Not all of us eat pork, so succulent pork ribs may not be on your menu this holiday weekend. But beef? That’s another animal. And this recipe, from Grill Nation by David Guas, makes the most of those beef ribs. The idea here is to marinate/cook in stages over a long time. It's classic, long-term barbecue.
This overnight recipe calls for you marinate for 12 hours after rubbing the ribs with a lively spice mixture, one you can, of course, adjust to your own personal flavor pleasure. As you are cooking for 4 hours, you baste with a deep mixture of sorghum syrup and cider vinegar.
Sorghum syrup is not molasses. It is molasses-like, dark and sweet, but it is made from sorghum grass and not sugar cane or beets. The flavor may remind you of molasses, but it is a different beast and, if you were raised in the South with breakfasts of sorghum syrup on hot biscuits, you could readily tell the difference.
These ribs do take some time, but they are a pivotal example of “slow food.” You just can’t get the flavor, texture, and color by cutting corners and trying to this all “in the same day.” Great food can, for certain recipes, demand time. This is just one of those cases. It is, surely, a perfect recipe for a long summer weekend.
To accompany these ribs, it’s time for cold beer or fruity sangria.
Beef Ribs with Sorghum Glaze
Yield: serves 8
Ingredients:
- 4 2.5 pound racks beef rib-back ribs (center cut)
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ cup kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon ground red pepper
- 1 cup sorghum syrup
- 1 cup cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper
- 4 cups wood chips
Preparation:
Rinse and pat ribs dry. Remove thin membrane from back of by slicing into it and pulling it off. Combine sugar and next 6 ingredients. Massage sugar mixture into meat, covering all sides. Wrap the ribs tightly with plastic wrap, and place in zip-top plastic bags; seal and chill 12 hours.
Whisk together sorghum and next 2 ingredients in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally; heat to medium, and cook, stirring occasionally, 6 minutes or until mixture is reduced by half. Cool completely.
Soak chips in water 30 minutes. Light 1 side of charcoal grill or preheat gas grill to 250° to 300° (medium-low); leave other side unlit. Spread wood chips on a large sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil; fold edges to seal. Poke several holes in top of pouch with a fork. Place pouch directly on lit side of grill; cover with grill lid.
Place ribs over unlit side, and grill, covered with grill lid, 2 hours. Turn rib slabs over; grill 2 hours or until tender. Cook ribs 30 minutes more, basting frequently with sorghum mixture.
Remove ribs from grill, and let stand 10 minutes. Cut ribs, between bones.
Source: Grill Nation by David Guas [Oxmoor House, 2015]