Peachy Cola Ribs

I can't believe that for the second month in a row, I almost missed a month of the the Improv Cooking Challenge. Last month I had difficulty getting my act together to just get on the computer and blog, and this month, though I'm more "together", the motherboard on my laptop died so I'm all out of sorts without my computer and I'm now blogging from my iPad mini with pictures from my iPhone. As far as cooking for this challenge, well that was done well in advance, so I'm not a total slacker. After 21 consecutive months of participating and posting with the Improv Cooking Challenge I would have hated to miss a month so I'm glad that I got I this post up, a little late but still within the time frame of the challenge.

This month for the Improv Cooking Challenge our hostess Kristen of Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker challenged the participating bloggers to make any recipe of their choosing using the specified ingredients of peaches & herbs! It took me a little while to decide on the direction I wanted to go with the ingredients, sweet or savory and what exactly to make. I did do a bit of back and forth thinking of cobblers and drinks but in the end I decided to make ribs which I would be cook in a spice, herb & cola braising liquid and then slather with a peach & cola BBQ sauce.

The night that I made the ribs we had guests over for dinner and the ribs were a big hit all around. The flavors of the braising liquid really permeated the meat and the BBQ sauce was the perfect accompaniment. Because I braised the ribs I was able to get that part of the cooking done before our guests arrived and then it was a quick finish on the grill with the BBQ sauce right before serving. The ribs were fall off the bone tender and totally delicious! I hope that you'll give this recipe a try

Peachy Cola Ribs

• 1 rack pork ribs, cut into serving portions of 2-3 ribs each
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large onion, diced
• 10 large basil leaves, julienned
• 1 1/2 tsp allspice
• 2 TBS. grated fresh ginger
• 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 can cola
• 1lb. frozen peaches, thawed
• 18 oz. Sweet Baby Ray's Cola-Q BBQ Sauce

In a medium sauce pan stir together the garlic, onion, basil, allspice, ginger, red pepper flakes, bay leaves & cola. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Stir occasionally and simmer until reduced by half.

Place the peaches & BBQ sauce into a blender and process until smooth.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Prepare a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray. Add the reduced braising liquid to the prepared pan and place the ribs curved side up on top of the liquid. Brush the ribs lightly with the peachy BBQ sauce. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil and place into the preheated oven. Cook the ribs for 90 minutes and then check to see if they are fall off the bone tender. Cook an additional 20 minutes if needed. Remove from the oven and pour off fat & braising liquid.

Heat grill to medium high. Brush the BBQ sauce over all surfaces of the ribs. Place the ribs on the hot grill and cook until the BBQ sauce caramelizes, turning the ribs as needed. Serve hot.

Enjoy!

My previous Improv Cooking Challenge entries:

June 2013 Fish & Chips: Salt &Vinegar Crab Cakes
May 2013 Cinnamon & Sugar: Cinnamon Bun Cookie Bars
April 2013 Bacon & Eggs: Mini Bacon & Swiss Quiche Cups
March 2013 Carrots & Peas: Mom’s Beef Vegetable Soup
February 2013 Hearts & Flours: Three Ingredient Fudgy Nutella Brownie Bites
January 2013 Bananas & Nutmeg: Baked Bananas
December 2012 Chocolate & Marshmallows: White Chocolate Marshmallow Cranberry Cashew Bark
November 2012 Sweet Potatoes & honey: Sweet Potato Glass Noodles with Honey Garlic Lime Shrimp
October 2012 Oatmeal & Raisins: S’mores Granola Bars
September 2012 Zucchini & Brown Sugar: Zucchini with Onion & Brown Sugar
August 2012 Tomatoes & Peppers: French Fries Hash Browns
July 2012 Corn & Butter: Fritos Crusted Pollock
June 2012 Cherries & Almonds: Dried Cherry Almond Tart
May 2012 Strawberries & Cream: Strawberry Soup
April 2012 Peanut butter & Jelly: Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars
March 2012 Potato & Cheese: Loaded Potato & Buffalo Chicken Casserole
February 2012 Ginger & Carrots: Shrimp & Avocado Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing
January 2012 Lemon & Sour Cream: Ponderosa Lemon & Sour Cream Tart
December 2011 Eggnog & Cranberries: Eggnog Popovers with Cranberry Butter
November 2011 Pumpkin & Cream Cheese: Praline Pumpkin Cheesecake
October 2011 Caramel & Apples: Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies

Braised Beef Short Ribs

Back in August  for my Secret Recipe Club assignment I was assigned Barbara’s blog, Barbara Bakes and I for my post I decided to make her Chicken Satay Noodle Salad but a number of her other recipes caught my eye including her Braised Beef Short Ribs.  I couldn’t get the rib recipe out of my mind but as our temps were in the high 90’s & 100’s I just couldn’t bring myself to run the oven for 2+ hours so I saved the recipe and tried to put it out of my mind.  As soon as the temps took a little dip though, my thoughts returned to her ribs and I just had to make them.

Even though the recipe takes two days to make, it’s not a lot of hands on time.  The  first day the ribs are browned and braised and then chilled overnight to not only allow the accumulated fat to congeal on the top so that it can easily be removed but also allowing the ribs to soak up all the wonderful flavors.  Then on the second day the ribs are cooked in the braising liquid on the stovetop as the liquid is reduced to a wonderful glaze. 

