Grilling Archives - The Midnight Baker

Rib Rub

Judith Hannemann — Tue, 16 Aug 2022 23:00:30 +0000

This versatile rib run works for pork as well as beef.

Versatile Rib Rub

I make a lot of ribs because I enjoy them so much. My guests enjoy them too. Over the years, I’ve done many rubs, but this is my go-to basic recipe for a dry rub.

This dry rib rub will work with pork as well as beef. It’s even good on chicken if you’re adventurous. As this is a basic recipe that’s a good all-around rub, it’s easily tailored to your own individual tastes by using different herbs and spices. For instance, a bit of cayenne with spice it up and an addition of a bit of sage will make the taste more interesting.

Using A Rub

A rub is very similar to a marinade. As with marinades, it has to sit for a while in the fridge. The length of time varies but the longer you let it sit, the better the flavor will be. But unlike marinades, your meat will not get tough if it sits too long.

When applying a rub, you really have to rub it in with gusto. The reasoning behind this is that a coarse rub with make microscopic tears in the meat that will break down any toughness. Of course it cannot penetrate thick pieces of meat but it will impart flavor that goes deeper than the surface.

I use coarse or kosher salt in my rubs for the reason above.

Tailor It

As I mentioned before, this rub is very basic that will flavor beef or pork nicely.

However, you can tailor it all to your personal taste. While the brown sugar, salt and pepper are the necessary part, if you change the herbs and spices, it will become something different. For example you can add cayenne for some heat or change the thyme for Italian seasoning. The possibilities are endless.

The Recipe

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Rib Rub

Great dry rub for pork ribs

Prep Time5

Cook Time0

Course: Dips/Sauces/Dressings

Cuisine: American

Keyword: all-purpose dry rub, dry rub for ribs

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

1 cup brown sugar
3 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp onion powder
1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp pepper
1 1/2 tsp salt kosher preferred

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Mix all ingredients together and store in an air-tight container

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Jalapeño Popper Stuffed Tenderloin

Judith Hannemann — Sat, 25 Jun 2022 23:00:35 +0000

Toss this jalapeño popper stuffed tenderloin on the grill for your next BBQ. Does it get any better than a bacon wrap?

Jalapeño Popper Stuffed Tenderloin

Tenderloin is one of my favorite pork cuts. The reason for that is that it cooks pretty quickly and can be flavored or stuffed in so many ways. In other words, it’s different each way you make it so you never get bored! This jalapeño popper stuffed tenderloin is just one of those ways.

Lucky for me, tenderloins have been on sale quite a bit in my area. I definitely take advantage of that. And nothing complements a pork loin like a zippy jalapeño popper stuffing. It’s wrapped in bacon too so what’s not to love about this?

Grill Smoker Or Oven

That choice is pretty much up to you–and the weather, of course.

Since I love my outdoor grills so much, my method of choice for this (and any tenderloin) is indirect grilling. To do this, you cook the meat on the unlit side of a gas grill. On a charcoal grill, you bank the coals to one side and cook the meat on the side with no coals underneath. One thing about charcoal grills and indirect cooking is the BBQ must have a lid. A Weber kettle is perfect.

If you have a smoker, that’s a perfect way to do this tenderloin. I’d recommend apple wood chips as it goes so well with pork.

The oven is probably the quickest way to do this. It should cook in about 45 minutes at 400F/200C.

Prepping The Tenderloin

First you must remove all membrane and silver skin. If left on, it will shrink and change the shape of the meat.

Next, in order to fill it, you have to butterfly the tenderloin. I also try to pound down the thick parts so it all cooks evenly.

I won’t lie here–you’re going to need about 2 pounds of bacon to wrap 2 pieces. The bacon should overlap so there are no bare spots. It’s also best to cook this seam side up so you don’t lose any delicious filling. I didn’t need toothpicks or skewers to keep the bacon in place, but have some handy just in case.

