Thursday, June 9, 2011

I've Missed You, Dorie

I was very much looking forward to tonight's Cola and Jam Spareribs (pg 280) French Fridays With Dorie selection, though I was a little worried about selling Matt on them, because he's rightfully proud of his ribs. I don't know what's in his dry rub, but it's deliiiiicious.

I do know that Chinese Five Spice Powder is definitely not in Matt's dry rub. Dorie's recipe says to rub this spice and ginger powder into the ribs, and then rub an apricot jam and orange juice mixture on. Slow cook it, basting periodically. In the last half hour, pour Coke (or in my case, Pepsi, b/c I couldn't find a Coke in the store. What's up with that?) into the pan, and baste every five minutes.

The ribs looked gloriously browned and candied. They tasted good--the spices definitely stood up to the jam and Coke--but they looked better. It wasn't as sweet as I expected it to be. It reminded me of what you get when you order a ribs appetizer from a Chinese restaurant. I can't help but feel that something is lost when ribs are cooked in the oven instead of outside on the grill.
Conclusion: Liked it, but given the choice, I'd pick Matt's sweet/hot/savory dry rub over this recipe.

9 comments:

  1. Good for you for trying a different version of ribs. They look tasty!

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  2. Your ribs look really good! I agree with that ribs belong on the grill or in a smoker. :) But, I still loved this recipe.

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  3. Your ribs look good and I agree it was a fun recipe to try, we liked it too;-)

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  4. Great to see you've bounced back to our regularly programmed FFwD schedule. I agree that ribs cooked outdoors take a whole new flavor.

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  5. It's wonderful that you have a husband that makes deliiicious ribs! :) Your ribs have a good colour. I think I didn't do something right with mine. :)

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  6. Corpus Christi, huh? I bet you have access to some pretty good BBQ on a regular basis.
    I just got back (literally - as in a few hours ago) from a week in Freeport/ Texas City/ Houston. And you are having some hot weather, girl! So kudos to you for even turning on your oven.

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  7. We're not ribs people generally, but we loved these. I bet you could translate this recipe to the grill, but if you already have your favourite, why not stick to it?

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  8. We have a favorite rub / recipe too, but liked these as a change. Yours look great!

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  9. I enjoyed the recipe. You are right about the Chinese restaurant vibe though. Not being a fan of 'regular' bbq sauce though I enjoyed it.

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