Braised ribs and the blues: a delicious match, says Andrew Coppolino

This weekend marks two food events in which barbecued ribs play a role. Riverside Park in Cambridge will be wild with professional competition ribbers plying their craft and serving the throngs hungry for sweet and meaty barbecued ribs at Cambridge Ribfest.

As well, at the downtown Kitchener Blues Festival, there is an indirect but nevertheless strong link between blues and barbecue — and at a few participating "12 Bar Blues" restaurants with smoked pork ribs are playing along.

For home cooks, backyard ribs are simple to do and simply delicious. They can be done in conventional ovens in your kitchen — including a quick braise in your Instant Pot — but they are best either smoked or barbecued low and slow. And if you're planning to on entertaining, preparation can be done a day or two ahead.

The first step is start with good product. Ribs usually come as spare ribs, St. Louis-style ribs or baby back ribs: 

• Spare ribs are a lower-priority rib. They come low down on the pig closest to the belly and are fattier; butchers give preference to the rich pork belly cut, with the spare ribs second.
• St. Louis-style ribs are meatier spare ribs and come more neatly trimmed and shaped.
• Baby back ribs are tasty ribs from higher up on the hog. They are called baby because they are "shorter" — but have more meat.

According to Chris Corrigan, founder and co-owner of Lancaster Smokehouse, a southern U.S.-inspired restaurant in Kitchener that cooks up about 25,000 racks of ribs each year, get the best pork you can find.

"The number one secret to great ribs is to select a great product, whether you're doing back ribs or side ribs. Find something that's got some meat on the bones," said Corrigan who suggests using a local butcher who knows the product and where it came from.

Corrigan advises to look for "shiner bones," as they are called. "They're on the meaty side. When they trim the ribs, often times they try to keep more on the belly side so they cut them pretty close to the bone. You'll see little bits of bone shining through."

Braise for more tender ribs

Good product then requires a cooking technique that suits it. That can be a low-and-slow barbecue, hours long smoking or braising followed by higher heat grilling for colour and flavour. There are several ways to cook ribs nicely, according to Freddy Hayes, co-owner of the new "Downtown Kitchener Crazy Canuck Urban Restaurant-Eh."

"A lot of people long smoke them, but we do a short cold smoke for about two hours, and we also braise our ribs. You'll find that smoked ribs sometimes are a little bit tough, and you have to chew them off the bone. The braising makes them more tender," Hayes said.

Colby LeMoine of Kitchener's Fore Quarter Butcher Shop agrees. While ribs are relatively easy, braising them in liquid really helps. 

"Simmer until they're slightly tender, only about 40 minutes. You don't want them falling off the bone. Then dry them off a bit, sauce them and take them to a medium-hot barbecue for some grill marks and flavour," said Le Moine.

No matter how you cook your ribs, if they hit the hot grill pay attention that they don't burn, especially if you are using sugary barbecue sauce. 

"Watch your temperature," said Corrigan. "It's really a simple process and technique to make delicious ribs."

Make-ahead braised and grilled pork ribs

Ingredients

For the dry rub: 
1 to 2 tablespoons sweet paprika 
1 to 2 tablespoons smokey paprika 
2 teaspoons freshly cracked black pepper 
2 teaspoons cayenne 
1 tablespoon dry mustard 
4 teaspoons brown sugar 
1 tablespoon salt 
2 teaspoons garlic powder 
2 teaspoons ground cumin 
1 teaspoon ground coriander 
 
For the braising liquid: 
Combine a chopped onion, carrot, celery, with enough chicken stock, wine, beer or cola for the ribs to sit in without covering them. 
 
For the ribs: 
2 racks of pork ribs 
 
For the barbecue mop sauce: Create a vinegary "mopping" sauce to baste the ribs with while they are on the barbecue. 
1 cup apple cider or red wine vinegar 
4 tablespoons of your favourite mustard 
Juice of a lime or lemon 
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 
Dash of Tabasco 
Salt and pepper 
 
Method 

Prepare the ribs removing any extra bits of fat and the skin on the back of the rack. Use a sharp knife to gently work away the skin and pull it off with a dry kitchen towel. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the dry rub ingredients. Place the ribs on a baking sheet and coat with the dry rub. Massage the rub into the ribs thoroughly with your fingers, cover, and let them rest overnight. 
 
Set the oven to 275-degrees F. In a large baking dish, arrange the onion, carrot, celery and season with salt and pepper. Cut the racks of ribs in half and place them on top of the vegetables. Pour in the liquid. Cover the dish tightly and braise for 1.5 to 2 hours. Check after an hour to see if you need to add more liquid. Remove the ribs from the dish and let them cool completely. The ribs can be braised a couple days ahead of time and stored, well-wrapped in aluminum foil, in the fridge. Meanwhile, mix together and combine the ingredients for the mopping sauce and reserve. 
 
When ready to grill, place the ribs on a clean, medium-hot barbecue grill and cook, turning frequently (cutting the racks in half will make turning easier) and basting with mopping sauce, until heated through and the desired colour is obtained, about 9 to 12 minutes depending on barbecue heat. Remove the finished ribs and cut into desired sections.