The Recipe

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Jalapeño Popper Stuffed Tenderloin

Three ways to cook

Prep Time25

Cook Time3

Course: Main, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: jalapeño popper stuffed pork, pork tenderloin cooked on the grill, stuffed pork tenderloin

Servings: 8

Calories: 1005kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

2 pork tenderloins
24 oz bacon approximately

Filling:

8 oz cream cheese softened
4 jalapeños cored, seeded and
2 tbs onion finely minced
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tbs chili powder

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Remove membrane and any fat off the tenderloins.
Butterfly the tenderloins (there are great YouTube videos on butterflying); set aside.
Mix all the filling ingredients in a small bowl. Divide the filling equally down the center of each butterflied tenderloin.
Fold the ends of the tenderloin over the filling and wrap tightly with the bacon slices. FYI you may use more or less bacon than I did depending on how large the tenderloins are—mine were pretty big.
This can be cooked 3 ways—oven, indirect grill heat or in a smoker.
For oven: cook in a 400F/200C oven for 45-60 minutes
For indirect grill heat: place the tenderloins on the UNLIT side of a gas grill. Close the lid and cook for 2-3 hours or until the internal temperature is 160F/80C
For the smoker: applewood chips are nice for pork. Smoke at 200F/100C for 3-5 hours. Internal temperature should be the same as for indirect method

Nutrition

The post Jalapeño Popper Stuffed Tenderloin appeared first on The Midnight Baker.

Bourbon Molasses Pork Tenderloin

Judith Hannemann — Sat, 04 Jun 2022 23:00:42 +0000

Fire up the grill for this delicious bourbon molasses pork tenderloin. Make it in the oven too.

Bourbon Molasses Pork Tenderloin–YUM

Have you noticed that pork tenderloins have been on sale a lot lately? They have been in my area and since I love this cut, I stock up big time.

Pork tenderloins are a great choice for when you want “roast” pork but want it quickly. Generally, they take less than an hour when oven roasted so that’s pretty quick. However, here we take the low and slow approach by using indirect heat on an outside grill. Even though this may take twice the time than in a regular oven, this method has many advantages. One of those is that the meat remains juicier.

Indirect Cooking Method

Indirect cooking is outside cooking’s version of slow cooking. A smoker uses the same method but with the addition of wood chips for extra flavor. As an aside, that will work very nicely here too so if you have a smoker, try it. The time will be approximately the same as the indirect method.

You can achieve indirect heat by either charcoal or gas grills. The charcoal grill will require a lid so if all you have is a a topless model, it won’t do here. A Weber kettle is the perfect instrument.

What you do with the charcoal is light it, let it catch so the briquettes are uniformly grey, then pile them up over on one side of the grill. Then place the meat on the side with no briquettes under it. With this method, you have to monitor the heat periodically so I tend to avoid it with longer-cooking pieces of meat. It does, however, produce great flavor.

Using a gas grill is so much simpler because it’s pretty much fuss free. Merely light one side of the grill and cook on the unlit side. No worries with a cover since they all have covers. And there’s little to no monitoring the temperature. This is my preferred method.

Let It Rest

As with all roasts cooked by any method, letting it rest is important. I can’t stress that enough here. Tent with foil and let these babies rest for at least 15 minutes.

You won’t be sorry.

The Recipe

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Bourbon Molasses Pork Tenderloin

Perfect for grilling

Prep Time15

Cook Time2

Marinate8

Course: Main, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: bbq tenderloin, boozy pork marinades, pork tenderloin on the outside grill

Servings: 6

Calories: 282kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

2 lbs pork tenderloin trimmed of membrane

Marinade:

1/4 cup black coffee at room temperature
1/4 cup bourbon
3 tbs molasses
2 tbs balsamic vinegar
2 tbs olive oil
2 tbs fresh thyme chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Mix all marinade ingredients in a small bowl and mix well.
Place the tenderloins in a large plastic freezer bag and pour the marinade over the pork. Put the pork in the fridge and let it marinate for 4 hours, preferably overnight.
Prepare a charcoal or gas grill for indirect cooking. On a gas grill, this means cooking on the UNLIT side. On a charcoal grill it means piling up the charcoal on one side of the grill and cooking over the side with no coals (see photo in post). FYI the charcoal grill must have a cover (like a Weber kettle)
Pour the marinade into a small saucepan and boil for 5 minutes. You're going to baste the tenderloins with this.
Place the tenderloins on the prepared grill, cover and grill for about 2 hours or until internal temperature is at least 145F/70C. The ideal temperature is 160F/80C.
Move the tenderloins to the lit side of the grill to sear--about 5 minutes.
You can do this in a regular oven, but roast at 400F/200C for about 40 minutes.

