by: Kate McMillan
Cook Time
2 hours 15 minutes
Prep Time
10 minutes
Yield
4 servings
Total Time
2 hours 15 minutes
Prep Time
10 minutes
Yield
4 servings
summary
While the ribs take a fair amount of time to cook, most of the time is hands-off. The time is worth it for the melt-in-your-mouth, fall-off-the-bone tenderness that is only made better with a soy-ginger glaze. Besides a stack of napkins, you don’t need much with a big pile of ribs, but our Cooling Cucumber Salad is a terrific pairing.
ingredients
- Ribs
- 1 rack (about 2.5 lbs) baby back pork ribs, membrane removed
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons Chinese five-spice powder
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 3 scallions, green parts only, chopped
- Marinade
- ½ cup light soy sauce
- â…“ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup honey
- 1 teaspoon Sriracha
- 1 large garlic clove, grated
- 1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
directions
- Line a baking sheet with a large piece of aluminum foil and add the ribs. In a small bowl, stir together the salt, five-spice powder and black pepper. Rub this mixture all over both sides of the ribs and then wrap the ribs up in aluminum foil. Set aside.
- Heat the grill to low, about 300°F. Add the ribs, wrapped in foil and on the baking sheet, to the grill and close the lid. You want to create an oven.
- While the ribs are cooking, add all of the marinade ingredients to a saucepan set over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer and, stirring occasionally, let simmer for 10 minutes. The marinade will thicken as it cools.
- After the ribs have been on the grill for 1 hour and 30 minutes, carefully unwrap the aluminum foil and brush with the marinade. Wrap back up, close the grill, and continue cooking for 30 more minutes with the lid closed. Then, turn the grill up to medium-high, about 400°F. Remove the ribs from the foil and place them directly on the grill grate, flesh side down. Close the lid, cook for 5 minutes, and flip back over. Continue to cook. Baste with the marinade every 5 minutes, closing the lid each time, until the ribs are fully cooked, and the meat easily pulls away from the bone, about 15 more minutes.
- Transfer ribs to a cutting board. When cool enough to handle, cut ribs between the bones, transfer to a serving platter and garnish with the scallions. Serve at once.
notes
The reason that ribs cook so long is that they need time to tenderize. You can also do the initial 1 hour and 30 minutes in your oven.
You want indirect, low heat to cook the ribs thoroughly, then high heat at the end to caramelize the glaze.
If you have any extra sauce, you can briefly boil it and serve it in a bowl on the side.
This glaze is also good on chicken thighs or tofu.
