Chinatown Ribs


 
j biesinger

j biesinger

TVWBB Platinum Member
I got a party coming up for 08/08/08 where the host wants to have an outdoor chinese cookout and show the Olympic opening ceremony. She wanted to see if I could do some ribs, I was totally ready and willing.

Here's the scoop on my practice run with 4 half racks of baby backs.

I marinaded them overnight with Raichlen's "Chinatown Rib" recipe from "Ribs, Ribs, Ribs." It was a mixture of: hoisin, sugar, 5 spice, chinese cooking wine, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, scallions.

In the morning I scraped off most of the marinade and sprinkled both sides of the ribs with a pinch of kosher salt and homemade 5 spice.

The 5 spice is my recipe: 1 star anise, 1 cassia cinnamon, 1 sichuan peppercorn, 1 cumin seed, 1/2 clove, 1/4 coriander seed, 1/4 black cardamom, 1/4 black pepper, 1/4 fennel.

I got them on the wsm around 10:30 am and gave them a little apple wood.

here they are in the rack at the turn (1.5 hrs):

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after 3 hrs they were done (temps ave 300, might want to watch the heat next time since the sugars seemed to burn in places).

here they are in a foil pan ready for a cooler:

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I brought them over to the hosts' house as they made some teriyaki wings and sides. I made a plum glaze to go on top when we reheated them in the oven.

Plum sauce glaze (Tarantino): plum sauce, hoisin, sherry, soy, ginger, garlic, cilantro, chili pepper.

and the plating:

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The ribs were just about perfect, next run I'm going to be more careful with my temps and I think they'll be even better. I'm might also have the butcher rip the ribs lengthwise so they'll be more like snackers and they'll go farther at the party. I figured I can stack 2 mini racks in each slot.

My friends, the hosts, had just came back from nyc so we had an amazing dessert of Brooklyn Number 1 (farmhouse ale) and 5 cheeses from Murray's Cheese in Greenwich Village.

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The ribs look fantastic, as well as the cheese. I've never considered doing an Asian-style recipe for ribs. I have Raichlen's "How to Grill" and I believe a similar recipe is in there. I'll have to try it sometime.
 
Great report and pics, jb! Thanks for sharing!!
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Bill (i really like those knives in the cheese pic!)
 
Man they do look good! Since there's a good amount of sugar I'm thinking that keeping the temps at 250 or so might have been better. I forget the temperature at which you need to smoke to keep sugar from burning/blackening though perhaps someone else will chime in.

By the looks of them though - I wouldn't have had any trouble eating my share. I like a little black or dark color anyway with a sugar base!
 
I've never considered doing an Asian-style recipe for ribs
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my wife gets bored with bbq, so I have to be inventive to keep her from getting annoyed with me wasting a day and trashing the kitchen.

Plus opening up the flavors of the bbq allows you to serve it with different sides. When I do traditional bbq I want beans, mac/cheese, corn bread, which gets tiring. Ribs like this goes great with fried rice, lo mein, etc.

I can't recommend this recipe enough, they are so much like the ribs you might find on as an appetizer at a chinese restaurant, but better.

I find Raichlen's a good place to start since he doesn't limit bbq to the american south. I've been recommending the Tarantino book to anyone who will listen. The plum glaze was really, really good (cilantro and star anise are perfect together) and from his book.
 
Raichlen does do quite a bit of bbq from all over the world. I'm wanting to try his babi guling (Balinese roast pig) with a suckling soon.

These looked absolutely gorgeous.
 
Great pictures of a beautiful meal. I like your plating technique as well.

I have a set of those plates, but blue instead of green. I love the color.


I have to agree, it is nice to have some variety. I am curious also as to wether the sugars burn only from a heat that is higher from a set point ( my guess ) or if it will happen if they are left on at the proper temp, but for too long of a time.



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I am curious also as to wether the sugars burn only from a heat that is higher from a set point ( my guess ) or if it will happen if they are left on at the proper temp, but for too long of a time.
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if thats the case, then the recipe is sunk because you want the ribs done (time + temp).

I'd ventur a guess that its temp related. If you look at the pic in the foil pan you'll see the carbonization occurred on the edges (outer sides and top) where it was hotter. I let the temp get away from me a little because they were bb's and it was my first try without water in my pan (just a clay pot dish which fits perfectly in it). I'll bet the temps in the dome and outer edges of the wsm were in the upper 300's.
 
amazon link

I've tried a bunch of stuff from it that I like and the possibilities are endless. Be careful, some of the recipes are extremely intense (I made a cranberry marinade and injected it into a turkey, I thought I was eating cranberry sauce).

get the book, get to work, and post you experience!
 
I've made these a couple of times myself. Yours look like they came out great. Made my mouth water. I've always made them when I was serving them to someone else. Other people (non-BBQ aficionados) really seem to like them a lot.

-Matt
 
I've made these a couple of times myself.
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did you add smoke? I added a bit of apple, dont think it had much impact positive or negative. I debated about adding wood, but I figure if I'm going to do them outside rather than an oven, it deserves some smoke. And you said you served it to "non-bbq aficionados," smoke is usually a problem for them.
 
J,

I am planning on doing three racks of St Louis style spares this coming weekend using the Chinatown marinade.

Would you recommend using any foil with this high-sugar recipe? I wonder if that will help with the burning of the sugar.
 
I am planning on doing three racks of St Louis style spares this coming weekend using the Chinatown marinade.

Would you recommend using any foil with this high-sugar recipe? I wonder if that will help with the burning of the sugar.
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I did this recipe twice with baby backs, both times I let the temp creep into the 300*s. Despite some blackening, I didn't really notice any bitterness. Since I was going hot and fast, I didn't need to foil.

the second run, I didn't salt the ribs and I didn't use as much 5 spice, and they weren't as good. guess thats the problem with a practice run, if everything works and the meat comes out great, I get cocky and think I can pull it off without all the effort.
 
Originally posted by Dan Wicker:
Would you recommend using any foil with this high-sugar recipe? I wonder if that will help with the burning of the sugar.
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Regardless if it's foiled or not, the sugar will burn at high temps. if left inside the smoker for a duration of time.

If I made this recipe, I would probably leave out the hoison and sugar towards the end of the cook, possibly as a glaze.

Erik
 
Originally posted by j biesinger:
I was going hot and fast, I didn't need to foil.
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IMO, you would benefit greatly by foiling your ribs when doing a high heat cook. The steaming/braising process will assist in the break down of collagen and connective tissue.

By the way, great looking ribs.

Erik
 
Originally posted by Tom Chips:
I am curious also as to wether the sugars burn only from a heat that is higher from a set point ( my guess ) or if it will happen if they are left on at the proper temp, but for too long of a time.
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I have had my meat burn both ways. A slow n low cook has caused my ribs to burn when using a lot of sugar. Needless to say, I have learned from my mistakes, especially when they have been made smoking for a large gathering.

Erik
 
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