Nutrition

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Instant Pot Make-Ahead Ribs

Judith Hannemann — Sat, 21 May 2022 23:00:07 +0000

With Instant Pot make-ahead ribs, you prep them now and finish them off later.

Instant Pot Make-Ahead Ribs

With Memorial Day and Independence Day holidays coming up, your Instant Pot will certainly be a boon. Since it will keep your kitchen relatively cool it will be a go-to appliance for the warmer months. It can also help with meal prep. Especially meats that need to be cooked then finished off on the grill.

This is one of those recipes. You prep, then cook these ribs. Then you keep them and the juices refrigerated until you’re ready to finish cooking them.

Exotic Flavors

The rub for these Instant Pot make-ahead ribs has an exotic and wonderful flavor. These flavors remind me of Moroccan cooking. Not sure if that’s entirely accurate but with the addition of cinnamon used for something savory, it’s reminiscent of those flavors. The taste of cinnamon is not strong; just a whisper but it’s ever so nice.

Another flavor comes from cumin. Straight up I’ll tell you it’s not one of my favorite flavors. However, how it blends with everything else it worked very well. I actually liked it very much. In this rub, you use crushed cumin seeds. I couldn’t find those in my local store but I was able to order it from Walmart and not at an inflated price either.

Most of the other ingredients I’m sure you already have like whole peppercorns, red pepper flakes and of course the cinnamon.

The Sauce

The basting sauce is what pulls this all together. The slightly tart essence from the vinegar is just the thing for this. So is the bit of garlic.

Because you make this ahead and refrigerate the juices, the congealed fat is easy to remove.

Now all you have to do is grill them and baste!

The Recipe

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Instant Pot Make-Ahead Ribs

Prep the ribs now to finish later

Prep Time20

Cook Time9

Course: Appetizer, Main, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: instant pot ribs, party food you can make ahead, ribs with moroccan seasoning

Servings: 6

Calories: 463kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

4 lbs pork baby back ribs
1/4 cup dry white wine
Oil

Rub:

1 tbs black peppercorns
1 tbs cumin seeds
1 tsp red pepper flakes
2 tbs brown sugar
1 tbs kosher salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Sauce:

2 tbs red or white wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic crushed
1/4 cup chopped parsley

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Crush peppercorns, cumin seeds and pepper flakes in a mortar & pestle. Place this in a small bowl then add the remaining rub ingredients.
Season the ribs on both sides with the rub.
Place the 1/4 cup of white wine into the Instant Pot and arrange the ribs around the side of the bowl--making a ring shape against the wall of the inner pot. Set the cooker to manual (high pressure) and set the timer for 9 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes then manually release the pressure. Remove the ribs to a baking sheet to cool.
Now set the cooker to the saute function for 10 minutes to reduce the juices in the pot. Strain this through a fine mesh strainer. There should be about 3/4 cup of juices. Let it cool then chill (this will congeal any fat for easy removal).
Prepare a gas or charcoal grill for medium-high heat (you can use an indoor broiler too).
Remove the congealed fat from the chilled juices and place in a small saucepan. Add the sauce ingredients and heat over medium heat until this mixture is reduced by half.
Lightly oil the ribs then place on the grill meaty side down until lightly browned. Turn ribs and baste with the sauce. Repeat this turning and basting until the ribs are lightly charred on both sides; about 5-10 minutes total.
Remove to a cutting board and cut into individual ribs. Drizzle the ribs with any remaining sauce.

