TasunkaWitko
Well-Known Member
Hawaiian Ribs: I cheated, and I might do it again!
The Beautiful Mrs. Tas wanted ribs for Sunday Supper; the trouble was, it was a ridiculous, bitterly-cold weekend, with heavy, biting winds, dry, pelting snow and temperatures that plummeted to the single digits (lower, even, with wind chill).
Now, I could have dragged my smoker out, loaded it up with charcoal, and really have produced some pretty good, old-school, southern BBQ ribs...but I didn't. A single look out the window simply dissuaded me from such a course, not out of laziness, but simply because....
Well, maybe it was laziness after all....
In any case, I had two racks of ribs and no plan, so I decided to rummage around and see what I had, and am glad that I did. Tucked in the back of the pantry were two envelopes of Hawaiian Pride BBQ Sauce:
http://a.co/9psIDBO
I had bought these two or three years ago on a trip to the more populated side of Montana, intending to use them on some smoked ribs, but never did so for various reasons. The time had come, I decided, to finally try this sauce and see what it was about.
The instructions were pretty simple: cover the ribs with the sauce for at least half an hour (over-night is better), then cook the ribs until done. Well, I could certainly do that, I figured, and I did so. I used one package of sauce for each rack of baby-back (also known as loin back) ribs; spare ribs would of course work just as well - in fact, I am sure that the sauce would be great on chicken, fish, beef and almost anything else you wanted to try it on.
Preparation was very easy. After patting them dry with paper towels, I trimmed the membrane off the back of the ribs and dusted them lightly with salt and pepper. I then brushed the sauce on and covered them, then set them to refrigerate over-night.
I managed to taste a bit of the sauce and was impressed. It was garlicky, with a good hit of soy and a kick of ginger and some sort of red pepper. There was a nice undertone from sesame, and a tanginess that I'm guessing comes a combination of citrus and vinegar. There were some herbs and spices that balanced it out, and I really became an instant fan of it. The package says that it is "all natural with no preservatives," but I'd like to see about experimenting and coming up with a rendition of my own, just to see if I can.
The next day, I put the ribs on a rack in a roasting pan, put them in the oven and roasted them for probably 4 or 4.5 hours - starting the heat at 240ish and bumping it up incrementally to about 275. I brushed the extra marinade on them just before cooking, and basted the ribs with the drippings and pan juices every half hour or so, starting after the first hour, with one final brushing just before serving. The ribs came out crackling-good, with deep colour and a nice shine. To me, a smoke ring would have made them perfect, but I was satisfied with the effort, indeed.
We served the ribs with an improvised cole slaw and got right down to trying them. The ribs were done perfectly, and came off the bone with just a bit of a tug, as they should. The outside of the ribs was crisp, and the meat itself was tender, juicy, and bursting with great flavor. For oven ribs, they were top-notch!
I'd like to try these again this summer, in the smoker; but even if they are done in the oven again, they will be very good, I am sure. As I said above, my main goal would be to reproduce this sauce myself, but I wouldn't hesitate to use this product again. It was great!
The Beautiful Mrs. Tas wanted ribs for Sunday Supper; the trouble was, it was a ridiculous, bitterly-cold weekend, with heavy, biting winds, dry, pelting snow and temperatures that plummeted to the single digits (lower, even, with wind chill).
Now, I could have dragged my smoker out, loaded it up with charcoal, and really have produced some pretty good, old-school, southern BBQ ribs...but I didn't. A single look out the window simply dissuaded me from such a course, not out of laziness, but simply because....
Well, maybe it was laziness after all....
In any case, I had two racks of ribs and no plan, so I decided to rummage around and see what I had, and am glad that I did. Tucked in the back of the pantry were two envelopes of Hawaiian Pride BBQ Sauce:
http://a.co/9psIDBO
I had bought these two or three years ago on a trip to the more populated side of Montana, intending to use them on some smoked ribs, but never did so for various reasons. The time had come, I decided, to finally try this sauce and see what it was about.
The instructions were pretty simple: cover the ribs with the sauce for at least half an hour (over-night is better), then cook the ribs until done. Well, I could certainly do that, I figured, and I did so. I used one package of sauce for each rack of baby-back (also known as loin back) ribs; spare ribs would of course work just as well - in fact, I am sure that the sauce would be great on chicken, fish, beef and almost anything else you wanted to try it on.
Preparation was very easy. After patting them dry with paper towels, I trimmed the membrane off the back of the ribs and dusted them lightly with salt and pepper. I then brushed the sauce on and covered them, then set them to refrigerate over-night.
I managed to taste a bit of the sauce and was impressed. It was garlicky, with a good hit of soy and a kick of ginger and some sort of red pepper. There was a nice undertone from sesame, and a tanginess that I'm guessing comes a combination of citrus and vinegar. There were some herbs and spices that balanced it out, and I really became an instant fan of it. The package says that it is "all natural with no preservatives," but I'd like to see about experimenting and coming up with a rendition of my own, just to see if I can.
The next day, I put the ribs on a rack in a roasting pan, put them in the oven and roasted them for probably 4 or 4.5 hours - starting the heat at 240ish and bumping it up incrementally to about 275. I brushed the extra marinade on them just before cooking, and basted the ribs with the drippings and pan juices every half hour or so, starting after the first hour, with one final brushing just before serving. The ribs came out crackling-good, with deep colour and a nice shine. To me, a smoke ring would have made them perfect, but I was satisfied with the effort, indeed.
We served the ribs with an improvised cole slaw and got right down to trying them. The ribs were done perfectly, and came off the bone with just a bit of a tug, as they should. The outside of the ribs was crisp, and the meat itself was tender, juicy, and bursting with great flavor. For oven ribs, they were top-notch!
I'd like to try these again this summer, in the smoker; but even if they are done in the oven again, they will be very good, I am sure. As I said above, my main goal would be to reproduce this sauce myself, but I wouldn't hesitate to use this product again. It was great!
