Vietnamese Braised Baby Back Ribs Recipes

SLOW-COOKER VIETNAMESE BABY BACK RIBS

Steps:

• Stir together shallots, fish sauce, 1/4 cup honey, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a 5-to-6-quart slow cooker. Add spareribs; toss to coat. Cover and cook on low 7 hours.
• Preheat oven to broil, with rack 4 inches from element. Transfer ribs to a rimmed baking sheet, meat-side up. Broil until browned, 4 minutes. Pour juices from slow cooker through a fine-mesh sieve into a small saucepan; discard solids. Bring to a boil, then cook until syrupy, 5 to 10 minutes. Brush some glaze onto ribs.
• Combine carrots, cabbage, lime juice, mint, oil, and remaining 2 teaspoons honey. Season with salt and pepper. Serve ribs, with slaw and remaining glaze alongside.

VIETNAMESE BRAISED PORK RIBS

Steps:

• Make the marinade: In a small bowl, put the shallots, lemongrass, soy sauce, fish sauce, chile paste, salt, sugar, five-spice powder, garlic and ginger. Mix well.
• Put the meat in a deep baking dish or roasting pan and add marinade. Using your hands, coat ribs well. Let marinate, refrigerated, for at least 2 hours and preferably overnight, well wrapped. Bring back to room temperature before proceeding.
• Heat oven to 450 degrees. Add 2 cups water to the pan, cover tightly with foil and place pan in oven. Cook for 30 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees for 1 hour more. When done, the meat should be very tender, nearly but not quite falling off the bone. Remove cover and return to the oven for about 15 minutes until the ribs are nicely browned.
• Remove ribs from pan. Pour pan juices into a saucepan and skim fat. Reduce over high heat until somewhat thickened, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, divide ribs with a sharp knife and pile them onto a platter.
• Serve family style with steamed rice and pan juices. Garnish with scallions, cilantro and mint sprigs.

BABY BACK RIBS

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, chili powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are softened, about 10 minutes. Add the bourbon and cook until slightly reduced, 2 to 3 minutes. Then add the ketchup, coffee, 1/2 cup water, brown sugar, cider vinegar and Worcestershire. Increase the heat and bring to a boil; lower the heat and simmer until slightly thickened and the onions are tender, about 25 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a blender and puree until smooth (be careful when blending hot liquids). Transfer the sauce to a bowl and cool slightly.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with heavy-duty aluminum foil.
• Sprinkle the ribs with salt and pepper, and coat the racks on both sides with about 2 cups total of the barbecue sauce (reserve the remaining sauce). Put the ribs, bone-side down, on the prepared baking sheet and wrap each rack with foil. Bake until the meat is tender and pulling away from the bone, about 2 hours.
• Remove the foil and turn the ribs bone-side up. Preheat the broiler to high. Brush the bone side of the ribs with half of the remaining sauce, and broil until lightly charred in spots, about 5 minutes. Turn the ribs over, brush with the remaining sauce and broil again until charred stops on top, another 5 minutes. Cut the racks in half and serve.

BEER-BRAISED BABY BACK RIBS

Steps:

• Rub the ribs liberally with the Rib Spice and let them sit, covered, in the refrigerator overnight.
• Prepare a charcoal grill.
• Season the ribs with salt and pepper. When the coals are very hot, grill the ribs for 5 to 7 minutes per side.
• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
• Arrange the ribs in roasting pans. Pour the beer and vegetable stock over the ribs and spread the onions over the top.
• Cover each roasting pan with plastic wrap and heavy-duty aluminum foil. There should be no holes in the plastic wrap or the foil. Braise the ribs until a bone comes out with minimal resistance when pulled, about 2 hours. Do not over-braise.
• Remove the plastic wrap and foil and let the ribs cool in their braising liquid.
• To serve, prepare a charcoal grill. Warm the ribs over medium heat and baste with the Molasses Barbeque Sauce. Serve hot.
• Combine the brown sugar, chili powder, granulated onion, salt and pepper, granulated garlic and dried oregano in a large bowl and whisk until well combined.
• Combine the ketchup, molasses, vinegar and steak sauce in a medium saucepan over low heat. Once the mixture comes to a simmer add the sugar, chili powder, granulated garlic and granulated onion. Stir the sauce often to prevent the sugars from scorching and do not allow the sauce to boil. Simmer for 30 minutes. Yield: enough for 3 racks of ribs.

