July 12, 2020
The hot summer July days seem to be flying right by. The sweltering summer heat has made it difficult to enjoy nature without getting sweaty. I’m back at work in the kitchen testing out new recipes and putting spins on some of my favorite foods. While I like to avoid the oven as much as possible during the summer, I couldn’t help myself when my cravings steered me towards five spice spare ribs. Five spice spare ribs is my latest creation featuring Chinese five spice powder, one of the staple spices in my kitchen pantry. Chinese five spice powder features a blend of cinnamon, fennel, star anise, ginger, and cloves. It has a very distinctive flavor and is featured heavily in a lot of Asian roasted meats. Growing up in Brooklyn, my family made and ate a lot of meats cooked using five spice powder. Without five spice powder, roasted duck and char siu would not have their distinctive tastes. When I moved to the Midwest, one of the first spice blends I purchased to stock my pantry was five spice powder. It came in handy when my cravings veered towards braised pork rice. I love to add the spice blend when I want a distinctive layer of familiar flavor in the meats I cook at home. My Chinese five spice spare ribs came about through multiple experiments in the kitchen. I was playing around with finding a new way to make delicious smoked meats right in my own kitchen oven. The experiments led me to the perfect blend of spices for an Asian take on smoked spare ribs. I rubbed the spare ribs with Chinese five spice powder, garlic powder, white pepper, paprika, kosher salt, and black pepper. The spare ribs are then left to sit in the fridge overnight. The next day, I mix together a simple sauce of soy sauce, honey, and white pepper and brush the sauce onto the spare ribs right before loosely wrapping up the spare ribs in aluminum foil and tucking the package into the oven. Halfway into the cooking time, the irresistible scent of the spare ribs wafted through my kitchen. Kevin suddenly popped into the kitchen to check on how much longer the spare ribs would take to cook. The moment I removed the spare ribs from the oven to brush on the second layer of sauce, Kevin is already eagerly waiting for some spare ribs. I quickly brush on the second layer of sauce and pop the baking sheet with the uncovered spare ribs back into the oven to let the tops of the spare ribs caramelize. I also took this opportunity to pop some corn on the cob into the oven. 30 minutes later, the spare ribs have achieved the perfect caramelized crust on top. I remove the baking sheet from the oven, let the spare ribs cool for a bit, and prepare the rest of the sides (including green beans tossed with a simple sesame garlic sauce and tomato basil pasta salad). I bring out a simple fruit and cream trifle and a mint sweet tea I had prepared ahead of time. Our perfect summer meal was complete. Kevin and I devoured the spare ribs and sides in a matter of moments. Shortly after, he retreated back to his gaming station to play Valorant online with the boys. I grabbed my yoga mat and headed back outdoors to soak in some sunshine and catch up on my podcasts. The perfect relaxing Sunday was complete.
For the Chinese five spice spare ribs:
· Large rack of spare ribs
· 1 tablespoon Chinese five spice powder
· ½ tablespoon paprika
· ½ tablespoon garlic powder
· ½ tablespoon chili powder
· ½ tablespoon granulated sugar
· 1 teaspoon kosher salt
· ½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
· 2 tablespoons soy sauce
· 2 tablespoons honey
· ½ teaspoon white pepper
Directions:
The evening before:
1) In a bowl, combine the Chinese five spice powder, paprika, garlic powder, chili powder, sugar, salt, and black pepper. Rub the spice mixture all over the spare ribs. Place the spare ribs in a large container. Cover with a lid or plastic wrap. Place the container on the bottom section of the refrigerator. Let the spare ribs sit in the spice mixture overnight.
The next day:
2) Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with two sheets of aluminum foil. Remove the spare ribs from the refrigerator. In a bowl, combine the soy sauce, honey, and white pepper. Brush half of the sauce onto the spare ribs. Place the spare ribs in the foil lined baking pan. Fold one of the sheets of aluminum foil around the spare ribs to cover it. Bake the spare ribs in the oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
3) Remove the spare ribs from the oven. Unfold the aluminum foil. Brush on the remaining sauce. Place the spare ribs back into the oven uncovered and let cook for another 30-35 minutes. Remove the spare ribs from the oven and let rest for 20 minutes before cutting up the spare ribs and digging in.
Takeaways: Covering the spare ribs in the spices and letting the spare ribs sit overnight is the key to truly flavorful spare ribs. I’ve made these spare ribs five times over the last month and each time, Kevin and I both devoured the spare ribs within minutes. For alternative spins on cooking spare ribs, check out my spiced bbq spare ribs and sweet and sticky spare ribs.
Photos from Prior Attempt:
(Please ignore the wrinkly shirt)
