Braised Baby-Back Ribs


Don't ask about the salad, my roommate's girlfriend brought it. Sigh.

When I make baby-back ribs I don't barbeque them, since I don't own a smoker. Instead I braise them and they come out awesome.

To begin, take two racks of babyback ribs and lay them out on some heavy-duty aluminum foil, or two to three layers of normal aluminum foil (this is important.) Liberally apply dry rub both sides of the rack (more on the convex side), and give it a good pat down. Loosely wrap it and place in the fridge for at least twelve hours.

For the dry rub:
8 Tbls of light brown sugar
3 Tbls of kosher salt
1 Tbls of chili powder
.5 tsp of thyme
.5 tsp of old bay seasoning
.5 tsp of cayenne pepper
.5 tsp of onion powder
.5 tsp of black pepper
.5 tsp of garlic powder
(the last six ingredients can be whatever you like, that's just what i use)

After an overnight sit in the fridge, take out the ribs. Pre-heat oven to 225º F. Open up the foil on one end only, pour in braising liquid, repeat for the other rack.


For the braising liquid
1 cup of dry white wine
2 Tbls of white wine vinegar
2 Tbls of Worchetershire Sauce. (I'm going to experiment with soy sauce soon, see how that turns out)
2 Tbls of honey
5 diced cloves of garlic.
Microwave this mixture in a sealable container (like some tupperware) for a minute just to help the honey dissolve and for the garlic juice to seep out a bit, shake around a bit if needed.

Make sure everything's nice and moist from the braising liquid, then roll up the foil again. Place on an oven tray, and put it in the 225º F oven for three hours. After three hours, turn off the oven and collect the braising liquid from both foiled racks into a sauce pan. I suggest just laying the rack on the pan and cutting slits in the middle of the foil and letting it drain that way. Place the ribs back in the oven to keep them warm. Set the sauce pan over high heat and let it reduce until it's a dark brown and thick syrup, should take about 10 minutes. BE CAREFUL TO TAKE IT OFF IMMEDIATELY ONCE IT REACHES THIS STAGE. Once the water's gone, the only thing left being heated are the sugars which can quickly caramelize and burn. With a basting brush, take the reduced glaze and brush it on every surface of the ribs. Place in the broiler for about 30 seconds, then eat.