Nutrition

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Raspberry Chipotle Ribs

Judith Hannemann — Sat, 24 Jul 2021 23:00:43 +0000

Make a big batch of these raspberry chipotle ribs because they’ll disappear quickly!

Raspberry And Smoky Chipotle

Those flavors are about as close as you can get to a marriage made in heaven and that’s a good way to describe these raspberry chipotle ribs. The sweet-tart taste of raspberry preserves and the smokey slight heat from the chipotles combine so well that even people who avoid anything “hot” seem to love the flavor. I actually got this idea from my neighbor. She’s one of those people that run away from any heat in food. Yet, she told me the one thing she’s sad that she can’t get when a local market closed was their own chipotle raspberry bbq sauce!

She said they used it on beef but I wanted to try this with pork. The sauce is so easy to make, so you just may find yourself making it often!

How Many Peppers

That would be up to you and your personal tastes.

The sauce uses the canned chipotles in adobo. If you want it really zippy, then use the entire can, sauce and all. I’m talking about the smaller can here. However I would really advise against using so many chipotles because the smoky heat would definitely overpower the raspberry flavor.

I used two peppers. This for me was the perfect amount because I got smoke, a slight amount of heat and the raspberry flavor really came through. Since there’s nothing in the sauce that would cause you to get sick eating it raw, start with my amount of peppers then taste it. You can always add more and process it further.

If you don’t use the entire can, they can be stored in the fridge for a future use like this smoky two potato salad.

Now About The Ribs

If you want to cook them on the outside grill low and slow over indirect heat, that works here.

If you’re a crockpot fan, that works too.

The Instant Pot was my choice because it’s quick. Any method will do because all you do on the grill is finish them off over direct high heat.

Remember to really pile on the sauce when you finish them off. Baste and turn often because the more of that great sauce flavor is totally awesome.

The Recipe

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Raspberry Chipotle Ribs

These will be devoured quickly!

Prep Time10

Cook Time15

Finishing On Grill10

Course: Appetizers, Main, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: grilled chipotle raspberry pork ribs, making ribs in the instant pot, raspberry chipotle sauce

Servings: 6

Calories: 1104kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

8 lbs pork baby back ribs about 2 racks

BBQ Sauce:

1 cup thick BBQ sauce like Sweet Baby Ray's
1 cup raspberry preserves
1 small onion chopped
2 chipotle peppers packed in adobo

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Place sauce ingredients in a blender or food processor and process until smooth; set aside.
Cook ribs your favorite way--leaving rack(s) whole. I used my Instant Pot and cooked at high pressure for 15 minutes, releasing the pressure immediately.
Heat your outside grill to high heat for direct cooking. When grill is heated, slather the ribs in the prepared sauce and grill each side until the sauce is bubbling and beginning to get brown. You can baste with the sauce several times while finishing them off for more flavor.
If a grill isn't an option, pop them under a broiler, basting frequently, until they are bubbly.

Nutrition

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Copycat Brooks BBQ Chicken

Judith Hannemann — Tue, 20 Jul 2021 23:00:43 +0000

Brooks BBQ chicken is an upstate New York favorite. Here’s a copycat that happens to be genuine too.

An Upstate New York Favorite

If you’ve ever gone to a fundraiser or local fair in upstate New York, you’re sure to have enjoyed Brooks BBQ chicken. This chicken is a beloved favorite in the northern parts of the state.

The reason is simple–it’s got great flavor! There’s nothing really special about the ingredients since you probably have everything you need right in your pantry. In fact, I think you’ll find this quite surprising.

The Brooks people didn’t invent this way of doing chicken. As a matter of fact, the recipe existed for quite some time and there’s a bit of history attached to it.

Cornell Chicken

While this chicken has come to be known as “Brooks” chicken, the recipe is quite old and was known simply as “Cornell chicken.”

The reason for that is the formula was invented by a professor at Cornell University. Cornell is the land-grant college in New York state and land-grant colleges deal with farming and agriculture.

Years ago when younger chickens were being marketed, the major complaint was they had no taste and were rubbery. Long story short, the professor came up with this marinade to make younger chickens taste better and have a better texture.

