Foolproof Ribs with Barbecue Sauce

What I have learned recently:

• The heat is bearable when you remember how bad the winter was.
• There is nothing better than cooking in your own kitchen.  With the air conditioning blasting.  Just don't forget to shut your heat off.
• If you find a dog you want on social media, you have to move quickly or she will end up in an equally as wonderful home.  Just saying.
• It's nice to know I'm not alone going through bad stuff.  Other people, good people, have lived to tell the tale.
• I can still have fun. I can even go to bars (!) with great friends.
• When making ribs, they should probably take all day cooking low and slow.  But if you want a shortcut, read on.

I was intrigued by a rib shortcut.  Kenzie has a strange obsession with them (in fact she is currently at Fireflies in Marlborough, eating them as I type), but during the hot days of summer, I don't feel like keeping the oven going for hours and hours.  I am always interested in make-ahead recipes, and anything done by Ina Garten, so when I saw this recipe in my Food Network Magazine, I tried it out on the barbecue day I mentioned in my last post.

So what's the shortcut?  Bake them for about 2 hours, and then finish them off on the grill.  That way you get tender ribs, but still get the flavor and grill marks.  Even better is the barbecue sauce, which might be the best recipe I have made so far.  I think I spotted Nick dunking bread in it for days.  Even if you aren't a ran of ribs (ditto), at least make the sauce.  It's a really complex sauce with lots going on.  There's everything from hoisin sauce to honey in there.  Flavor explosion.

The make-ahead part of this recipe is great because you can make the sauce early, and you can even roast the ribs ahead of time too.  This is a recipe that if you wanted, could be spread over 3 days.  It would be perfect for a little barbecue party; all you have to do that day is throw the ribs on the grill for 10 minutes!

The ribs were not as tender as I had wanted, to be honest, but I think I could have left them in the oven for a bit longer.  You are supposed to roast them until they are falling off the bone, and I think I might have jumped the gun.  As far as meats go, this was a mostly painless recipe with minimal touching and cutting, so it's certainly worth another try!

Recipe:

foolproof ribs with barbecue sauce
from Ina Garten in the summer 2015 Food Network Magazine

Ingredients:
for ribs:
5 pounds Danish baby back ribs (4 racks) or St. Louis ribs (2 racks)
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
for barbecue sauce (makes 1 1/2 quarts):
1/2 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion (1 large onion)
1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)
1 cup (10 ounces) tomato paste
1 cup cider vinegar
1 cup honey
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 cup Dijon mustard
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 cup (8 ounces) hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin

Instructions:

1) Make the sauce first: Heat the oil in a large saucepan over low heat.  Add the onions and cook for 10 - 15 minutes until the onions are translucent but not browned.  Add that garlic and cook for one more minute.  Add the tomato paste, vinegar, honey, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, chili powder, cumin and pepper flakes.  Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.  Use immediately or pour into a container and refrigerate for several weeks.

2) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil.

3) ) Place the ribs on the sheet pan meat-side up and sprinkle them with 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper.  Pour the barbecue sauce generously on each rack and cover the ribs loosely with aluminum foil,  Bake for 1 1/2 hours for baby backs and 1 3/4 hours for St. Louis ribs, until the meat is very tender when tested with a fork.  As soon as the ribs are out of the oven, spread them generously with additional barbecue sauce.  Grill right away or refrigerate to grill later.

4) About 40 minutes before you want to serve, heat a charcoal grill with a layer of hot coals, or heat a gas grill to medium-high heat.  After the charcoal turns gray, brush the cooking grate with oil to keep the ribs from sticking.  Place the ribs on the grill rib-side down.  Put the lid on top, making sure both vents are open, and grill for 5 minutes.  Turn the ribs meat-side down.  Put the lid back on and grill for another 4 to 5 minutes until nicely browned.  Place on a cutting board and cover tightly with aluminum foil and allow the ribs to rest for 10 minutes.  Cut into ribs and serve hot with extra barbecue sauce on the side.

Pulled Cauliflower BBQ Sandwiches

What is this?  Two posts in one day!?  What's up with that?  Well first of all, I'm getting a bit bored today.  I'm home alone with a bad cold while Mom and Kenzie went for a day trip to the beach, and Rachael is at a party.  I can only watch so many episodes of House Hunters (without crying about my own thus-far-unsuccessful house hunt).  Second of all, this meal is special enough to merit a two-posts-in-one-day post.  This is the one you've been waiting for.  This, my friends, is the pulled cauliflower BBQ sandwich post.