JAPANESE-STYLE BRAISED PORK RIBS

Steps:

• Remove the silvery skin from the back of the ribs by sliding the pointed end of a meat thermometer under the skin and pulling up. Pat the ribs dry with paper towels and cut into individual ribs.
• Mix soy sauce, sake, and honey together in a small bowl and set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until hot. Sear the ribs in batches until browned and they have a nice crust, about 3 minutes per side. Remove ribs to a plate and set aside.
• Drain Dutch oven of any excess oil. Carefully pour soy sauce mixture into the pot and scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon or spatula to release any stuck-on bits. Add ribs to the pot with the liquid and increase heat to medium-high. Bring to a boil. Cover tightly and remove from heat.
• Bake in the preheated oven until ribs are tender and no longer pink, about 2 1/2 hours, flipping over halfway through cooking time.
• Meanwhile, bring water and rice to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until rice is tender and water has been absorbed, 20 to 25 minutes.
• Serve ribs and sauce with white rice and sprinkle with green onions.

KOREAN-STYLE BRAISED (SLOW COOKER) BABY BACK RIBS

Steps:

• Wash ribs and pat dry. Salt ribs liberally.
• Heat oil in a skillet over high heat. Add ribs. Cook, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides, 6 to 8 minutes.
• Place browned ribs in a 3-quart slow cooker.
• Place soy sauce, light soy sauce, rice wine, onion, orange juice, garlic, ginger, and jalapeno into a blender. Cover and blend until combined. Pour sauce over the the ribs in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on High until meat pulls away easily from the bone, 3 to 4 hours.
• Set oven rack about 6 inches from the heat source and preheat the oven's broiler. Place ribs on a baking sheet or roasting pan.
• Bake ribs under the preheated broiler until nicely charred but not burned, about 5 minutes. Garnish with scallions.

VIETNAMESE-STYLE BABY BACK RIBS

Steps:

• Place ribs on a sheet pan and coat both sides with salt and peppercorns.
• Cover pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate 3 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Remove ribs from refrigerator and cut into 2-rib sections.
• In a deep baking pan or braising pot, stir together coconut juice, broth, garlic, fish sauce and sugar.
• Add ribs.
• Place a piece of parchment paper directly on top of the ribs and braising liquid.
• Cover pan with a lid or wrap tightly with foil.
• Cook until the meat is very tender and falls off of the bone, about 1 1/2 hours. (If using hardboiled eggs, add them to the pot during the last 20 minutes of cooking.)
• Serve on a bed of leafy greens, if you like, with braised hardboiled eggs.

BRAISED BABY BACK RIBS

Steps:

• Combine rub* ingredients in a plastic bag, shake to mix.
• Rub olive oil on ribs then generously cover both sides of ribs with rub, there's enough to do 2 racks.
• Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hrs or as long as 24 hours.
• For covered charcoal grill: Start coals 30-45 minutes prior to cooking, soak a couple hand fulls of hickory chips in water.
• Meanwhile, place each rack of ribs, curved side down on two layers of heavy duty aluminum foil, which have been wiped with a thin coat of vegetable oil use a piece of foil large enough to seal over the top.
• Form a pan with the foil.
• After coals turn white push them all to one side, drain wood chips, place soaked wood chips on hot coals, replace grill top.
• Soak some more chips.
• Place ribs and foil on cool side of grill, carefully pour water to the foil 'pans' to no more than 1/2" up the sides of the ribs.
• Replace lid on grill.
• Every 30 minutes add a few coals and some of the soaked chips and reverse the position of the ribs (rotate and reverse).
• Turn over about 1/2 way through the cooking process so they finish curved side up.
• Depending on your grill it could take as long as 4 hrs or as little as 1 hr to cook.
• To finish ribs, remove from heat, drain liquid from foil pan (reserve for sauce if desired) carefully cut racks into serving sized chunks (3-4 ribs), brush with sauce and return to hot side of grill for a few minutes to brown a bit.
• You can brown them under the broiler right in the foil pans if coals are not hot enough.
• This procedure can be replicated on a two (or more) zoned gas grill.
• Put the chips in another foil 'pan' and place them over the heat, when they start to smoke put the ribs over the cool side and cover.
• Replenish chips as necessary, rotate and reverse rib pans about every 30 minutes.
• *This is a sweet rub and may be a bit too sweet for some tastes, if so decrease sugar.