Recipes
As with many of my recipes this makes a big batch – about 2 gallons! I make chutneys, sauces, jelllies etc. once a year or so. Then I can them into various size jars; big ones for home, smaller ones to give away. This is a big project between the chopping, cooking and canning, but there’s nothing like cracking open a jar of homemade BBQ sauce to turn an everyday meal in to something really special.
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 8 cups onions, coarse chop
- 1 heads garlic, coarse chop
- 1 cup jalepeños, seed and coarse chop
- 1 ½ cup ancho chile powder
- 12 cups whole tomatoes in juice (#10 can)
- 2 quarts water or vegetable stock
- 2 cups ketchup
- 2 cups red wine vinegar
- 1 cup Worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoons honey
- 2 cups molasses
- 1/2 cup dijon mustard
- 1 (7 oz.) can chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
- 1 T smoked salt
- 1 T black pepper
Heat the butter over medium heat in a large heavy-bottomed sauce pan, with capacity about 3 gallons
Add the onions, garlic and jalepeño, cook about 5 minutes until veggied start to wilt.
Add the chile powder and continue cooking until onion is translucent about 10 minutes.
Add the tomatoes and water.Simmer for 10 minutes.
Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for an hour over low heat, stirring occasionally.
Pureé the mixture in a food processor or use an immersion blender.
The BBQ sauce will keep about 2 weeks in the refrigerator or up to a year if you can it.
Strategy:
Don’t be scared by the length of this recipe. Each of the components can be prepared well in advance . At service time, you’ll only need to to grill and glaze the ribs. Ten spice mix can be prepared way in advance and can be used for other recipes including marinades, grill seasoning and sauces. Make glaze up to a week ahead and roast off ribs 2 -3 days before service.
Part One: Ten Spice Mix
Whole Spices
2 T fennel seeds
10 star anise, broken into points
2 T szechuan peppercorns
1 T coriander seed
3/4 t whole cloves
3/4 t cumin seed
1 1/2 t black peppercorns
Ground Spices
1/2 t ground cinnamon
1/4 t ground ginger
1/2 t tumeric
Method
- toast whole spices in a dry skillet over low heat stirring frequently until fragrant and lighter colored spices are lightly browned; about 5 minutes.
- Add ground spices and mix to combine
- Grind to a powder in spice or coffee grinder.
- Ten Spice Powder can be stored for months in a tightly covered container
Part Two: Pineapple Glaze
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 15oz can crushed pineapple
1 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup dark rum
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 fresh red chile, sliced thin
2 garlic cloves, smashed
2T fresh ginger, minced
- In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and add the ginger and garlic, saute for 3 minutes.
- Add remaining ingredients. bring to a simmer and cook, stirring, until thickened, about 20 minutes.
- puree in blender or food processor
- strain through sieve or china cap
- Store in refrigerator up to a week in advance
Part Three: The Ribs
Ingredients
2 racks baby back ribs
ten spice powder
kosher salt
sugar
Method
- Sprinkle ribs liberally on both sides with ten spice mix, salt and sugar
- Store overnight in refrigerator
- The next day, preheat oven to 250
- Arrange the ribs in a single layer in a shallow roasting pan and roast for 2 to 2 1/2 hours. When they are done, the pork will pull away from the bone and you will see about 1/2-inch of bone showing.
- When cool, separate the racks into individual ribs. Store in refrigerator up to 3 days before serving
Part Four: Ready to Grill!
Ingredients
precooked ribs
pineapple glaze
Method
- Heat a grill to medium high
- reheat ribs on grill, basting with the pineapple glaze on all sides
- serve as is, with extra glaze or with a sweet and sour sauce like plum sauce
lemons after one week
Preserved or pickled lemons are the essential ingredient for many Moroccan tagines and other ethnic specialties. I use these in sauces, salads, pastas, roasts and vegetables whenever I need an intense lemony flavor. You can buy them at fancy food stores for a pretty penny – but they are easy to make. The main ingredient is time, they must ferment at room temperature for weeks before using. Once fermented they’ll last for years in the refrigerator.
Here is the recipe I developed decades ago. I’ve been meaning to post it for a while because I can barely read my stained and faded chicken scratch.
Ingredients
5 small lemons – soft and thin skinned
5 cloves garlic, rough chop
3 shallots, julienne
1/3 cup kosher salt
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 bay leaf
pinch saffron
6 coriander seeds
4 black peppercorns
2 whole cloves
lemons after one year
Method
- Boil 2 quarts of water
- Add lemons and simmer 4 or 5 minutes until the skin becomes taught and fruit squishy.
- Cool lemons to room temperature
- Cut lemons into quarters (or sixths if large) and seed carefully so as not to crush the pulp
- Toss with remaining ingredients and pack into sterile screw top jars.
- Press the lemons down to make room for the remaining lemons.
- Add more lemon juice if needed to cover fruit completely.
- Keep at room temperature for a month, shaking the jar each day to distribute the salt and juice
- After one month they are ready to use. Move to refrigerator for long term storage.
This soup was inspired by the end of season CSA goodies. I added crispy bacon to ensure Nancy would eat it! Use any variety or mixed varieties of turnips and rutabagas.
Yield 1 gallon
future soupIngredients
1/2 pound bacon, cooked crispy and chopped; reserve fat
2 T bacon fat or butter
2 cups leeks, chopped and washed
2 T garlic, minced
1 cups parsnips, cubed
3 pounds of turnips – any variety
1 pounds all purpose or Yukon gold potatoes, cubed
2 quarts chicken or vegetable stock
1 t dry thyme (or 2 t fresh)
1 bay leaf
salt & pepper
Method
melt fat in large heavy bottomed pot over medium high heat
add leeks and garlic, cook 10 minutes until soft
add bay, thyme, salt and pepper
add turnip, parsnip and potato, continue cooking, stirring occasionally 10 more minutes.
add stock, reduce heat; cover and simmer until vegetables are very tender, about 45 minutes
remove bay leaf and puree in food processor or with immersion blender
add chopped bacon and adjust seasoning
Bring soup to simmer, thinning with more broth if necessary
I made this for my staff Holiday Party and people ate it up like candy. Part of the reason is that I used store-bought cornbread and it was wicked sweet. If you don’t like it too sweet, make your own cornbread.
I use Gaspar’s Portuguese chorizo which is readily available at my local Market basket. It is softer and fattier than Spanish chorizo and comes in a variety of heat levels.
Ingredients
4 ears of corn, husked
1/2 pound Portuguese chorizo, cut lengthwise in quarters and then slice
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter
1 sweet onion, medium dice (2 cups)
3 celery ribs, finely diced (1 1/2 cups)
3 large jalapeños, seeded and finely diced
12 cups Corn Bread (store bought or home made), cut into 1 inch cubes
2 cups (approximately) chicken broth
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Method
- Grill or broil the corn. Let cool and then cut the kernels off the cobs, set aside
- Meanwhile cook the chorizo in a medium skillet over medium-high heat until starting to brown, about 10 minutes.
- Add the butter to the chorizo and let melt
- Add the onion, celery, and jalepeños and cook over medium heat until softened, about 10 minutes.
- Scrape contents of skillet to a large bowl and add corn kernels, corn bread and cilantro.
- Toss well
- add just enough chicken stock to moisten to your liking
- season with salt and pepper
- cool to room temperature before stuffing in turkey or chicken.
Optionally, cook in a loosely covered, ovenproof dish at 350°F for 20 to 25 minutes.
Date: December 4, 2009