Now, anyone who is Facebook friends with me has probably already heard about this meal.  I posted this status in the midst of cooking: "Reason 586 why I love this man: he came into the kitchen to see how my BBQ sandwiches were going.  He asked, 'wheres the pork?'  I informed him we were having pulled cauliflower, not pork.  He just shook his head and smiled."  I thought it just summed up how easy-going Mark is when it comes to eating the sometimes-very-strange foods that I make; he very rarely says no to giving anything a try (unless it involves ground chicken or turkey, most shellfish, or eggs).  I also thought it would probably freak lots of people out that I was mixing barbecue sauce and cauliflower and calling it dinner... and I was right.  The entertaining comments I got included, "Give that man some meat!", "We are not sorry to be missing this meal.", "Wow, Mark is a better man than I.", and were topped off by Rachael's "I left for dinner tonight....".

Okay, fine, I know it sounds totally bizarre, but I was intrigued.  First you make your own barbecue sauce - and, red alert, this sauce is to die for.  In fact, I have made it again twice since the sandwiches, per request from my whole family (unfortunately it was for Mark to slather on chicken wings).  It's the absolute perfect blend of sweet, spicy, salty, smoky... it's just amazing.  Make the sauce, at least, even if you are totally horrified at the thought of pulling cauliflower.  It's so easy to make, too.  I hate barbecue sauce, and even I liked it.

Now onto the part that you skeptics are all wondering about: how the heck do you pull cauliflower?  To be honest, the name is a bit misleading; you don't pull much of anything.  You grind up the cauliflower and mix it with eggs (the website has a vegan option if you're interested), some of the homemade barbecue sauce, water, and salt.  Then the mixture is spread into a pan and baked.  What you end up with is a kind of cauliflower cake that then gets sliced into strips for serving.  While the cauliflower is baking, caramelize some onions so that your sandwich will have all the fixings of a traditional pulled BBQ sandwich.  Then you have everything you'll need: hamburger buns, pulled cauliflower, barbecue sauce, and caramelized onions.

See? He's smiling!

I know you're curious: how were these bizarre vegetarian sandwiches!?  I think you'll be surprised to hear that they were actually rather awesome.  Mom, Kenzie, Mark, Christy and I all ate one quite happily.  Kenzie claimed that she wanted to hate them, but found herself shocked to discover that she "really really liked it" and would like for it to be served again some night!  The biggest shocker was that even Nick ate one; he doused it in enough sauce to probably drown the cauliflower taste altogether, but hey, if I could get him to eat a veggie sandwich, then I could get anyone to give it a try.

You'd be surprised how many people have been asking for this recipe.  I think the idea of a healthy, meatless barbecue option appeals to more people than I would have guessed.  And so, everyone, without further ado, here is the recipe for the absolutely delicious and shockingly popular pulled cauliflower BBQ sandwiches!

She's loving it!

Recipe:

pulled cauliflower BBQ sandwiches
from Beard and Bonnet
makes about 6 sandwiches

Ingredients:

for sauce:
1/2 cup ketchup
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
4 tablespoons distilled vinegar
4 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons brown sugar

for pulled cauliflower:
2 cups cauliflower florets from 1 small head cauliflower
3 eggs
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon water
1/3 cup homemade barbecue sauce
pinch of salt

to make sandwiches:
6 hamburger buns
2 onions, sliced thin

Instructions:

1) Make the sauce: combine all of the ingredients in a small sauce pan and heat over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for 20-25 minutes.

2) Preheat the oven to 450 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Lightly rub olive oil on the parchment paper to prevent sticking and set aside.

3) Chop cauliflower into florets and pulse in the food processor until the cauliflower looks like couscous or small grains of rice; no not overprocess!

4) In a large bowl, combine all of the pulled cauliflower ingredients and mix well to combine; the mixture will be wet.  Pour the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet and spread it out evenly over the surface.  Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until cooked through.  Meanwhile, caramelize the onions.  Then remove cauliflower from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool.

5) Once cooled, slice cauliflower into strips and use a spatula to carefully lift it from the parchment.  It will be pretty fragile, but don't worry if it breaks, since it's going in a sandwich anyway.

6) To make sandwiches, pile buns high with cauliflower strips, barbecue sauce, and caramelized onions.  Enjoy!