Sunday, May 24, 2015

Baby Back Ribs with Roasted Strawberry Barbecue Sauce for a Red, White and Blue #SundaySupper

Baby Back Ribs with Roasted Strawberry Barbecue Sauce for a Red, White and Blue #SundaySupper




Yikes! A quick check of my records finds that I didn't participate in a #SundaySupper event in April which is the first and only month I've missed since I began with the group in January 2013. I had planned to participate in the April 19th Picnic event hosted by T.R. of Gluten Free Crumbley and had prepared a dish but I ran into a few execution issues, so I wasn't able to fulfill my commitment but I'm happy to be back today.

Inspiration Behind the Dish

With this week's #SundaySupper theme, Red, White and Blue, I was considering my options when I noticed some strawberries in my refrigerator Mrs. Stuntman had purchased from Costco. A quick check of The Flavor Bible yielded pairings that suggested a dessert, however I'm not normally a dessert type of guy. I then remembered that pork pairs well with sweet flavors and was intrigued by the thought of strawberries paired with pork. It also occurred to me that I won't be able to compete in Ribfest in the Park this year, but had I been able to attend, I would use this recipe.

Dish Details

From a preparation standpoint, this dish will look a lot like the one I published last July, but with a different sauce. For it, I used a barbecue sauce I found on epicurious as a guide, but it's ultimately a Crazy Foodie Stunts original. Other than the short cut I take in smoking the ribs, I would imagine that this dish could be found on any southern barbecue restaurant.

Ingredients

1 pound fresh strawberries, hulled and cut in half lengthwise
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon cumin
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/8 teaspoon liquid smoke
1 2-to-3 pound rack baby back ribs

Special equipment: smoker bag

Method

1. Roast the strawberries and make the sauce. Preheat the oven to 350º Fahrenheit. Toss the strawberries with salt and pepper, then place on an aluminum foil-lined sheet pan in a single layer. Roast the strawberries in the oven until they soften and start to caramelize, approximately 20 minutes.


In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat, then add the garlic, onion powder, cumin and chili powder to sweat, approximately 1 to 2 minutes. Add in the ketchup, balsamic vinegar, soy sauce and liquid smoke and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes in order to blend the flavors. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper if necessary, then remove from heat and let it cool before placing in the refrigerator. The sauce can be made a day ahead of your rib preparation.


2. Rib preparation. Pat the ribs dry with a paper towel, then season with salt and pepper. Place the ribs in the smoker bag bone-side down, then follow the instructions on the smoker bag. In my case, I placed smoker bag on an aluminum foil-lined sheet pan, then placed the oven rack on the lowest position possible and preheated the oven to 500º Fahrenheit. I placed the ribs in the oven at 500 for 15 minutes, then reduced the heat to 375º Fahrenheit for an additional 60 minutes. Remove the ribs from the oven and increase the heat to 425º Fahrenheit, then let the rind rest for 10 minutes before removing them from the smoker bag. Baste the ribs on both sides with the reserved strawberry barbecue sauce and place back in the oven so the sauce caramelizes, approximately 2 to 3 minutes. Let the ribs rest for an additional 5 minutes, then cut crosswise into individual portions and serve with any leftover sauce.


Final Thoughts

From an execution standpoint, there are a couple of items to discuss. In my own evaluation, I found that I reduce the sauce too much and found it overly thick, as I simmered it closer to 20 minutes so I recommended dialing it back to 10 minutes in my instructions above. Secondly, I recommend resting the ribs in the smoker bag after 75 minutes primarily because the bag needs to cool down to handle. The smoker bags I use are sealed shut by folding the open end over twice so I recommend unfolding the bag carefully before removing the ribs because there will be about 1 cup of rendered fat in the bag that needs to be discarded before basting the ribs. The ribs can easily be prepared in the smoker bag on the grill but I highly recommend using indirect heat to caramelize the sauce in step 2 because the sugars in the sauce will cause the ribs to burn easily.

Before I leave you with the other red, white and blue dishes, I just wanted to acknowledge my friend Bobbi of Bobbi's Kozy Kitchen who prepared a similar strawberry barbecue sauce last summer and encourage you to try her recipe too!

Food Using One Color
Red Food
White Food
Blue Food
Food Using Two Colors
Red and White Food
Blue and White Food
Red, White and Blue Food

5 Tips for Potlucks by Sunday Supper Movement

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21 comments:

  1. I love fruit with pork, too. Your ribs look phenomenal!!!

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  2. I like the fruity aspect of the strawberries in that sauce. Great rib recipe! Thanks so much for hosting this holiday event.

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  3. I couldn't wait to see this one when you posted the preview, DB. Those roasted strawberries must make an amazing sauce with the added balsamic and other seasonings. Pinning this one on my Recipes to Try board! Thanks for much for hosting!

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  4. The strawberry BBQ sauce sounds intriguing and definitely worth a try! Pinned to try at some point.

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  5. Great job DB, your ribs are definitely patriotic with the roasted strawberrys.

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  6. What a wonderful sauce! I love roasting strawberries and using them in different ways. GREAT idea. And thanks for hosting us this week!

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  7. My Roasted Strawberry BBQ Sauce is one of my families favorites!! Well, that and my Pumpkin BBQ Sauce :) Yours sounds great DB!

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  8. What a wonderful sauce! I am looking forward to trying this! Thanks so much for hosting.

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  9. The roasted strawberry BBQ sauce sounds insanely good. This is definitely going to be a favorite at my house

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  10. Can I come to your house for dinner? That strawberry BBQ sauce sounds perfect for summer baby back ribs.

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  11. That sauce is callin my name!

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  12. Such a great idea to include strawberries with ribs! I never would have thought of that one.

    LOVE the pic with the pool in the background, too. I could swim a bit and then just stop by for a rib or two. :-)

    Thanks for being an amazing host!

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  13. DB! this ribs look amazing love the combination of pork and fruit!

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  14. Roasted strawberry BBQ sauce?! YUUUM!

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  15. Take me to that pool and those amazing looking ribs. It all looks fabulous!

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  16. I never used a smoker bag, thanks for the heads up! I've made raspberry with pork but never strawberry. great idea, DB!

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  17. Welcome back! Your sauce sounds very interesting. I use a lot of different fruits in sauces as well.

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  18. Oh my gosh! Love that sauce and amazing ribs! Thanks for hosting! I can only imagine how much work it is!

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  19. That barbecue sauce sounds amazing! Thanks for hosting this week!

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  20. Thanks for hosting such a fun event. Your ribs look wonderful.

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  21. I like the fruity aspect of the strawberries in that sauce. Great rib recipe! Thanks so much for hosting this holiday event.

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