Pom Molasses?


 
Shawn W

Shawn W

TVWBB Emerald Member
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So I think I found pomegranate molasses. I need 5 batches for the recipe for a rib cook I'm doing ... can't mess this one up.

Couple of concerns ... the recipe says in brackets concentrated juice. Look at how thick this stuff is .... ?

The bottles were dusty and the stuff is brown, not red like I was expecting. I cracked one bottle and tasted. It doesn't taste bad ... tastes like pomegranate flavored light molasses.

You're supposed to mix the glaze part, then marinate the ribs in it 15 mins to 8 hours, brush remainder on periodically while cooking.

Looking at the thickness of the stuff I bought I'm thinking it's either too thick, the wrong stuff or the author really meant juice, not molasses.

Did I get pomegranate molasses?

Does it sound like its still good given my description?

Looking at the recipe would you use it? Perhaps thin it with some water/vinegar or even fruit juice?
 
Grenadine isn't pom molasses but your grenadine 'molasses' might be. Grenadine is made with pom juice - but other stuff too, like sugar, sometimes coloring, corn syrup, etc. Read the label. If pom juice only, it's pom molasses.

Though more appealing than grenadine, your link isn't pom molasses either, it's pom syrup. Pomegranate molasses does not contain sugar. It is merely pom juice reduced till very thick, much thicker than syrup. It's sour with some sweetness.

Glazes are typically quite thick. As thick as what's in your bottle. This allows them to seize and set very quickly. They are not marinades and really shouldn't be used that way. They're meant to finish. Marinating in a glaze and/or cooking the meat while glazed will lead to a rather dark finish, in most cases, and an over-caramelized flavor. Not something I'd do. I'd suggest making a complementary rub, cooking as you will, then glazing to finish, painting on a thin veneer a few minutes before done, another a minute before done, so the rub and meat are still visible and still have texture (use a pastry brush). It won't take much. I'd also suggest adding 2-3 teaspoons unsalted butter to the mix.
 
I titled that link Homemade Pomegranate Syrup even though the recipe itself is titled Pomegranate Molasses ... guess I called it right. I like the viscosity and most certainly the color better than what I bought plus the ability to control sweetness & salt levels.

Heh ... ingredients on stuff I bought say Water, Salt, Sugar, Grenadine, Lemon .. so it's still a mystery.

Given the recipe, if you had to choose between the bottled stuff and the homemade pom syrup which would you choose or would you blend?

If you're interested, using the recipe as starting point and given full creative input what might you do with it? Just asking .... for my upcoming cook I'm going to stick pretty close to the recipe.


Thanks a bunch for the help Kevin! Appreciate it!



BTW: recipe is from The Great Ribs Book by Hugh Carpenter & Teri Sandison ... I think I bought it for interesting ideas but mostly for dazzling pics
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I'll add I'm doing a 10 rack rib cook at work ... we take turns cooking lunch for staff through the slow season. We are supposed to use one of the recipe books we sell in the store and that's why I don't want to deviate hugely from the recipe.

I'm planning on doing this cook in a demo unit we have, a 6 rack Bradley digital smoker at 225ºF for about 4 hours, using cherry smoke for perhaps 2 hours of the 4, then foiled and cooler-ed for perhaps an hour, then a high heat brown and glaze on a gasser before serving.

I found this recipe enticing ... interesting flavor profile ... quite different than how I'm used to cooking ribs.
 
The color of pom molasses is a very deep red/brown.

Hmm. It's not a recipe I'd use. I dislike marinating in all that sugar. Marinating isn't going to flavor the meat's interior by anything appreciable, and fructose caramelizes at low temps so it's not something I'd do. I would use it as a glaze though, with the bit of butter addition.

I suppose were I to be required, I'd make the glaze as a glaze - one recipe's worth is more then enough for 10 racks - and use it at the finish, as noted. I'd marinate in a mix of pom juice, vinegar and water, 1:1:1, for a couple hours, pat dry, salt the ribs, then rub with black pepper, coriander and Chinese 5-spice.

For the molasses for the glaze I'd probably blend the two.
 
Ok, you got me. I'm going to deviate from the recipe and just say 'inspired by recipe in book ... and improved by a friend who knows what he's doing'.

I'm still going to do the orange zest, toasted sesame seed and chopped parsley garnish.

You know, every recipe in the book except dry rubbed recipes have the exact same paragraph in it regardless of whether the stuff looks like a marinade (SAFO) or not:

'Coat both sides of the ribs evenly with the <marinade/sauce/glaze>. Marinate the ribs, refrigerated, for at least 15 minutes. For more flavor marinate for up to 8 hours.' Seems pretty lame to go to the effort of making such a great recipe book then fail to give each recipe sufficient attention.

Anyway, it sounds great Kevin! I'm kinda excited to try them out!



Edit: grammar
 
Believe me I know. Few check out the most fundamental things. And the editors don't bother if it sounds good.

I would definitely do the garnish. Make sure the zest is very fine - and the parsley.

I hope it goes well for you.
 
Headed down to the lab
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... here's what I came up with for a rub:

3T onion powder
2.5T 5 spice
2T Hungarian Paprika
2T Kashmiri Mirch
2T black pepper
2T coriander
1T sugar
.5T white pepper

I'm gonna put it on lightly tonight so it can sit a spell.

Edit: missed the coriander
 
cool

finally get to hit the hay ... remind me never to do a big rib cook + fixins by myself again
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the glaze smells and tastes great, ribs all prepped, lightly rubbed one side (the stuff is potent)

I have a bit more to do for my salad and chop the rib garnish veggies otherwise all set ... here's hoping!
 
The ribs turned out great, very well received.

I had them in an electric smoker for about 2 hours but it was too cold for it to run any hotter than about 215ºF. Finished them by grilling about 30 minutes medium low heat on a gasser.

I made a batch of pom syrup and mixed it with the bottled stuff (8 full racks of sides cut up).







The glaze isn't very sweet, tangy and I even added over 1/2C brown sugar. Suprising, I expected it to be sweeter. It's quite thick ... thicker than it might look in the picture.

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1 litre pom juice, 800ml white vinegar, 1 litre water for several hours.




Dried, salted and rubbed (rub on 1 side). Went light on the rub as it's pretty potent and they were to sit overnight in it







And Finally.....

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Finish pics are cold leftovers BTW. If you are wondering why the leftovers I bought 8 full racks of whole spares cut up for 20 people but I think only about 14 were around to eat.

Thanks so much for your help Kevin, it all came together in the end product very well I thought.

Edit: typo
 
I hope someone gives this modified version a try .... very different flavor than typical 'sweet - chile' southern US ribs. Excellent flavor, deep complexity and well balanced. Work quickly and brush 2 - 3 coats of the glaze on.
 
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