Just an aside–even though I used my gas grill, this tastes way better done with charcoal.

Simple Marinade

The marinade is the simplest thing to make.

My advice is to use your covered blender to make it. I thought my immersion blender would be perfect, but nope. I was glad it didn’t make TOO much mess before I switched to a standard blender.

A couple of changes I made to the original was I cut the salt down to half because I’m really not into salty stuff anymore. However, I give the original amount in the recipe but I’ll remind you there of what I did.

I also used half olive oil, because I’m a lover of the stuff. As for the egg, you can probably safely omit this. Frankly I don’t see the point even though I used it. Therefore, using it is up to you.

The Recipe

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Copycat Brooks BBQ Chicken

A New York favorite

Prep Time10

Cook Time45

Marinate8

Course: Main, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: bbq chicken without sugar, brooks bbq chicken, cornell chicken, fundraiser bbq chicken

Servings: 4

Calories: 484kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

4 lb whole chicken cut in half

Marinade:

2 cups apple cider vinegar
1 cup vegetable oil I used 1/2 olive oil & 1/2 vegetable oil
1 tbs poultry seasoning
3 tbs salt I used 1/2 the amount
1/2 tsp pepper
1 egg

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Place all marinade ingredients in a blender and process until smooth. Reserve about 1/2 cup for basting.
Place the chicken halves in a large zippered freezer bag and pour the marinade over them. Seal the bag and place in the refrigerator at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
Preheat your gas grill (or covered charcoal grill) to medium-high heat. Initially, you will brown the chicken over direct heat and finish the cooking over indirect heat. On a gas grill, this means moving the chicken to the UNLIT side of the grill then putting the cover down. On a charcoal grill this means that you move the coals to the periphery of the grill and place the chicken in the center where there's no coals under it, then placing the cover on the grill.
Remove chicken from marinade and pat dry on paper towels. Discard used marinade.
Cook the chicken, skin side down, over direct heat for about 5 minutes or until browning starts. Turn chicken and move it to the unlit side of the grill. Cover and cook for about 45 minutes, turning every so often and basting with reserved marinade, until juices run clear or registers 165F/75C on an instant-read thermometer.
Tent with foil and let the chicken rest for 10 minutes.

Nutrition

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Honey Tamarind Ribs

Judith Hannemann — Tue, 29 Jun 2021 23:00:46 +0000

Honey tamarind ribs are quite possibly the best ribs you’ll ever taste.

Dollar Store Find

Sometimes you find the greatest things in a dollar store. My local store is one of the best I’ve ever been in.

On the last trip they had a whole bunch of cookbooks in their seasonal aisle. I bought one of each–can you go wrong for a buck? Anyway there were some awesome-looking recipes in a couple of the books that I decided to try. This particular honey tamarind rib recipe was very appealing since I just love ribs.

However, it needed an ingredient that I wasn’t familiar with–tamarind. So I Googled it and learned what it was. I’m sure I’ve had dishes that included it as I’m a huge fan of Asian cooking (where Google said the prominent cuisine where it is used), but I never cooked with it.

I was pretty sure I’d never find it around where I live, I purchased a small jar from Amazon.

Tamarind

It’s hard to describe the taste. It’s sweet/tart in flavor and a friend said it tastes like you put a bit of vinegar on a date. That’s pretty accurate when I think about it. I understand there are different forms such as paste and pulp. What I got was the paste and it looks and has the consistency of molasses. This paste requires no soaking or sieving so I consider that the easiest form because there’s less prep work.

There are substitutions for tamarind, but even the recipes for them tell you that they’re woefully inadequate because you’ll be missing the lovely flavor. Therefore, I urge everyone to get the real product.

Grilling Method

When making ribs–or anything that requires a longer cook time–the indirect heat method is almost always used. This is especially true if you are cooking the ribs from raw. This means you just place the food over the unlit side with a gas grill. With a charcoal set up, you place the briquettes in a ring around the periphery of the grill and place the meat in the center where there’s no briquettes. Of course either method requires that you have a lid for the grill. Popular though they are now, a Blackstone just won’t cut it with this cooking method.

