25 January 2011

Smoked tamarind ribs

Update: Edited quantities after second run with this recipe.

Tamarind is not a flavour often exploited in Western cooking. As it turns out, it goes great with bbq, and we recently used it in our New Year's Eve extravaganza. This is a flavour you want to add to your cooking profile.
7 oz tamarind
6 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
6 tbsp soy
6 tbsp hoisin
3 tbsp sriracha
½ cup water
kosher salt (yeah, you're gonna use kosher salt on pork ribs - sue me)
1 rack pork ribs

Mix all the ingredients (save the ribs and salt) and bring to a boil, mixing to break up the tamarind chunks.

Marinade

Cool over an hour, and sieve out the tamarind. Pour into a ziploc bag and add the ribs. Place in the fridge overnight, moving around periodically to ensure that the marinade covers all portions of the ribs.

Remove the ribs, and bring to room temperature. Meanwhile, bring your smoker to 200°F with hickory or cherry wood. You'll want lots of wet wood chunks, as these ribs can take a ton of smoke. Liber

ribs

Liberally salt the ribs. Place on the smoker, and close it up. Meanwhile, bring the marinade to a boil. Boil at least five minutes, but long enough to thicken the marinade into a glaze. Remove from heat.

Glaze

Smoke the ribs for 4ish hours.

Smoking rib

Paint on the glaze.

Glazed ribs

Smoke for one more hour at 200°F.

Glazed ribs

Remove, slice and serve.

Smoked ribs

This is a flavour you won't normally encounter on smoked ribs. But the flavour is rich and delicious, and was a huge hit the night of our New Year's Party. Delish.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

These ribs were delicious. when are we having them again?

Dave said...

The ribs look great! I like tamarind in my sauces as well, but I usually user the concentrate. You started with the paste, right?

Bet this would be good on country rips or chops too. Will have to give it a try.

Indirect Heat said...

Dave:

I started with tamarind pulp. You can get it in Asian markets, and it's why you have to sieve out the chunks (they are not intended to be eaten). Essentially, I made my own, very flavourful tamarind paste.

Anonymous said...

i like to puncture the ribs with tamarind paste first and let it marinade overnight instead of just glazing within it,
it's can be a naturan tenderizer

Post a Comment