ALL YEAR ROUND BBQ!
BBQ expert Richard Holden shares his melt in the mouth BBQ pork ribs recipe – which wouldn’t look out of place on a Christmas banquet
BBQ Pork Ribs
Ingredients
4 racks of pork ribs
BBQ spice rub
BBQ sauce
Specialist kit
Hickory wood chips
Tin foil
Baking parchment
Method:
1. Setup the BBQ for 120–140˚C indirect heat and preheat with the lid on.
2. Place a few handfuls of hickory wood chips in a bowl and cover with tap water. Leave to soak for 20 minutes.
3. Using a blunt table knife and some kitchen paper remove the membrane from the backside of the ribs, sliding the tip of the knife along the centre rib taking care not to puncture the membrane. Once along the full length of the rib, hold the ribs against the chopping board using your left hand and pull the membrane upwards with the right. This should remove it from the length of the ribs.
4. Sprinkle the spice rub on both sides of the racks and leave for five minutes to begin to ‘sweat’ – when moisture from the meat has begun to turn the dry spice to a paste.
5. Stack four racks of ribs and place on the BBQ on indirect heat. Lift the hinged cooking grates and scatter a handful of drained wood chips on both banks of coals. Close the lid, with top and bottom vents open.
6. After 15 minutes, open and rearrange the ribs so the one from the bottom of the stack moves to the top. Close the lid and start the timer for another 15 minutes. Repeat this process till all four racks have been at the top of the stack and add more wood chips as necessary to maintain the smoke.
7. After one hour lay the racks next to each other. Using a basting brush, brush the top of each rack with BBQ sauce before restacking.
8. Lay out a sheet of tin foil and an equal sized sheet of parchment. Transfer the ribs to the parchment and wrap. Place the parchment wrapped ribs on the tin foil and wrap in the foil. Put the package back on the BBQ on indirect heat, close lid and cook for a further two hours.
9. Open the foil and parchment and with BBQ tongs, slide halfway along the length of the top rack. Lift – if the meat falls away from the bone the ribs are cooked. If the meat is still holding onto the rib wrap and continue to cook for another 20-30 minutes.
Why not book onto one of Richard Holden’s hands-on BBQ cooking masterclasses to find out how to cook turkey on a BBQ. In the run up to Christmas there will be themed Friday evening supper clubs where a group of guests will meet like-minded foodies to share a delicious three-course barbecue dinner. Accompanying the supper clubs are a series of hands-on cooking classes that will arm the attendees with the skills they require to enjoy al fresco cooking no matter the weather.