Anything you grill with indirect heat is also great in a conventional oven. These ribs are no exception. Go with an oven temp of 325F/160C and you’ll be all set.

The Recipe

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Honey Tamarind Ribs

Finger licking' good ribs

Prep Time15

Cook Time1 45

Course: Main, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: recipes using tamarind, rib recipes for BBQ, tamarind honey pork ribs

Servings: 4

Calories: 632kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

3 lb pork baby back ribs
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Glaze:

1/2 cup water
1 tbs tamarind paste
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tsp fresh ginger grated
2 cloves garlic finely minced or pressed
1/2 tsp chili paste

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Remove membrane covering the bones of the ribs. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Prepare grill for indirect cooking. For a gas grill, this means cooking over the unlit burner. See post for charcoal directions. If your grill has a thermometer, you want to the heat to be medium--abbout 325-350F/160-180C.
Place ribs meat side down over unlit section. Close the lid and cook for 1 hour, turning ribs midway through cooking.
Meanwhile, combine the glaze ingredients in a saucepan and heat to boiling, stirring to combine. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10-15 minutes or until the glaze has a syrupy consistency.
Brush ribs with the glaze, continuing to cook for an additional 45 minutes, turning and basting both sides of the ribs throughout the final cook time. I basted them every 10 minutes.
Remove from the grill, tent with foil and let the ribs rest 10 minutes. Baste with remaining glaze just before serving.

Nutrition

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Roasted Red Pepper Relish

Judith Hannemann — Tue, 01 Jun 2021 23:00:17 +0000

Roasted red pepper relish is great on…everything! Make up a batch and see why.

Grilling Season Is Here

Yep, the grilling season has arrived! This makes grilling veggies all the more convenient–and tastier.

But even when outdoor grilling isn’t in season, this roasted red pepper relish is easy to make. You can always roast peppers in your oven when you can’t cook outdoors. Since it will be a big hit, you’ll want to make it year round.

It’s ridiculously easy to make and comes together in a flash. It lends itself to many different foods and it’s quite versatile. You can even eat it by itself! Yes, it’s that good!

Roasting The Peppers

Roasting peppers is a rather easy affair no matter which way you do it.

In order to prepare them, what I do is slice them in half and take out the seeds and the white filaments. This way, I don’t have to deal with it after they’re cooked. However, that’s a personal preference and not an absolute requirement.

You can also roast them whole, but bear in mind, the process will take a bit longer. Regardless, it produces the same results.

If you want to do them on your BBQ grill, just coat them with a bit of oil–and that’s optional–and place them on the grill over a medium heat making sure to turn them so they’re evenly seared.

In the oven, do the same as the grill in a 400F/200C oven. If you’ve got a convection setting on your oven, that’s perfect for this task. Of course an air fryer is also excellent.

If you want to easily peel the skin, again optional, all you have to do is cool them slightly and put them in a plastic bag then seal it. Once the peppers are cooled completely, the skin will just slip off.

If You Like Some Heat

For those who would like a bit of zip in this relish, then by all means substitute part of the sweet bell pepper for something with a bit of sass. My choice is my beloved jalapeño, but use whatever you like.

You can also do the whole recipe with hot peppers if your taste tends toward that. So why not make it both ways–one for the heat lovers and one for the non lovers.

The Recipe

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Roasted Red Pepper Relish

Great on...everything!

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: relish recipes, roasted pepper relish recipe

Servings: 4

Calories: 96kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

2 medium onion roughly diced
1 1/2 cups roasted red bell peppers
2 cloves garlic finely minced
1 tbs fresh parsley chopped
2 tbs olive oil

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

To roast the peppers--cut them in half and remove seeds and filaments. Toss with a light coating of olive oil. If doing on the outside grill, roast over medium-high heat, skin side down, until the skin begins to blister and the skin begins to scorch. Remove and cool completely. In the oven, place skin side up and roast at 400F/200C for about 10 minutes or until skin blisters and begins to scorch. Air fryer--same as conventional oven. When cool, roughly dice.
Heat the 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until caramelized; about 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl (oil and all) then add remaining ingredients.
Serve warm or cold.

