Here’s a recipe that would be great for your 4th of July festivities. A dry rub that you can make ahead and smother some ribs in and let them hang out in the fridge for a day or two before you slow cook them, then grill them off to perfection. The rub has just a few simple, savory spices, and there’s also a glaze of sweet, sticky, spicy sauce.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup ancho chile powder
- 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
- 1 rack baby back ribs
- 1 jalapeño, seeded and thinly sliced
- 4 garlic cloves, smashed
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1 pound fresh pineapple rings, sliced about 1/2 inch thick
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1/4 cup finely diced red onion
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
Directions
- In a small bowl, combine the chili powder with 1/4 cup of cumin, 2 tablespoons of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper
- Set the ribs in a cooking dish, rub all over with spice mixture, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate
- When you’re ready to cook them: preheat the oven to 350
- Add a small bit of water to the bottom of the cooking dish and bake the ribs for 45 minutes, until just tender
- Cover with foil and bake another 30 minutes
- Meanwhile, puree 1/2 of the jalapeño with the garlic and 1/2 cup of lime juice, add in the honey and the remaining 1 tablespoon of cumin
- Pour the glaze mixture into a saucepan and simmer over low heat until thickened, about 15 minutes
- When the ribs have cooked to tender, raise the oven temperature to 450 or light your grill
- Brush the ribs with half of the glaze and bake or grill for about 20 minutes
- Brush with the remaining glaze for a sticky finish
- Grill the pineapple rings over high heat, turning once, about 5 minutes (or pan fry them in a cast iron skillet over a high heat for 2-3 minutes) and set aside to cool
- Dice the pineapple and transfer to a bowl and add the brown sugar, onion, cilantro, and remaining 1/2 jalapeño and 2 tablespoons of lime juice. Season with salt and pepper
We served this with a black and pinto bean salad.
This recipe was inspired by Food and Wine.