I came across Dr. Maurice Codd’s rib recipe and tried it. Codd was a nobel prize winner in chemistry so I would imagine he understands the chemistry of this better than I do. But the ribs are amazing. Enjoy!
I am quite certain that after a long development process I have finally reached the perfection point in pork rib bbq. For years I hated rib recipes that slather ribs with gooey sweet sauce, and I preferred the dry rub ribs. Now, after countless hours in the “lab” I have captured both the crunch and tang of the dry rib, and the flavor of the sauce ribs.
Before I go through it, one key ingredient will be somewhat hard to get. Some time back, a wild swarm of bees showed up in the back yard. I caught them in a box, and then moved them to a hive I got. Since then they have yielded gallons of exquisite wild swarm honey. That is the key ingredient. And no, it doesn’t taste sweet. Here is the recipe:
Go get as many slabs as you want of tasty pork ribs, cut them up individually
Get a jug of apple cider vinegar, a jug of molasses.
Then go the fridge. Grab what you have: mustard, some ketchup, maybe even a left over bottle of barbeque sauce, left over red wine is good, you get the idea, forage for it.
Pepper, some salt.
Mix up the vinegar, molasses (a bunch) and the other ingredients in a big stainless pot or bowl. Dump the marinade and the ribs in a plastic bag and put them in the fridge for at least a day. The key ingredient here is the vinegar, don’t skimp on that.
Now to cook. The key here is low, low heat for a long time. If you can get your grill down to 200 degrees, that’s best. Sure throw in some wood chips or whatever if you want.
This part is important: don’t put the ribs on the grill, put them on a rack, and put aluminum foil under them so there are no flare ups. Indirect heat for a long time is key. If you must, do a little basting but you really don’t need to.
Cook until the meat shrinks back from the bone, that could be an hour or it could be two depending on the grill and the ribs. Tip a few while this is going on. It won’t help the recipe but you will feel better.
Now the honey part. Take the ribs off the grill and pull out the aluminum foil. Put the foil where the dog wont get it, you will regret it if he does. Put the ribs in big bowl and drizzle the honey on each rib till they are coated.
Turn the heat up to high in the grill. Quickly put the ribs directly on the grill. This part should take maybe a minute or two. Keep turning the ribs until the honey caramelizes, you don’t want any un-caramelized honey left or the ribs will taste too sweet. You will have to play with this to be able to see when they are done, but you have to stay on it, turning them.
Take the ribs off and go to town. The outside of the ribs will be crunchy, not sweet, and the inside will fall off the bone and be tangy. The combination of the two is amazing.
Perfect ribs are that easy!!
Codd was a nobel prize winner in chemistry
I was unaware they gave a Nobel Prize for BBQ.
I will stick with Wayne Monk at Lexington BBQ, he’s got a PHD in BBQ!
For those who have minimal equipment, like a small Weber grill, and not a lot of time..here's a shortcut that can produce reasonably tasting ribs..
Parboil the ribs on the stove in a pot of water that's just starting to simmer. Do so for about 10 minutes..Drain, pat dry, then apply sauce and toss on the grill about anothe5 4-5 minutes per side..