Notes

Store-bought roasted red peppers may be substituted for your homemade.

Nutrition

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Cointreau Ribs

Judith Hannemann — Sat, 29 May 2021 23:00:44 +0000

Kick off the summer grilling season with these Cointreau ribs.

Ribs: Great For The Grill

Memorial Day (or Spring Bank Holiday if you’re in UK) is the traditional kick-off to summer. Even though summer really begins mid June, this weekend is all about outdoor cooking.

I just love cookouts and always have so I look forward to this weekend. And most of all, I look forward to my first rack of ribs done on the grill. I think they’re my favorite thing to eat. Since they taste way better done on the BBQ, I’m all set to go. One thing I really like is citrus with pork. These Cointreau ribs certainly satisfy with a hint of orange in the glaze.

The Liqueur

Cointreau is an orange-flavored liqueur for those who’ve never heard of the stuff. By itself, it’s a pleasant after-dinner drink, but it’s also useful for when you want to impart a deeply orange accent to anything.

Since the brand name is quite expensive–my local liquor store owner said that it has “attitude.” I assume that he meant that it was overpriced because if you could apply the sarcasm font to speech, that’s how it was said. As I’m known to be economical, he suggested a lesser-known brand which was quite in line with what I wanted to spend. I had lots of it left over after I made this great chocolate mousse cake and I wanted to use some.

Even though I rarely drink, I like the taste alcohol imparts to food and I also like orange with pork so I decided to experiment with ribs. The dry rub contains orange zest and the glaze has the orange liqueur and orange juice.

If you want to go non-alcoholic in this, substitute frozen orange juice concentrate for the liqueur.

Cooking Method

The preferred way to cook these ribs is over indirect grill heat, but they can also be done in a conventional oven. You could do them in the air fryer if you have a fryer large enough to accommodate a full or two half racks of ribs. If you want to go slow cooker or Instant Pot, you have to keep a very careful eye on them because these ribs are best when they are not falling off the bone.

When you finish them up with the glaze, just move the ribs to the lit side of the grill or pop them under the broiler if you used the oven. The air fryer is also great for finishing them off but keep a sharp eye because it’s so quick that the glaze will burn easily.

The Recipe

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Cointreau Ribs

Great for summer BBQs or any time.

Prep Time17

Cook Time1 30

Marinating Time8

Total Time9 47

Course: Appetizer, Main, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cooking with cointreau, July 4 BBQ, Memorial Day cookouts, orange dry rub, ribs for grilling

Servings: 4

Calories: 519kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

2 lbs pork baby back ribs

Dry Rub:

1/4 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tbs smoked paprika
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
1 tsp dehydrated orange zest
Pinch of cayenne

Orange BBQ Sauce:

1/2 cup ketchup
2 tbs cider vinegar
2 tbs molasses
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup orange liqueur
1 tsp orange zest
1 tbs balsamic vinegar
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp honey

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Mix dry rub ingredients in a small bowl; set aside.
Prepare ribs by removing the membrane covering the bones. Pat ribs dry and cover them with the dry rub. Place on a tray then refrigerate, uncovered, overnight.
Place BBQ sauce ingredients in a small saucepan and stir well. Heat over medium-low heat until mixture boils. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20-25 minutes until sauce is reduced to a ketchup consistency. Remove from heat and set aside.
To prepare on the grill--wrap ribs in heavy-duty foil. Heat the grill to medium-high heat on one side. Place ribs on UNLIT side and cook for 90 minutes.
To prepare in conventional oven--wrap ribs in foil as above and cook in a preheated 350F/180C oven for 90 minutes.
To finish with sauce--remove the ribs from the foil, brush generously with the sauce and cook over direct heat until sauce caramelizes; about 5 minutes each side. If you cooked them in the oven, place under the broiler until the sauce caramelizes.

