To rib or not to rib....

My father was a fan of food from the States because he stayed there for quite sometime. One of the food he cooked for us was roasted ribs. He used to cook ribs in the gas oven for an hour or so making the meat literally fall off the bone. After which, the deed was relegated to me since he was diabetic and pescetarian (one whose diet includes fish and seafood but no other meat - according to Merriam-Webster), he cooked meat without tasting the dish.

We used to marinate the ribs in a concoction of soy sauce and other stuff. and afterwards used it to baste the ribs while cooking. I tried to experiment with dried herbs I bought from the supermarket. We have been doing that since I can remember. Now, I read in books that meat can also be rubbed with herbs and spices, thus the term "dry rub or spice rub". The simplest way there is to just put ground pepper on the meat and voila! Steak au poivre or what is commonly known here as steak ala pobre! Thinking about it, I have so many things coming into my mind on what to put on meat to make it savory when roasted or grilled. I was in my high school when I was thinking about this.

Fast forward through time and when the LPG started to get a lot expensive, I stopped cooking in the oven altogether, even the electric oven. It was a rule in the house that the gas oven is for roasting, etc, and the electric oven is for baking only.

There were times when I crave for ribs and going to Racks is not an option. So, I came up with ways on how to make roasted/grilled ribs without using the oven. The recipe below can also be used in the oven but the cooking over the stove should be omitted.

Before

After

Ingredients:

Rack of pork ribs (1 kl will feed 4-5 people, depending on how hungry the people are)

Marinate:

1/2 cup dark soy sauce (3/4 cup soy sauce)

1/2 cup catsup

1/4 cup worcestershire sauce

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup lime soda

1/4 cup apple cider (if you want a little tang)

Ground pepper (enough to cover the ribs sparingly)

Thyme, rosemary or other herbs you want to put

Mix the soy sauce, catsup, brown sugar, lime soda and apple cider. Marinade the ribs and sprinkle the ground pepper and herbs on the ribs. Marinade at least six hours. Put in the refrigerator if will be cooked within the day or fut in the freezer if will be cooked the next day.

Method 1:

Put the ribs in a pot. Put enough water to cover the ribs. Boil the ribs for 30-45 mins or until a little tender. Take the ribs and grill over hot charcoal just to caramelize and brown surface of ribs. Reduce volume of marinade until slightly thick consistency. This will serve as basting and sauce for the ribs.

Serve immediately.

Method 2:

Put the ribs in a preheated oven. Roast the ribs in 350 degrees Celsius for 30 mins or until crust develops in the ribs. Reduce the heat to 150 degrees Celsius and cook the ribs for 1-2 hours or until the ribs are starting to fall off. Baste the ribs occasionally with the marinade.

Reduce volume of the marinade. This will serve as sauce for the ribs.

Serve, serve, serve!