Sticky Cider Spare Ribs
Course:
Dinner
Cuisine:
American
Seasonal Event:
Fall
Yield:
4-6 Servings
Time:
3 Hours
INGREDIENTS:
- 2, 3-pound racks spare ribs
- 1 - 1 ½ cups water
RUB:
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- ½ tablespoon mustard powder
- ½ tablespoon coriander
- ½ tablespoon toasted, ground fennel seed
SAUCE:
- 2-3 tablespoons sesame oil
- 1 medium shallot, minced
- ¼ teaspoon red chili flakes
- ⅔ cup apple cider syrup (recipe below)
- ½ cup soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 Serrano chili, shaved into thin coins
- Salt and pepper to taste
CIDER SYRUP:
- 1-gallon apple juice
FALL SLAW DRESSING:
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- Honey, to taste (~½ teaspoon)
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 large shallot, minced (~65g)
- 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh tarragon leaves
FALL SLAW SALAD:
- 1 large fennel bulb, shaved on mandolin (~225g)
- 3 stalks celery, thinly sliced (~125g)
- ½ large golden beet, shaved into thin strips (~125g)
- 1 large granny smith apple, small dice (~200g)
- ¼ cup packed celery leaves
- ¾ cup toasted walnut pieces
- Fennel fronds, to garnish
DIRECTIONS:
- Heat oven to 350˚F.
- Mix ingredients for rub in small bowl.
- Cut racks of ribs in half, creating 4 half-racks.
- Press spice rub into racks on all sides (edges and tips of ribs too), place racks in roasting pan.
- Pour water around racks, then tightly seal pan with foil over top.
- Roast ribs for 1 ½ - 2 hours, until meat is fork tender and bones are exposed.
- While ribs cook, prepare sauce. Heat oil in saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots and sauté 2-3 minutes, until fragrant and tender. Add red chili flake, sauté 1-2 minutes more.
- Add cider syrup, soy sauce, and vinegar to pan, whisk to combine.
- Add shaved serrano to sauce.
- Cook sauce over medium heat until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Cover saucepan set aside.
- When ribs are tender, remove foil and discard. Heat broiler to high
- Brush half the sauce over ribs, coating both sides. Place ribs meat-side-up back in the roasting pan and broil until ribs are sticky and sauce is caramelized in a few places, 4-5 minutes.
- Remove ribs from broiler and brush remaining sauce on top.
- Cut ribs apart, serve.
Cider Syrup:
Yield: ~2 cups
- Boil over medium-high heat until reduced to about 2 or 2 ½ cups, (~3 hours). As the liquid reduces, adjust the temperature down so as not to accidentally turn syrup into jelly.
Fall Slaw:
Yield: 4-6 servings
- To make dressing, whisk together oil, vinegar, and lemon juice. Add splash of honey to taste, season with salt and pepper.
- Whisk shallot and tarragon into dressing, set aside.
- Add all ingredients for salad (except fennel frond garnish) to large bowl. Toss till evenly distributed.
- Drizzle dressing over vegetables, tossing to coat. Season salad with extra salt and pepper if desired.
- Garnish salad with fennel fronds.
Recipe by Dan Kohler, 9/10/20