Notes

For EU/UK--poultry seasoning is a blend of sage and thyme primarily. Equal portions of each is a good substitute or you could use all thyme or all sage to your taste.

Nutrition

The post Cointreau Ribs appeared first on The Midnight Baker.

Hong Kong Ribs

Judith Hannemann — Sat, 22 May 2021 23:00:58 +0000

Hong Kong ribs are great done outdoors but are just as good all year round.

Hong Kong Ribs: A Real Treat

These Hong Kong-style ribs are a real treat for anyone who eats them. These ribs are so good I guess you think they’re hard to make. Nope, they’re very easy. The hardest part is waiting for them to finish marinating.

I bet you have most of the ingredients on hand too. The only thing you may have to buy is five spice powder and hoisin sauce. And the hoisin sauce is a great investment because you can use it in so many things such as Hoisin Pot Roast.

Long Marinating Equals Great Taste

Most recipes call for marinating anything (with the exception of shellfish) from 4-12 hours.

Personally, I’ve never tasted anything marinated for the minimum time that tastes really good. It always seems to lack a full flavor. The only exception I’ve experienced is when I’ve used my vacuum sealer’s marinating pan. However, that device is so small that it’s not practical for ribs.

These ribs require a long marinating time to develop their great flavor. Overnight is the minimum time for them to develop the flavor. Marinating for 12 hours is even better.

Cooking Methods

The ribs finish off the same way regardless of the initial cooking method.

Leave the ribs in slabs. Don’t cut them into individual ribs until they’ve finished cooking. They are much easier to handle that way.

Now you can do the initial cooking in a slow cooker, Instant Pot, oven or by indirect heat over an outside grill.

When it comes to the slow cooker, I’m giving an approximate time because all slow cookers cook differently. The approximate time I give won’t produce “fall-off-the-bone” texture either.

For the Instant Pot, that time will result in fully cooked ribs but they will still have body–again not “fall-off-the-bone.”

Bear in mind that for the above methods, the times are approximate. You can, of course, cook them longer, but if they’re overcooked, they can’t be saved.

Individual tastes vary for this kind of stuff so cook them the way you want them. But keep in mind they will be difficult to finish off either on the grill or under the broiler if they’re falling apart.

The Recipe

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Hong Kong Ribs

Easy and succulent ribs Hong Kong Style

Prep Time15

Cook Time1 30

Marinate12

Total Time13 45

Course: Appetizer, Main, Main Course

Cuisine: Asian

Keyword: restaurant style pork ribs, ribs for cookouts, tailgating recipes for ribs

Servings: 4

Calories: 1101kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

5 lbs pork baby back ribs about 2 racks

Marinade:

1/2 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup ketchup
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup Chinese wine or dry sherry
2 tbs hoisin sauce
1/2 tsp red food coloring Optional
pinch Chinese five-spice powder

Glaze:

1/4 cup honey
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp hoisin sauce

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Mix all marinade ingredients in a small bowl, combining well.
Place ribs (you may cut racks in half if you don't have huge bags, but don't cut into individual ribs--you do that after the final cooking) in a large zipper freezer bag and pour in marinade. Seal bag and turn a few times to coat the ribs. Place bag(s) in the refrigerator overnight.
Remove ribs from the bag and drain well. For slow cooker and Instant Pot cook methods, reserve the marinade.
Ribs may be cooked in several ways. Slow cooker--add a cup of marinade to the crock along with the ribs and cook on low for approximately 5-6 hours. For Instant Pot, place the ribs in the pot along with a cup of marinade then cook on high pressure for 12 minutes. Release pressure immediately. For the oven, place ribs on rack and bake at 350F/180C for 90 minutes. For indirect grilling, place ribs on the unlit side of the grill and roast for 2 hours.
To finish--mix glaze ingredients and brush over the rib racks. Grill over direct heat until glaze is bubbling. If doing indoors, place ribs under the broiler and broil until the glaze bubbles.

Notes

Cooking time calculated for oven cooking method

Nutrition

The post Hong Kong Ribs appeared first on The Midnight Baker.