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Smokey ribs with green sauce

Main BBQ
Serves 4
Prep 5 min
Cook 2 hr

Cooking ribs low and slow in the oven and finishing them quickly in a pan or on the barbecue not only results in the most tender meat, but also frees up space on the grill. I tend to cook ribs first in the oven until tender, as it allows me to either finish them quickly on the barbecue, or on a griddle pan, without taking up too much space. Either marinade or cook in the oven the night before to get ahead. The amount of liquid that renders out of the ribs will differ, if the liquid dries out during the oven cooking, add 2 tbsp water to release any juices from the foil, as this will add great flavour to the glaze.

Ingredients

1.1kg baby back ribs
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp sweet smoked paprika
1 tsp aleppo chilli
2 tbsp brown sugar
20g parsley, roughly chopped
20g coriander, roughly chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp dijon mustard, plus 1 tsp for the herb oil
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
fine sea salt and black pepper

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 160C.
  2. Place the ribs on a large sheet of kitchen foil and season with the cumin, paprika, chilli, 2 tsp sugar, 1 teaspoon of salt and a good crack of pepper. Wrap the ribs so that they are airtight, place on a baking tray and cook for 1 hour and 40 minutes, until the ribs are tender but not quite falling off the bone.
  3. Meanwhile, place the parsley, coriander, oil, garlic and 1 teaspoon of mustard and a pinch of salt in the small bowl of a food processor and pulse for 30 seconds to combine. Set aside.
  4. Once the ribs have cooked, preheat a griddle pan on a medium high heat. Place the ribs on a chopping board and halve each rack. Transfer any cooking liquid from the ribs into a small pan and add the remaining 2 tablespoons of mustard, vinegar and the remaining 4 teaspoons of sugar to make the glaze. Cook over a medium high heat for 2 minutes, or until reduced and thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon. Use a pastry brush to apply a thin layer of the glaze to the ribs, then grill each side for ½ minutes, just until there are char marks, then turn and repeat on the other side. Do this 2 to 3 times, or until all the glaze has been applied.
  5. When ready to eat, transfer the ribs onto a serving plate and spoon the green sauce over the top of each rack. Serve with the lemon juice sprinkled on top.