This is a “good, but…” recipe meaning that it was something that I enjoyed, but had some issues that made me not want to pursue more recipe testing and tweaking to become something that I turn into a recipe that I use on a regular basis. However, due to its flavor or other variables, it is a recipe that I want to keep around for later experimentation. The main issues that I have with this recipe are that I prefer a more traditional sauce such as Tangy BBQ Sauce, and that the meat is a little dry. The latter is probably just due to the fact that this is my first attempt at making ribs. While I have made this recipe three times now with various tweaks, I still have not found a technique that works for me to give the results that I want for the meat. The flavor and “bark” is great, and the meat is still tender and passible, but I personally would like a little more “juiciness”. Over time I expect to try different techniques for cooking ribs, but I prefer boneless cuts of meat and more of a tomato-based sauce, so may stick with Country Style Ribs.
Timings
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Wait: 2 hours, 40 minutes (plus 4 – 12 hours marination time)
Total: 3 hours (not including marination time)
Equipment Notes
- I use a half sheet pan with raised sides for this
Ingredients
- 1 rack baby back ribs, cut into 2 half racks
Marinade
- 1/3C soy sauce
- 1/3C sake
- 2T mirin
- 1T rice wine vinegar
- 1T brown sugar
- 1/8t black pepper
- 1/8t garlic powder
Glaze
- Reserved marinade
- 1/2in knob of ginger, peeled and sliced thinly
- 2 cloves garlic, minced thinly
- 1/4t sesame oil
Steps
- Place the ribs bone side up and make diagonal cuts both ways through the fat and tissue leaving a pattern of about 1in diamonds.
- Mix the marinate ingredients in a 1 gallon zip-top bag. Add the ribs and squeeze as much air out of the bag as possible. Place in a bowl and put in the refrigerator for 4 – 12 hours, rotating and agitating occasionally.
- Line a baking tray with aluminum foil and place the ribs on it. Reseal the bag with the marinate and place back in the refrigerator.
- Place another sheet of aluminum foil over the ribs and tightly seal all the edges.
- Bake in a 250°F/120°C oven for 2 hours. Remove and leave covered while making the glaze. Raise the oven temperature to 350°F/175°C.
- Add the reserved marinade along with the ginger, garlic, and sesame oil to a saucepan. Bring to a light boil and cook about 10 minutes.
- Remove the top layer of foil from the ribs and pour all the juices into the glaze and cook another 5 minutes.
- Place the ribs back in the baking tray if removed and brush on a layer of the glaze.
- Put the uncovered ribs back in the oven for 40 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches about 210°F/100°C. Every 5 – 10 minutes, brush the top of the ribs with another layer of the glaze.
- Transfer the ribs to a cutting board and slice between the bones. Brush some of the remaining glaze (if any) on the sides of the ribs and optionally top with sliced scallion greens and/or sesame seeds.