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  • Lemony Pea and Radish Salad with Mint
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Dave’s Sour Cherry Barbecue Sauce and Baby Back Ribs

I took no part in cooking this meal. Me, I’m just the scribe and photographer this time.

The ribs were experimental meats purchased in Brooklyn’s Chinatown. The sour cherries come from my parents’ sour cherry tree, and I did help with the picking and pitting. We made most of them into jam and pie and sauce earlier in the summer, and we froze some in case of emergency.

A few weekends ago, finally warmer and dry after a few days of rain and not quite yet settled into the autumn chill, was that emergency.

(No, I didn’t bother to wipe the bowl clean around the edges before taking out the camera. Barbecue sauce is messy business, and I’d not want to misrepresent it!)

I know this isn’t real barbecue. There was no pit, no burning wood, nothing like that. Dave follows his father’s old Missouri recipe for slowly braising ribs in the oven, then just finishing them on the grill or under the broiler. His sour cherry barbecue sauce is luscious, but I do not think we could call it traditional. But that doesn’t matter to me; what matters is how tasty it is.

Our frozen cherries made enough sauce for about 6-8 servings on ribs, given our stomach capacities. We used half it for dinner one night and lunch the next day, and froze the other half in anticipation of mid-winter ribs to come.

(Once that runs out, he will simply have to make more using our stockpiled sour cherry almond jam as the base instead.)

Dave’s Sour Cherry Barbecue Sauce
Gently cook until golden:
3 onions, chopped
in
1/8 C mustard oil

Add:
1 tsp chipotle
1/4 C cumin
1 tbsp coriander
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon

Saute for two minutes, then deglaze pan with:
1/4 C tarragon vinegar
1/8 C ketchup
1 tbsp squished roasted garlic
1 1/2 tsp almond extract

Add:
3 lbs sour cherries
10 sage leaves, chopped

If making for Ima (my diabetic grandmother), add:
20 tablets equal
1 tbsp regular soy sauce

If making for the rest of us, add:
7/8 C sugar
5 tbsp thick Chinese soy sauce

Bring to a boil, then simmer for ten minutes. Then blend until smooth.

Dave’s Baby Back Ribs
Place your ribs on a single layer on a rack in a roasting pan. Pour some beer or cider or apple juice or something over the ribs. Roast, loosely covered with foil, at 265° or so for at least 4 hours (6 is better), flipping every hour. If you start running out of liquid, pour some more on.

Version 2.0: Most recently, Dave actually cooked these at 250° instead, and he declares that that worked out even better.

Brush ribs with sauce. Finish on the grill or under the broiler for about 5 minutes on each side.

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7 Responses to “Dave’s Sour Cherry Barbecue Sauce and Baby Back Ribs”

  1. Love the pig peeking over the edge of the bowl!

  2. Hi,

    This week’s Weekend Cat Blogging # 68 will be over at Sarah’s. Please post your links at: http://chefsarahjane.blogspot.com/2006/09/wcb-68.html.
    Would anyone else be interested in hosting a future WCB?
    Thank you.

    BONNIE,
    http://misselliespage.blogspot.com
    danbonnie1@adelphia.net

  3. Christine says:

    “Barbecue sauce is messy business, and I’d not want to misrepresent it!)” I hear ya!

    Ok, I was wondering what that was! If it was part of a handle that was partly hidden. It’s a little piggy! How cute. :)

  4. Danielle says:

    I’m glad you guys like the little piggy, too. I bought him in a Chinatown supermarket, and I’m awfully tempted to go back and buy some more of his brethren.

  5. LOVE the lil’ piggie! Those ribs look so good that we’ll have to let the bbq ‘fouls’ go this time….Have you ever tried the stovetop smokers? They’re no substitute for the real thing, but are fun to play with when the weather’s nasty….

  6. [...] Main Courses: Meat Crypto-Jewish Brazilian Yellow Stew Finnish Meatballs with Squid Ink Pasta Hortobágyi Palacsintak (Pancakes Stuffed with Meat Stew) Kabocha Beef Tagine with Chickpeas and Preserved Lemon Lamb Tagine with Apricots, Dates, and Yams Lamb Tagine with Pearl Onions, Dates, and Sugar Snap Peas Malaysian Beef Curry with Thick Onion Sauce (Daging Nasi Kandar) Sour Cherry Barbecue Sauce and Baby Back Ribs Spicy Beef Slices with Tangerine Peel Stewed Garlicky Black Bean Spare Ribs Stir-Fried String Beans with Pork and Pork Töltött Káposzta (Stuffed Cabbage) [...]

  7. Dan says:

    I recently tried this BBQ sauce and it was great. I plan on making this sauce each summer. Thank you so much for posting.

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