
parentheses represent variations I have tried
before. I'm not real picky about measurements
when I make this, and I substitute according to
what I have at hand. If you like it hot, use the
larger quantities of the dried peppers. If you
don't, use the lesser amount of caliente. If you
can't get shallots or scallions, use more onion.
There really isn't any acceptable substitute for
allspice and fresh grated ginger root.
[A man after my own taste buds!]
Preparation:
Please be careful when handling hot peppers. You
may wish to use latex kitchen gloves. You should
not touch your eyes or any sensitive area after
handling hot peppers without very thoroughly
washing your hands first. Believe me, I learned
this the hard way!
[Me too! Also, don't pick your nose after
handling hot food, even if there is no
penetration!
Use gloves if you have cuts on your hand!]
To prepare the dried peppers, boil 2 cups of
water. Turn off heat and steep the peppers 10
minutes in the hot water. Stem, seed, and chop
the peppers finely.
[Do not seed the peppers! All the good
stuff are on the membrane of the seeds. Just toss
the whole thing into the food processer.]
Unwrap the ribs and use a heavy kitchen knife
or cleaver to chop each slab in half about in the
middle (6-7 ribs down). Or if you like, you can
have your butcher do this for you.
[I don't bother to chop my ribs. It would
be a lot of fun to chop bones, but I don't have a
butcher knife, and the only thing I have that
comes close is my circular saw.]
Put all marinade ingredients except beer in
food processor or blender and blend or process
until thoroughly mixed and chopped. It doesn't
have to be pureed -- I prefer it a bit on the
chunky side.
[Stand back when you open the lid of the
food processor, the haze coming out of the mixture
can blind and choke you.
Taste the mixture, it should be slightly more
intense than you can handle. Remember, you will
be diluting it with ribs and beer.]
Place a layer half-slabs into the pot. Pour on
some marinade, then poke with a fork, turn, and
rub the marinade well into the meat. If you made
it hot hot, wear the gloves, watch the eyes, etc.
Repeat layers for the remaining meat and marinade.
Pour any remaining marinade over the top. Cover
and marinate either four hours at room
temperature, or overnight in the refrigerator.
[If you marinate it over night, the lime
juice will partially cook the meat, the pickling
effect. But you will be able to taste the
marinade all the way to the bones.]
In the morning, preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
Pour the beers slowly down the side of the pot.
Cover and cook 2 hours. Baste occasionally to
keep ribs on top moist.
[I actually move the ribs around to make
sure every piece is cooked in the liquid at some
point.]
Remove from oven and allow to cool for about a
half an hour. For transport to the grilling site,
either remove slabs from the pot or put each pot
in a plastic garbage bag to prevent grease and
marinade from sloshing out. To finish, grill
about five minutes per side or more over low heat,
basting with your favorite BBQ sauce or the
marinade.
[ I eat ribs, do you?]
Now pour yourself a beer, chomp into a slab,
and raise a toast to the pig...
[The BBQ sauce from Jeff's recipe is mighty
tasty with these ribs. The sweetness of the sauce
complements the tart lime juice perfectly.
A
good light lager would be the drink to have. A
good wheat beer would be even better.]
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