When I first started to teach cooking classes a year and a half ago at Sweet Basil Culinary Center, I was introduced to a new cooking vessel that would change everything for me. It’s called a stove-top smoker and it works perfectly on the cook top, on the BBQ or in the oven. It’s fantastic for fish, vegetables and chicken, but it really shines when you throw a rack of ribs in, close it up, and 90 minutes later you have a succulent stack of ribs mopped with your favorite BBQ sauce! This recipe for Chili Rubbed Baby Backs with Espresso BBQ Sauce is one of my new favorites, given to me by a co-worker who knows I’m a rib fanatic. Even if you don’t have a stove-top smoker, these ribs and sauce will be a hit no matter how you prepare them! The dark beer (it really should be a Guinness!) and espresso powder combine to give the ribs a deep and rich flavor that melt together to create the umami you want in a rack of ribs! The recipe calls for a bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce or if you have a homemade version, use that! (A few years ago we did a taste test of the country’s most popular store-bought BBQ sauces. Topping the list of brands were Stubbs, Rufus Teague, Sweet Baby Ray’s and Bone Suckin’ Sauce.)
| Servings |
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 4 pounds baby back pork ribs (opaque membrane removed)
- 1 bottle Guinness or dark beer (12 ounce bottle)
- 1 bottle barbecue sauce (18 ounce bottle)
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar, packed firm
- 1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
Ingredients
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- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a bowl, whisk together the chili powder, paprika, cumin, salt, and pepper. Rub spice mixture all over ribs. Place ribs in heavy large roasting pan or stove-top smoker. In a medium saucepan, bring the beer to a boil and reduce to 1 cup, about 5 minutes. Pour beer around ribs. Cover pan tightly with foil. Bake ribs until fork-tender, about 1 hour 30 minutes. While ribs are cooking prepare bbq sauce. In a medium skillet, combine barbecue sauce, 1/2 cup water, brown sugar and espresso powder. Simmer until flavors blend and sauce thickens slightly, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. (Ribs and barbecue sauce can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cool slightly, then cover and refrigerate.) When ribs are cooked, liberally brush BBQ sauce over top. Return to heat and grill ribs just until heated through, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer ribs to platter. Bring remaining sauce to simmer. Brush ribs with more barbecue sauce.
Note: The smoker I use is Cameron's Stainless Steel Stove Top Smoker. It comes with hickory and oak wood chips.
