Seriously Delicious Ribs

By Jennifer Perillo, posted about 1 year ago

Photo: Sarah Shatz

Amanda & Merrill's Notes:

The recipe title doesn't lie: these ribs are seriously delicious. Jennifer Perillo's low and slow cooking method ensures tender meat, and broiling the ribs at the end caramelizes the glaze beautifully. We love the addition of Prosecco, which gives the glaze a faintly boozy flavor that's hard to put your finger on. And the combination of instant espresso and chipotle in the rub lends smoky depth. We reduced the glaze until it was very thick and syrupy, and found that it really clung to the ribs. We made these ribs twice, using both a grill and a broiler for the last step, and both work equally well. - A&M

I recently impulse purchased some mighty fine looking ribs from Flying Pigs Farm at the Union Square Greenmarket in New York City. It wasn't the warm, wonderful day we're having now and I wasn't willing to brave the arctic temperatures and fire up the grill, so I decided there must be a way to capture that finger-lickin', meat fallin' off the bone experience in my kitchen. You'll find more than a few recipes online, but don't be fooled. The golden rule of low and slow for traditional barbecue, holds true when adapting to an indoor technique. An easy-to-make dry rub and slow braise in a 250º oven yielded results to satisfy my craving.

Serves 4-6

For the Dry Rub:

1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
1/4 teaspoon all spice
1 teaspoon chiptole powder (optional)
2 slabs pork baby back ribs (3 to 3 1/2 lbs total)

For the Braising Liquid/BBQ Glaze:

1 cup sparkling white wine (like prosecco)
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon honey

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
Add all the dry rub ingredients to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until ingredients are combined, about two or three 1-second pulses. Rub mixture evenly all over each rack of ribs, making sure to coat top and bottom. Place ribs, single layer, on a rimmed baking sheet or in a roasting pan and let sit, covered, in the refrigerator for one hour.
Meanwhile, place liquid ingredients in a small pot and cook over medium heat until just hot. Alternately, you can add them to a microwave-safe bowl and cook on high for 1 minute.
Remove ribs from the refrigerator. Pour braising liquid over ribs, wrap tightly with heavy-duty foil and place in oven, side by side if possible. Cook for 2 ½ half hours. Alternate pans halfway through if cooking on separate racks in oven.
Remove pans from oven, discard foil and pour or spoon the braising liquid into a medium saucepot. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a vigorous simmer and let cook until liquid reduces by half and becomes a thick, syrupy consistency, 20 to 30 minutes.
Preheat broiler. Brush the glaze on top of each rack of ribs. Place ribs under the broiler until the glaze begins to caramelize, one to two minutes (watch carefully, or all your waiting will be spoiled by burned ribs!). Slice and serve with remaining glaze on the side. What to Drink: An old-fashioned made with Eagle Rare single barrel bourbon is the perfect partner.

Comments (19)Add yours

Sugartoast about 1 month ago: Jennifer: I'm about to make these for our family reunion next week. Yum! Do you I need to wrap each individual rack of ribs with tin foil, or can I just cover the rimmed baking sheet w/foil and press down tightly around the edge of the sheet? Many thanks!!!!
melissav 3 months ago: Hi Jennifer - The title doesn't lie. These really were seriously delicious. We really enjoyed them and will be making them again and again. Thanks for the recipe!
Jennifer Perillo 2 months ago: Melissa—I'm so glad you liked it, and it was my pleasure to share this recipe!
EdLigon 3 months ago: Hi, Jennifer. Can I slow cook these in my smoker without making any changes to your recipe? Thanks, Ed
Jennifer Perillo 2 months ago: Ed—you can certainly stick with the rub, but I might suggest reducing the liquid ingredients until they thicken to make a glaze, unless you were going to try and use this braising technique in the smoker. Let us know how it goes!
lapadia 3 months ago: RE: smoked paprika substitute...or perhaps use a teaspoon of Liquid Smoke added to the liquid ingredients = smokey flavor also.
vangiefan 3 months ago: Awesome, awesome recipe! I am in love with these ribs. I made them for my family and I took some to work for a potluck lunch and EVERYONE loved the ribs. I like a little spice with my ribs, so I altered the recipe a little and added a deseeded habanero to the glazing liquid as it was thickening....just perfect!!
Whats4Dinner 4 months ago: Excellent, excellent recipe! I've made it twice now and my only (joking) complaint is that the meat is soooo tender that it's hard to move the ribs around without falling apart! I could have worse problems, right? ;) What I like to do is after the baking, I like to glaze/crisp it up on the grill outside (here in California, we grill YEAR-round). I was wondering, since I hate to run the oven in the summer, do you think the 2.5 hours of baking could somehow be done on the grill? Thanks.
Jennifer Perillo 4 months ago: You can definitely do this recipe 100% on the grill—it's how I used to before adapting it for indoors. Just make sure you have a full tank of gas since they still require the same long cooking time. Instead of a pan, use HEAVY DUTY foil to essentially make a packet for the ribs. You will want to cook these using the same low and slow method over indirect heat. Are you using a gas (how many burners) or charcoal grill? Let me know if you need more help on cooking with indirect heat on the grill.
AntoniaJames 6 months ago: Dear Jennifer, First of all, thank you for reminding the world about the word "alternately" which, sadly, seems to have been overtaken in usage by the dreadful "alternatively." Second and more urgently . . . if you could not use paprika in your ribs recipe because someone was allergic to it, what would you use instead? Or would you leave it out and not worry about substituting? Thank you. Best regards, Antonia James
Jennifer Perillo 4 months ago: So sorry it took me this long to get back to you! The paprika definitely adds a smoky flavor and is essential to the outcome of this recipe as I intended it. However, I would not want to persuade you from trying this. I might be tempted to swap in tomato paste for it. The resulting flavor will be different indeed, but it will create that extra layer of flavor you're looking for. Hope this helps and let me know!
blim8183 11 months ago: I tried making this again except I substituted Maker's Mark for the Prosecco. I think it has potential but I used way too much and the ribs kind of made me nauseous : /
Jennifer Perillo 10 months ago: Oh yes, bourbon is pretty strong. I'd suggest cutting back on the alcohol amoutn and boosting the brown sugar amount is you try it again—it definitely has potential. Let me know what you come up with!
Jennifer Perillo 11 months ago: I'm so glad you're all enjoying this recipe. I make them often too.
blim8183 11 months ago: Made these today and they were a huge hit with my friends. I will definitely be making these again... often...
merrill 11 months ago: Jennifer, I made these for dinner with my family while we were all up in Maine last week. We ate them out on the deck with fried corn and a green salad, and everyone raved.
KelseyTheNaptimeChef about 1 year ago: These look delicious Jennifer. I can't wait to try this, you just inspired me to buy some ribs this weekend.
Darryl_P about 1 year ago: Your process, rub, and glaze are very similar to my tried-and-true rib technique that NEVER fails to please everyone (well, except for that one time I forgot them under the broiler!). I'm going to try your variation of rub next time.
Jennifer Perillo about 1 year ago: Hope you liked the ribs Kelsey. Darryl, I'd love to know your rub variation.

Seriously Delicious Ribs

Amanda & Merrill's Notes:

Serves 4-6

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