Succulent, sticky and cheaty.

Barbecued ribs in the garden

Barbecued ribs – local pork and a cheating, store cupboard sauce

 I’m quite fond of the standard skinny ribs, but Tim prefers more meaty (I guess I prefer more sauce!) so we went for a test with 4 of each type from a local butcher here in Totnes.

 Ingredients:

 4 belly of pork ribs

4 pork spare ribs

4 dessertspoons of tomato ketchup

1 dessertspoon of Worcestershire sauce

2 dessertspoon of brown sauce

1 dessertspoon of set English honey

1 teaspoon of vinegar

fresh coriander

olive oil

salt

black pepper

Pork ribs, times two

The ingredients- the usual suspects.

Tim salted the pork to start, as he does with all white meats, usually he’ll salt for at least two hours, or overnight. Just before putting on the barbecue he basted them with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil.

Meanwhile, he made a cheat’s barbecue sauce by mixing together the store cupboard sauces and honey. Runny honey would have been easier, but the only English honey in the local co-op here was set.

As he happened to have a saucepan of water on the go (for a Dulce de Leche recipe to follow) he decided to reduce the sauce down over the pan, like a bain marie.

Spare ribs cooking on the barbecue

He cooked the ribs over the barbecue, and and took them off half way through, to rest, and to prick with a fork. The juices that came out of the pork in the resting process went into the barbecue sauce mixture. He then poured the barbecue sauce over the ribs.

After about 20 minutes he finished the ribs off on the barbecue, and serviced sprinkled with coriander. For him, the jury’s still out.  For me, hmm, belly of pork great, but I do like the skinny ones a little bittie bit more – more barbecue sauce for square cm.

Both succulent, sticky, and slightly cheaty.