Chipotle Honey BBQ Ribs

Thai BBQ Ribs (left), Chipotle Honey BBQ Ribs (right)

I asked my followers on my Facebook page if I should make Thai or Chipotle flavored ribs. Secretly I was hoping everyone would want me to make the Thai inspired ones because they sounded interesting and were more uncommon. But the winning request was to make the Chipotle Honey BBQ Ribs. One smart friend, however, suggested I make both so that’s exactly what I did! I thought it was a good idea to have a rib cook off and see which one we preferred.

The Thai inspired recipe was really more Asian than Thai. It had the typical hot chiles, cilantro, lime, fish sauce, soy sauce etc. But it also had hoisin sauce which really isn’t Thai. The recipe was tasty but nothing to really brag about. I think it could be good with a little more work so I won’t bother with sharing the recipe at this time.

So, obviously, the winning rib recipe according to the three of us that ate them was…

Chipotle Honey BBQ Ribs!!! They really were delicious chipotle honey bbq sauce really was delicious on the the ribs. I’m a big fan of chipotle chiles so I knew I was going to like this recipe. The original recipe called for roasting individual cloves of garlic but I just roasted the entire head and it was fine. Charring the tomatoes is a nice touch and added great fire roasted tomato flavor to the sauce which pairs nicely with the smokey chipotles. The recipe calls for 1/4 cup of chipotle chiles in adobo. I put the entire can in a blender and gave it a whirl, then measured out the 1/4 cup. Freeze the remaining chile in tablespoon size portions to add to future recipes. I got this recipe from “The Great Ribs Book” by Hugh Carpenter & Teri Sandison. There’s lots of delicious looking rib recipes in this cookbook and I’m sure I will be trying a different recipe from here next time! The Thai Red Curry Sauce Ribs sounds interesting…maybe that will be the next winning Thai rib recipe???

Chipotle Honey BBQ Ribs

Ingredients

Slab of your favorite ribs (spareribs, baby back)
1 head garlic
1 Tbls. olive oil
2 vine ripened tomatoes
¼ C. chopped fresh oregano
¼ C. chipotle chiles in adobo sauce*
14 C. cider vinegar
2 Tbls. honey
2 Tbls. molassas
2 Tbls. dark sesame oil
1 Tbls. cumin
1 tsp. salt

Instructions

Remove membrane from ribs, place in baking dish.
To roast garlic: Heat oven to 450 degrees. Remove outer layer of garlic bulbs skin. Slice about ¼ inch or so off top of garlic to expose individual bulbs. Rub entire bulb with olive oil, wrap in foil and bake in oven for 30 minutes. Let cool enough to handle, then squeeze the garlic bulbs from the peel into food processor.
Cut tomatoes in half. Char halves under broiler or on a grill until all sides are nearly blackened. Add to food processor.
Add remaining ingredients to food processor and puree until smooth.
Coat the ribs on both sides with half the sauce. Let ribs marinate in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes up to 8 hours. Reserve the remaining sauce to baste the ribs when grilling.
My preferred way to cook ribs is to place them in a roasting pan (add just a little bit of water to keep them moist while cooking and not stick to bottom of pan) and seal tightly with foil. Bake in a low oven, 250 degrees, for at least 3 hours. I typically don't time them, just put them in early in the afternoon and let them do their thing. Then when it's time to eat, take them out and finish them on the grill. Slather the extra sauce on ribs before putting them on the grill, then grill both sides to get them charred a bit and look like ribs are suppose to look. Baste with sauce while grilling as well. Since the ribs are already cooked, you really just trying to get the sauce to caramelize a bit and give some good color and BBQ flavor to the ribs.

*to measure ¼ cup, just place the entire can of chipotles in adobo in your blender and blend to a puree. Then measure ¼ cup. Don't throw out the remaining sauce. Freeze it in tablespoon size portions for future recipes.