Sweet and Sticky Braised Ribs

Hello everyone and welcome back to My Uni Kitchen! I’ve been away for so long and it just tore me apart that I couldn’t give you guys anything. But with starting a new job and studying at the same time I haven’t had anytime to do anything.

However, I’m back and with something quite scrumptious you can make for Christmas this year instead of that crap and boring old roast turkey or chicken. Put this up at the centre of your table and everyone will be loving you. I used beef ribs here as they are actually relative cheap, no more than an extra pound per kilo compared to chicken, and they’re super meaty. But, if you want to use pork ribs instead, don’t worry it still works.

This is truly incredible, tasty and just melts in your mouth if you cook it right. The timing is a little long, but that’s the only way to get it so juicy, yet tender and soft at the same time. So be patient and it’ll all be worth it. Enjoy!

(Preparation/Cooking time: 2-3Hrs, Difficulty Level: 2 – Easy, Cost: ££ – Cheap)

Ingredients:

• Beef/Pork Ribs
• Beer/Lager
• Sweet Chilli Sauce
• BBQ Sauce
• Light and Dark Soya Sauce
• Brown Sugar
• Onions (Roughly Chopped)
• Garlic (Whole/Roughly Chopped)
• Ginger (Peeled and roughly chopped)

~ Spices (If you don’t have any of these raw ingredients you can substitute it with some all/5 spice powder):

• Cinnamon
• Whole peppercorn
• Star Anise

Equipment:

• Flame-proof casserole dish/deep oven tray (Make sure they’re fire-proof as you need to put it on the hob to do some initial cooking.
• (Optional) Tin Foil

Directions:

1)      Start by seasoning your ribs with some salt and pepper.

If you are using the spice powder rub it into your ribs at this step and let it marinade for about 15-20 minutes before starting the cooking process.

2)      Place your casserole dish/over tray on the hob and turn it on to medium-high heat and pour some oil into it.

3)      Once the pan is hot, place your ribs into it to sear and seal the outside until it has a nice golden brown colour on the outside, though it should not be cooked at all, only the outside.

4)      Remove your meat from the pan and set aside for now.

5)      Add some more oil and throw in your onions, garlic, ginger and the raw spices (If using) and lightly colour them.

There should now be some brown/dark bits stuck to the bottom of the pan after searing the meat and cooking the vege.

6)      Pour a little bit of your beer/lager to deglaze the pan and scrape up the brown bits stuck to the pan. (Helps get all the flavour out and into the sauce.

7)      Next, place your ribs back into the pan and pour the rest of your beer, your sweet chilli sauce, light soya sauce and BBQ sauce into it (As usual, amount you add is dependent on your own preferences.)

I cut mine into smaller pieces to fit the pan. If you do this yourself try to keep them in pairs to prevent them from shrinking too much when you cook them.

8)      Give it all a toss and make sure the meatier part of the ribs is facing down and submerged into the liquid.

If there isn’t enough liquid, just top it with a little water. There should be just enough liquid to partially submerge the ribs.

9)      Put the lid on or cover with tin foil and bung it into the oven at Gas Mark 4/160-180°C for about 2-2½hrs.

Take it out the oven and give it a quick toss to coat the meat evenly in sauce every half hour or so.

10)   Once done, take it out, remove the meat and place the pan onto the hob on high heat to reduce it to make the sauce thicker and sticky, also add a tbsp. of dark soya sauce here.

To help speed up the process you can add a cornflour and water mixture to thicken the sauce up quickly. Just slowly pour it in until you get a good consistency you like.

11)   Once the sauce is done take it off the heat, throw your ribs into the sauce to coat and glaze them.

12)   Serve and Enjoy!

Very nice with some creamy mash potatoes or some roasties. 😀