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Jerk Baby Back Ribs With Pineapple Salsa

Photo of jerk baby back ribs on a wooden plate with pineapple salsa.
Photo by Jody Horton

The first time I worked with jerk spices was in the late ’90s, when I was the chef at a Caribbean-influenced restaurant in New York City’s East Village. I think I first used it on chicken and then I started trying it on seafood, pork, and just about anything, as they do in Jamaica. I love the notes of cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice, sweet warming spices that most Americans don’t expect to find in their savory foods. The key to flavorful ribs is marinating them for at least 24 hours and cooking them slowly while continuing to baste them. As my father says, “You’d be a jerk not to love them.”

Ingredients

Serves 4 to 6

Jerk Marinade

1 large red onion, cut into ¼-in/6-mm slices
¾ cup (180 mL) soy sauce
¾ cup (180 mL) vegetable oil
½ cup (120 mL) apple cider vinegar
½ cup (120 mL) water
1 jalapeño chile, sliced

Habanero Vinegar

½ habanero chile, stemmed and seeded
⅓ cup (80 mL) white wine vinegar

Pineapple Glaze

Two 6 oz. (180-mL) cans pineapple juice
¼ cup (50 g) firmly packed brown sugar

Pineapple Salsa

½ pineapple, diced
1 small red onion, diced
3 small jalapeño chiles, diced
⅓ cup (55 g) diced red bell pepper
⅓ cup (8 g) chopped fresh cilantro
2 Tbsp. canola oil
Juice of 1 lime
Kosher salt

Jerk Spice Rub

2 Tbsp. garlic powder
2 Tbsp. onion powder
1 Tbsp. ground allspice
1 Tbsp. kosher salt
2 tsp. grated nutmeg
2 tsp. cascabel or ancho chile powder
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 tsp. ground cayenne pepper
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
Two 2-lb (910 g) racks baby back ribs
  1. Step 1

    To make the jerk marinade:In a medium bowl, combine the onion, soy sauce, oil, vinegar, water, and jalapeño. (To make ahead, refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 days.)

    Step 2

    To make the habanero vinegar:In a food processor, com¬bine the habanero chile and vinegar and purée until smooth. Pour into a small bowl. (To make ahead, refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 1 month.)

    Step 3

    To make the pineapple glaze:In a small saucepan, combine the pineapple juice and brown sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook until sauce is thick and reduced to about one-third, about 15 minutes. (To make ahead, refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 days.)

    Step 4

    To make the pineapple salsa:In a medium bowl, combine the pineapple, onion, jalapeños, bell pepper, cilantro, oil, and lime juice. Season with salt. (To make ahead, refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 8 hours.)

    Step 5

    To make the jerk spice rub:In a small bowl, combine the garlic powder, onion powder, allspice, salt, nutmeg, chile powder, cinnamon, cayenne, and black pepper in a small bowl.

    Step 6

    Use a butter knife to pry the membrane off the bone side of the ribs. Once you get a piece of the membrane loose, grab it with a paper towel and pull it toward the other end of the slab to remove it. Rub the Jerk Spice Rub evenly over the ribs. Arrange the ribs in a 15-by-10-in/38-by-25-cm baking pan. Pour the Jerk Marinade over the ribs, turning to coat both sides. Cover baking pan with aluminum foil and refrigerate for at least 6 hours and up to 24 hours.

    Step 7

    Remove ribs from marinade, letting the excess drip off. Transfer the ribs to a baking sheet and allow to come to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Brush with the Habanero Vinegar.

    Step 8

    To cook ribs using a charcoal grill:准备间接烧烤烹饪中头脑t. Place a shallow metal pan filled with water in the center of the grill and arrange the hot coals around it. Lightly oil the grill grates. Place the ribs on the grate directly above the water-filled pan, cover the grill, and cook until tender, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Add coals as needed to maintain medium heat.

    Step 9

    To cook ribs using a gas grill:Preheat the grill with all the burners on high. Lightly oil the grill grates. Place the ribs on the grate, turn off the burner directly under the ribs, and reduce the other burners to medium heat. Cover the grill and cook until tender, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

    Step 10

    After 45 minutes, brush the ribs with some of the Pineapple Glaze, and brush them two or three times before serving. Do not flip the ribs during cooking. When the ribs are done, they will be well browned and the meat will have shrunk back from the ends of the bones. Transfer ribs to a cutting board and let stand 5 minutes before cutting rack into individual ribs. Serve warm with the Pineapple Salsa.

Excerpted fromBrown Sugar Kitchen: New-Style, Down-Home Recipes from Sweet West Oaklandby Tanya Holland with Jan Newberry, copyright 2014. Published by Chronicle Books. All rights reserved. Buy the full book fromAmazon.
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  • These ribs were amazing! Tender, full-flavored and pretty perfect. We followed the recipe just omitting the habanero vinegar. We also marinated chicken in some leftover marinade overnight and grilled that with excellent results as well. Definitely a keeper!

    • Anonymous

    • Metairie, LA

    • 7/24/2020

  • Excellent! There are many layers to this recipe but all very simple and quick to prepare. I have never cooked ribs before and opted to bake in the oven instead of grilling on our charcoal grill. For people like me who felt intimidated by this giant piece of meat, 3 1/2 hours on 275* might be more of a recipe for success. I left on the rub and marinade and covered with tin foil for the first 3 hours, then uncovered and poured on the vinegar. Ten minutes later, basted with the glaze. And ten minutes later, they came out of the oven. Because of our preferences, I substituted a cubanelle pepper for the habanero in the vinegar and for the jalapeño in the salsa. Used cucumber instead of red onion. All was amazing! The modifications were for my eases and tastes only, I feel confident that as is if you are comfortable cooking ribs on the grill and like the ingredients in this recipe you will be amazed with this recipe.

    • m00nbean

    • 6/22/2020

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