Make Ahead Ribs Braised Then Grilled Recipes

MOSTLY MAKE-AHEAD BBQ RIBS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 F with racks in upper and lower thirds. Place each rib slab on a separate large sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil (if you don't have heavy-duty foil, double up regular foil). Season ribs on both sides with 2½ tablespoons salt and 2 teaspoons pepper. Fold each sheet of foil around each slab, crimping foil at the sides and top to seal completely. Place two rib packets on two baking sheets. Bake until ribs are fork-tender, about 2 hours.
• Remove ribs from oven and very carefully unseal each packet (the steam inside will be very hot). Let ribs cool in foil to room temperature, about 1 hour. Pour out any juices in packets, reseal foil, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours.
• Whisk tomato puree, pomegranate molasses, honey, vinegar, tomato paste, mustard, paprika, cayenne, and remaining 2 teaspoons salt and ½ teaspoon pepper in a medium pot. Bring to a simmer over medium-high. Reduce heat to medium low; partially cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened and reduced to about 2½ cups, about 15 minutes. Let sauce cool to room temperature, about 1 hour. Use immediately or refrigerate, covered, for up to 24 hours.
• Preheat grill to medium-high (400 F to 450 F). Working in batches if needed, remove ribs from foil packets and place on oiled grill grates. Grill, flipping ribs and basting generously with sauce every 3 to 4 minutes, until ribs are hot, well-sauced, and browned and crisped in spots, 12 to 15 minutes total. Remove ribs from grill; let rest for 5 minutes. Slice and serve.

BRAISED AND GRILLED OR BROILED PORK RIBS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Cut meat into two racks if necessary; season with salt and pepper. Put oil in a large, deep ovenproof skillet or casserole that can later be covered. Turn heat to medium-high and, when oil shimmers, sear meat on both sides until nicely browned, turning as necessary.
• Add allspice, cinnamon, ginger, chiles and garlic and stir; add beer. Bring to a boil; cover pan and adjust heat so mixture simmers steadily. Put in oven and cook until meat is tender, 1 hour or more. (You can prepare meat up to a day or two ahead; if you are not going to grill or broil immediately, put whole pan in refrigerator after it cools a bit.)
• Light a charcoal or gas grill or heat broiler; rack should be about 4 inches away from heat source. Drain meat and sprinkle it with salt and pepper. Grill or broil on both sides until brown and crisp, just a few minutes. Meanwhile, skim cooking liquid of fat, bring to a boil, and use as sauce.

GRILLED BRAISED SHORT RIBS

Steps:

• Place 2 cloves garlic and some coarse salt in a mortar, and pulverize to a paste. Rub meat with paste and sprinkle with pepper. Set aside 1 hour.
• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a heavy saucepan. Add carrots, onions, leeks and remaining garlic. Sauté over low heat until soft but not brown. Stir in thyme and bay leaf. Add wine and vinegar, bring to simmer, transfer to bowl. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
• Place ribs and wine mixture in a large heavy-duty plastic bag. Seal well, and refrigerate 8 to 24 hours.
• Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Remove ribs from marinade, scraping off vegetables. Pour marinade with vegetables into saucepan. Add stock and bring to simmer.
• Pat ribs dry; season with salt and pepper. Heat remaining oil in large skillet, add ribs and quickly brown on all sides. Transfer to roasting pan. Pour heated marinade over ribs, cover with parchment paper and foil, and roast 3 1/2 to 4 hours, until fork-tender. Remove from oven, and let stand 10 minutes.
• Remove ribs from liquid. Remove bones, and trim all gristle and surface fat, keeping meat in one large slab. (Meat can now be refrigerated up to 3 days before grilling.)
• Strain liquid and skim off grease. (If ribs won't be grilled immediately, liquid can be refrigerated until fat solidifies to simplify removal.) Boil down strained liquid until reduced to barely 1 cup and slightly thickened. Remove from heat, and whisk in butter bit by bit. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and keep warm.
• To serve, slice slab of meat in half horizontally with a large knife, and cut each piece into two or three portions. Place meat on grill or in grill pan over high heat, and sear briefly on both sides until heated through, lightly browned and traced with grill marks. Serve drizzled with sauce.

GARLIC BRAISED SHORT RIBS WITH RED WINE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 275 degrees. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Season short ribs on all sides with salt and pepper. Working in batches, sear short ribs on all sides until deeply and evenly browned, 6 to 8 minutes per batch. Transfer browned short ribs to a large plate and continue with remaining ribs.
• Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of remaining fat, leaving the good browned bits behind. Reduce heat to medium, and add garlic, cut side down and cook, undisturbed, until golden brown, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add onion, celery and carrots and season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat and continue to cook until vegetables are softened but not yet browned, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add tomato paste and stir to coat. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until tomato paste has started to caramelize a bit on the bottom and up the edges of the pot, about 2 to 3 minutes.
• Add red wine and, using a wooden spoon, scrape up any browned or caramelized bits. Let this simmer 2 to 3 minutes, just to take the edge off and reduce a bit. Stir in beef stock along with thyme. Using tongs, return short ribs to the pot, along with any juices that have accumulated, nestling them in there so that they are submerged (if they are just barely covered, nestle them bone side up so that all the meat is submerged, adding more beef stock or water as necessary to cover). Bring to a simmer, then cover and transfer to oven.
• Cook, undisturbed, until short ribs are meltingly tender and falling off the bone (you should be able to shred the meat with a fork), 3½ to 4 hours.
• Using tongs, remove the ribs from the pot, taking care (for presentation purposes, really) not to let the bone slip out and transfer them to a large plate. (While you could serve the short ribs right out of this pot, the vegetables have all given up their flavor and texture and aren't worth much now, so feel free to strain the sauce for easier eating.) Scatter parsley, chives and lemon zest over the top of the short ribs. Separate the fat from the sauce, season with salt and pepper and serve alongside.

BRAISED RIBS

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, brown ribs in butter and oil for about 3 minutes on each side; drain. Remove and keep warm. In the same pan, cook and stir the onion for 2 minutes. Add water, salt, sugar and pepper, stirring to loosen browned bits from pan., Place bay leaves and allspice on a double thickness of cheesecloth; bring up corners of cloth and tie with kitchen string to form a bag. Place in pan. Return ribs to pan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1-1/2 to 1-3/4 hours or until meat is tender., Remove ribs and keep warm. Discard spice bag. Skim fat from pan drippings. Combine flour and cold water until smooth; gradually stir into drippings. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve with ribs.