North Carolina Style Ribs Recipes

NORTH CAROLINA HOUSE RIBS

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine salt and water and stir to combine and dissolve salt. Remove brine from heat and let cool to room temperature. Cut 1/2-inch slits between bones on underside of rib racks. Place ribs in a large resealable bag set in a baking dish. Pour in the salt brine, seal the bag and refrigerate for at least 5 hours, or overnight.
• Preheat oven to 275 degrees F. In a small saucepan, add the vinegar, sugar, hot sauce, red pepper flakes, 2 teaspoons liquid smoke, Worcestershire sauce, and salt and pepper, to taste. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Whisk until well combined, then remove from heat. Reserve 1 cup of mixture as dipping sauce and hold, covered, in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Reserve remaining mixture to baste the ribs as they cook.
• Remove ribs from the refrigerator and discard brine. Pat ribs dry and transfer to a rimmed baking sheet lined with a wire rack. Combine beer with 1 tablespoon liquid smoke in a small bowl and pour into the bottom of the baking sheet. Brush pork with marinade on both sides. Bake in the preheated oven, brushing every 20 minutes or so. Cook for about 3 hours or until the meat is knife-tender. Remove from the oven to a serving platter and serve with reserved dipping sauce.

CAROLINA STYLE RIBS

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, lemon juice, white vinegar, cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, molasses and mustard. Season with granulated garlic, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, white pepper and cayenne pepper, and mix well. Set aside.
• Preheat an outdoor grill or smoker to 225 to 250 degrees F (110 to 120 degrees C).
• Rub ribs liberally with barbeque seasoning, then place them in the smoker or grill, and cover. Cook for 4 hours, or until very tender. The meat will easily separate from the bone. Baste ribs with mustard sauce liberally during the final 30 minutes. Heat remaining sauce to a boil, and serve on the side.

NORTH CAROLINA-STYLE RIBS

Steps:

• Trim fat from ribs. Place ribs in a shallow roasting pan (cut meat in pieces to fit if necessary). In a medium bowl combine vinegar, onion, brown sugar, serrano peppers, salt, crushed red pepper, and black pepper. Reserve 1/2 cup of the vinegar mixture for mopping sauce. Pour remaining sauce over ribs. Turn ribs to coat. Place ribs, meaty sides down in the pan; cover with foil.
• Bake ribs in a 350 degrees F oven for 2 to 2-1/2 hours or until very tender, turning ribs once after 1-1/2 hours of baking. Remove from oven. Discard liquid in pan. Pat ribs dry with paper towels.
• At least 1 hour before grilling, soak wood chips in enough water to cover. Drain wood chips.
• Sprinkle wood chips over medium coals in a charcoal grill. Place ribs on the grill rack directly over the coals. Grill, covered, for 10 to 15 minutes or until ribs are browned, turning once and brushing with some of the reserved vinegar mixture. (For a gas grill, preheat grill. Reduce heat to medium. Add wood chips according to manufacturer directions. Place ribs on grill rack. Grill as directed above.) Brush ribs with remaining vinegar mixture before serving.
• If desired, serve with Carolina Hush Puppies. Makes 4 servings. Carolina Hush Puppies
• In a medium bowl stir together cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Make a well in center of flour mixture; set aside.
• In another bowl combine egg, buttermilk, onion, and hot pepper sauce. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy).
• Drop batter by tablespoons into deep hot oil (375 degrees F). Fry, 5 or 6 at a time, about 3 minutes or until golden brown, turning once. Drain on paper towels. Keep warm in 300 degrees F oven while cooking remaining hush puppies. Serve warm. Makes 14 to 18 hush puppies.
• Nutrition Facts per hush puppy: 105 cal., 5 g total fat (1 g sat. fat), 15 mg chol., 141 mg sodium, 14 g carb., 1 g dietary fiber, 2 g protein. Because hot chile peppers, such as serranos, contain volatile oils that can burn your skin and eyes, avoid direct contact with chiles as much as possible. When working with chile peppers, wear plastic or rubber gloves. If your bare hands do touch the chile peppers, wash your hands well with soap and water.

SMOKED RIBS WITH CAROLINA-STYLE BBQ SAUCE

Steps:

• For the rub:
• Combine all the spices in a small bowl. Brush both sides of the racks with oil and rub with the spice mixture. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 12 hours.
• In a large pot over low heat, add all the mop ingredients. Bring to a simmer and cook until the sugar is dissolved. Let cool to room temperature.
• Remove the ribs from the refrigerator 45 minutes before smoking to allow them to come to room temperature. Add the mix of hickory and applewood chips to the smoker according to package instructions. Heat a smoker to 220 degrees F. Put the apple cider in a small heatproof pan in the smoker.
• Put the ribs directly on the smoker rack. Smoke for 6 hours, brushing the ribs with the mop every hour for the first 5 hours. During the last hour, brush the ribs with the North Carolina Barbecue Sauce every 10 minutes. Remove the ribs to a serving platter and serve.
• For the BBQ Sauce:
• Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan. Add the onions and cook until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the ketchup and water, bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer until thickened, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Cool for about 5 minutes.
• Carefully transfer the mixture to a food processor and puree until smooth. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, then pour into a bowl and allow to cool at room temperature. Sauce will keep for 1 week in the refrigerator, stored in a tightly sealed container.

CAROLINA BARBECUED BABY BACK RIBS

Steps:

• Remove the membrane from the underside of the ribs. This is important. If you've not done this before, Google the technique.
• In a small bowl, combine the chili powder, sugar, crushed red pepper, garlic powder and thyme and mix well.
• Using your fingers, rub the mixture over both sides of the ribs.
• Cure the ribs in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours and for more flavor, up to 24 hours.
• To make the barbecue sauce, chop the onion and cook it in the vegetable oil until it is dark golden.
• Transfer the onion to a saucepan and add all the remaining barbecue sauce ingredients.
• Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
• Pour the sauce through a medium-meshed strainer, scraping the sieve with a metal spoon to force all the pulp through the sieve.
• Refrigerate the sauce.
• Grill the ribs over medium indirect heat, for about 75 minutes or until the meat begins to shrink from the ends of the rib bones.
• Baste the ribs with the sauce occasionally, stopping 15 minutes before removing the ribs from the grill.
• To serve, cut the ribs into individual pieces and transfer them to a garnished serving platter or to garnished individual plates and serve at once, along with any extra sauce and the fruit salad and corn on the cob.

SOUTH CAROLINA-STYLE RIBS

Steps:

• Cut ribs into serving-size pieces. Place ribs meat side up in a roasting pan. Cover and bake at 325° for 1-1/2 to 2 hours or until tender; drain., Meanwhile, combine the remaining ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for about 30 minutes or until slightly reduced., Brush sauce over ribs. Bake, uncovered, for 30-45 minutes longer or until ribs are glazed, basting occasionally.

NORTH CAROLINA-STYLE BBQ SAUCE

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, combine all ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 15-20 minutes or until flavors are blended.

EASY NORTH CAROLINA BARBEQUE

Steps:

• Trim the fat from the roast; place in slow cooker and cook on Low overnight, at least 8 hours.
• To make the sauce, whisk together the vinegar, melted butter, salt, lemon juice, crushed red pepper, hot sauce, black pepper, and sugar in a bowl.
• Carefully remove the roast to a cutting board. Pull the meat from the bone with a fork. Return the pork to the slow cooker. Pour the sauce over the pulled pork. Simmer for 1 hour more.