Barbara said that these ribs were fall off the bone delicious and we all agree but I would add the word “rich” to the description as well.  I didn’t make any ingredient changes to Barbara’s recipe but I did adjust my amounts slightly.  So were these ribs worth a two day cooking process…heck yes!!  I will be making these again and I’m thinking that next time I am going to make one addition to the recipe, I’ll add some fresh mushrooms because they would soak up the flavor of the sauce and be absolutely wonderful with the the beef.

Braised Beef Short Ribs (adapted from here)

• 5 lbs. beef short ribs, bone-in
• Salt and freshly ground pepper 
• 1/4 cup olive oil 
• 2 medium yellow onions, peeled and chopped
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 1 750-ml bottle good dry red wine (I used a merlot)
• 6 cups beef stock

Preheat oven to 350°F. Season ribs to taste with the salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large, heavy bottomed ovenproof pan over high heat. Add ribs and brown on all sides. Work in batches if you need to so that the ribs don’t get crowded (this will help with browning).

Transfer ribs to a plate. Pour off excess fat. Add the onions, celery, and carrots to the pan and sauté, stirring often, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Remove the vegetables from the pan, set aside. Then add the wine to the pan, deglazing the pan, scraping off any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Reduce the wine by three-quarters until thick and slightly syrupy, about 15 minutes.

Return the ribs to the pan, add the beef stock and enough water to cover the ribs. Bring to a boil, cover with the lid or foil and place in the oven. Braise, cooking in the oven until the meat is fork-tender, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. During the last 1/2 hour of cooking add back in the vegetables. Allow the ribs to cool in the liquid, then cover and refrigerate overnight.

The next day remove the excess fat that has solidified at the top from the overnight chilling. Place the pan with the ribs and cooking liquid over medium heat, uncovered. Cook until the liquid has reduced by three-quarters, about 1 hour. Continue to cook, spooning the sauce over the ribs, until the sauce is thick and ribs are glazed. Take care not to burn the glaze; move the ribs around in the pan to keep them from burning.

Serve over saffron rice (Maisie’s request), mashed potatoes, noodles, or rice.

Enjoy!

Chili Maple Mustard Ribs

When Lisa, Doug & Briana joined us last Saturday for an afternoon of play and food, you’d think by my previous posts about the meal that it was all Thai inspired food between the Thai Cucumber Salad and Grilled Thai Chicken but it wasn’t as I was craving ribs, so I made them too.  The ribs weren’t Thai inspired but they were moist, meaty, juicy and fall-off-the-bone tender delicious and they sure hit the spot for me.  The final item that I made for last weekend’s dinner was chocolate deliciousness but as that recipe is my July Secret Recipe Club entry you’ll just have to come back to Cook Lisa Cook on posting day, Monday July 9th to see who’s blog I cooked from and what I actually made…and trust me when I say that it was gorgeous and loved by all.

Back to these ribs though.  I went with regular pork ribs instead of baby backs as I wanted the nice thick layer of meat…plus they were on a great sale at less than a quarter of the cost of baby backs so a great deal all around.  I did all the cooking in the oven but when I’ve cooked ribs like this in the past I’ve often finished them on the grill for the last 15-20 minutes just to give that grilled smoky flavor but it really isn’t necessary.  In addition the ribs stay a lot moister when not put on the grill.  After our meal last weekend I cut the leftover racks into pieces of 4-5 ribs and placed each section into FoodSaver bags and vacuum sealed the ribs.  Tonight Eammon wanted ribs so I quickly pulled out a package from the freezer, defrosted it (still sealed in the FoodSaver bag) in a bowl of water and then was able to quickly reheat the ribs in the microwave…just as moist and wonderful as the first day they were made.  This oven method is my preferred way to make ribs and I have used many different rubs and glazes, all with great results so if you’re craving delicious ribs, give this method of cooking them and this recipe a try, you won’t be disappointed.

Chili Maple Mustard Ribs 

• 2 full racks pork ribs, approx. 10 lbs total

Dry rub:

• 2 TBS. dark chili powder 
• 1 TBS. dry mustard 
• 1 TBS. sea salt 
• 1 TBS. fresh ground pepper

Glaze:

• 3 TBS. peanut oil (or oil of your choice)
• 2 medium red onions, finely minced
• 6 TBS. prepared Dijon mustard
• 6 TBS. Zinfandel vinegar or red wine vinegar
• 3 TBS. sugar free maple syrup (or real maple syrup)
• 3 TBS. sugar free honey (or real honey)  
• 2 TBS. dark chili powder 
• 1/4 tsp. maple extract

In a small bowl mix together the 2 TBS. dark chili powder, 1 TBS. dry mustard, 1 TBS. sea salt and 1 TBS. ground pepper. Wash and dry the ribs and place each rack on a foil lined baking sheet.  Sprinkle the dry rub all over the ribs, top and bottom.  Place the ribs meat side up on the pans and cover tightly with foil and refrigerated for 24-48 hours.

Preheat oven to 325F.  Place the pans of ribs, still tightly covered with foil, into the oven and bake for 90 minutes.

While the ribs are baking, heat a pan and add the oil.  Sautee the onions until they are translucent and tender.  Add the remaining glaze ingredients and cook, stirring continuously until the mixture is thick, approx. 2 minutes. 

Once the ribs have cooked for 90 minutes, remove the foil and spread the glaze mixture evenly over the tops of the ribs.  Increase the oven temperature to 400F and continue baking the ribs for 45 minutes. 

Remove from the oven and using poultry shears cut the ribs into individual servings of one to three ribs depending on the size desired.

Enjoy!