Oven-roasted ribs

The Story

As I’ve mentioned, I worked at Blue Smoke restaurant from Union Square Hospitality Group before it closed down, exposing me to the joy of smoked meats. The smokers were all lined up in a well-ventilated side of the kitchen and were stacked with briskets, pork butt, whole chickens, short ribs, and of course, ribs. Ribs were definitely the best seller, generously coated in a secret spice blend and served just like that with the toasted spices and heavy bark or slathered in barbecue sauce.

Before my stint at a barbecue restaurant, I experimented with different ways and sauces to make my version of ribs. But tasting ribs without any sauce, coated in a mixture of aromatic spices was life-changing for me. I mean, I do love a good barbecue sauce, but eating ribs in this way lets the inherent porkiness shine through while balancing perfectly with the spices.

I thought there was no way I could do something like that at home. I live in an apartment, so having is a highly unlikely prospect. However, one day I was walking through the Gourmet Store at the Corte Inglés department store and discovered smoked salt. I bought a bunch of bottles and started working on replicating the flavor of those ribs at home.

After years of working on it, I’m really happy with this recipe and I serve it alongside a classic macaroni or potato salad, mac and cheese, or even my fried smashed potatoes with “gremolata”. Start with some classic southern-style deviled eggs and finish with my coconut cream pie and you’re good to go!

Difficulty: 5 on a scale of 1-5

Active time to prepare: 1 hour and 45 minutes

Total time to prepare: 3 hours and 45 minutes (including simmer time for the lobster stock)

Serves: 8 - 10

The Ingredients

For the spice blend:

1 tablespoon/9 g cumin seed

1 tablespoon/9g coriander seed

1 tablespoon/6 g mustard seeds

1 tablespoon/6 g fennel seeds

1 teaspoon/2 g dried oregano

1/4 cup/55 g light or dark brown sugar

1/4 cup/36 g smoked paprika

3 tablespoon/27 g smoked salt

1 tablespoon/9 g kosher salt

1 tablespoon/9 g garlic powder

1 teaspoon/2 g cayenne

Black pepper to taste

For the ribs:

2 racks St. Louis style pork ribs 2 1/2 pounds/2 kilo

The Recipe

For the spice blend:

1. Toast the cumin seeds, coriander seeds, mustard seeds, and fennel seeds in a dry sauté pan over medium heat until they are fragrant (around 3 minutes). Remove the pan.

2. Set aside and let cool slightly.

3. Coarsely grind them in a spice blender. Place in a bowl.

4. Add the rest of the spices and mix to combine.

For the lobster stock:

1. Using a paper towel, remove the thin membrane on the underside of the ribs.

2. Rub the racks generously with the spice blend on both sides. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight.

3. Preheat the oven to 62° C/145° F.

4. Place the ribs on a foil lined baking sheet.

5. Roast the ribs for 3 hours.

   *NOTE: You can, of course, use barbecue sauce if you would like. If so, brush a layer of sauce on the ribs after they have been in the oven for 1.5 hours. Coat every 30 minutes in a thin layer of sauce.

6. Let the ribs rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

DO AHEAD: You can make the spice blend 3 months in advance. Store in an airtight container in a cool dry place.

LEFTOVERS: Leftover ribs can be heated up in the air fryer for a short quick burst of heat at 205° C/400° F for 5 minutes.