Ahhh Memorial Day…the unofficial start to the Summer (or what we call in DC “Months of Sweating and Puffy Hair”). Lest we forget, it’s also a day off to reflect upon the sacrifices made by the men and women in the military (one of which is my Mother). And what better way to salute the troops than to throw a slab of hearty meat onto some hot coals. I haven’t yet gotten around to getting a grill for my new balcony, so I had to make do with an oven and a makeshift grill pan. Although I wouldn’t call these finger lickin’ good ribs “making do”…not by a long shot.
Considering the fact that we’ve spent the better part of a month’s worth of weekends running endless errands, The Boy and I decided to take it easy this Memorial Day. So instead of having a bunch of people over for a barbecue, we decided to do our own little low key ‘cue. I picked up some spareribs at the 14th & U farmers market on Saturday from Truck Patch Farms (did I mention there are TWO farmers markets in my new ‘hood…I am a happy, happy camper) with the intent to make one of my favorite hoisin sauce based barbecue recipes. But after hunting through my cookbooks and the Internet for hours, I came up empty. I was more than a little pissed, especially considering how easy I recall the recipe being. Since I didn’t have a recipe to fall back on, I decided instead to just improvise. A little ketchup here, a little brown sugar there…no hoisin sauce? No problem…I can use Shoyu (a variant of soy sauce using soya beans and wheat) instead. In all, the sauce I made only used four ingredients, but the sauce created was a perfect compliment to the ribs. The sweetness of the dark brown sugar cut the sometimes bitter taste of natural Shoyu, while the sherry vinegar I threw in added a nice bite. The ribs came out sticky, smoky and just plain fuckin’ awesome. If I do say so myself…
Asian Inspired Barbecue Spareribs
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup Shoyu soy sauce (or any natural soy sauce)
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup sherry vinegar
2 to 3 pounds pork spareribs
In a small bowl, combine the ketchup, Shoyu, sherry vinegar and brown sugar. Whisk until the sugar is dissolved and evenly pour the marinade into 3 large Ziploc bags (or one bag for each rack of spareribs). Add a rack to each bag, remove the air from the bag and zip it up. Shake the bag, coating the ribs with the marinade. Place in the refrigerator and allow to marinate for at least 3 hours (I let them marinate for six hours).
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place a roasting rack in a large roasting pan, preferably a rack that fits snugly in the roasting pan. Remove the ribs from the Ziploc bags and pour all of the marinade into a saucepan. Bring the marinade to a boil over medium high heat, stirring the sauce constantly. Remove the sauce from the heat and allow to cool. Set a kitchen time for 1 hour and 45 minutes. Place the ribs curve side up on the roasting pan and put them in the oven. Set a different timer for 20 minutes. When the 20 minute timer goes off, baste the ribs with the sauce using a pastry brush. Close back the oven door and set the second kitchen timer again for 20 minutes. Baste the ribs again and continue this process until only 10 minutes remain on the 1 hour and 45 minute kitchen timer. The glaze will be a rich red, with some darkened spots, and sticky.
I served these ribs with lovely 9 grain mini rolls I got from Panorama bakery at the farmers market and the classic Fannie Farmer macaroni and cheese (more on that later). Say hello to Summer folks!
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Gotta try this!!