Asian Baby Back Ribs

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5 from 2 votes

A sticky, tender Chinese-style rib recipe that you can make on a grill or in the oven.

Prep Time15

Cook Time1 30

Total Time1 45

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Asian

Servings: People

Author: Katie Workman

Equipment

Ingredients

3 cloves garlic
3 scallions (trimmed)
¾ cup hoisin sauce
½ cup ketchup
¼ cup rice wine or cider vinegar
½ cup low-sodium soy sauce (or 1/3 cup regular soy sauce plus 2 tablespoons water)
⅓ cup mirin or dry sherry
½ cup honey
2 racks baby back ribs (4 to 5 pounds; see Note)

Instructions

In a food processor or blender, first finely mince the garlic and scallions. Add the hoisin, ketchup, vinegar, soy sauce, mirin or dry sherry, and honey and process until well blended.
Pour the sauce into a plastic container with a lid (large enough to hold the ribs), or it’s quite handy to marinate the ribs in a large, heavy-duty zipper-top bag. Add the ribs to the marinade and turn so they are well-coated. Marinate the ribs for at least 4 hours, and up to a day in the fridge if you have time.
To bake the ribs and finish them on the grill, preheat the oven to 300 F. (See above for directions on how to bake these ribs completely in the oven or how to make these ribs completely on the grill.) Place the ribs, meaty side up, on two rimmed baking sheets that have been lined with aluminum foil (you do not want to skip this step). Bake the ribs for 1 hour. Shortly before the hour is up, preheat the grill to medium (see Note), or simply raise the heat to 400 F at the end of the hour and let them go for another 30 minutes, giving them a good baste or two towards the end, and watching carefully to see that they don’t burn.
Arrange the ribs on the grill, meatier side down to start, and grill for about 20 minutes, turning the ribs frequently so they won’t burn and basting them with any marinade that remains in the pan as you go. Don’t wander away. Remove the ribs from the grill and let them sit for about 5 or 10 minutes before slicing them. Serve hot or warm.

Notes

Tip 1:

You can also do this with 4 or 5 pounds of larger spareribs; just cook them for about 2 hours in the oven before grilling them or cranking up the heat.

Tip 2:

To cook the ribs completely in the oven, simply raise the heat to 400 F at the end of the hour and let them go for another 30 minutes, giving them a good baste or two towards the end and watching carefully to see that they don’t burn.

Or, you can cook the ribs completely on the grill, but given the significant sugar content in this sauce, this requires some vigilance on your part. Either preheat a gas grill to medium-low or set up a charcoal grill for indirect grilling. Arrange the ribs on the grill but NOT over the direct flame, with the meaty side up to start, and grill them for an hour, turning them frequently and watching closely for flare-ups.

Nutrition