Hoisin-Glazed Baby Back Pork Ribs
Awesome recipe we've made since the 1990s. Hoisin sauce gives the ribs a delicious, savory, and slightly sweet flavor. This recipe is easy to make and can be tailored to your own taste preferences.
Awesome recipe we've made since the 1990s. Hoisin sauce gives the ribs a delicious, savory, and slightly sweet flavor. This recipe is easy to make and can be tailored to your own taste preferences.
- 1 cup ketchup
- 0.75 cup hoisin sauce
- 0.5 cup honey
- 5 tablespoons soy sauce
- 5 tablespoons dry sherry
- 0.25 cups white wine vinegar recipe calls for 0.25 cups plus 2 tsp
- 0.25 cup sesame seeds
- 2 tablespoons curry powder recipe calls for 2 tbsp plus 2 tsp (i use 1/2)
- 2 tablespoons oriental sesame oil recipe calls for 2 tbsp plus 2 tsp
- 2 tablespoons orange peel grated (i use 1/2)
- 2 tablespoons salted black beans minced (i also use some black bean garlic sauce)
- 2 tablespoons garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon chili paste with garlic
- 3 lb baby back pork ribs
- Carbohydrate 54.580780317392 g
- Cholesterol 268.579498300812 mg
- Fat 79.0777602990445 g
- Fiber 4.98304884435547 g
- Protein 81.7263525710567 g
- Saturated Fat 26.6414442284475 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (582g)
- Sodium 12937.3042997035 mg
- Sugar 49.5977314730365 g
- Trans Fat 7.00990542344163 g
- Calories 1262 calories
Step-by-step
- Whisk all ingredients except pork in lg bowl to blend.
- Divide ribs between 2 lg baking dishes.
- Brush with half of sauce.
- Cover ribs and remaining sauce separately and refrigerate overnight.
- Preheat oven to 375.
- Transfer ribs to lg heavy baking sheets.
- Roast ribs until tender, basting frequently with some of remaining sauce, about 1 hour.
- Place remaining sauce in heavy sm saucepan and bring to simmer.
- Transfer ribs to platter.
- Cut into individual ribs.
- Serve, passing remaining sauce separately.
- Wrap ribs with a good amount of sauce in triple layer of aluminum foil.
- You can do this with whole racks, 1/2 racks, or as individual ribs.
- Note that the next step is easiest with individual ribs because they don't fall apart as much, but 1/2 racks and whole racks do come out somewhat more tender (literally falling off the bone with any manipulation).
- Preheat oven to 300.
- Cook ribs meat side down for 2 -2 1/2 hours.
- Remove from oven.
- Turn on broiler.
- Open up the foil packets and remove ribs.
- Place ribs meat side up on a cookie sheet lined with foil.
- Cover with generous amount of sauce and broil for a/b 2-5 minutes until bubbling.
- Be careful at this step not to burn.
- Serve, passing remaining sauce separately.
Hoisin sauce contains a heavy load of fermented soybean paste, garlic, and added sugars that will char long before pork connective tissue breaks down if exposed to direct high heat. Marinades featuring high sugar percentages demand either a low-temperature foil barrier or vigilant basting during the final minutes of cooking. Leaving the silver skin on the bone-side of the rack creates an impermeable barrier that blocks both marinade penetration and rendering fat, so peel that membrane off using a paper towel for grip before applying any liquid.
Dry sherry and white wine vinegar provide necessary acid to cut through the dense sweetness of honey and hoisin, lowering the pH to tenderize surface proteins slightly during the overnight rest. Salt draws moisture out of the meat via osmosis during refrigeration, concentrating pork flavor while simultaneously dissolving surface muscle fibers. Allowing the meat to absorb these aromatics for at least eight hours ensures the internal layers taste seasoned rather than merely coated.
Foil wrapping traps evaporating moisture inside a closed micro-environment, effectively steaming the collagen at 300 degrees Fahrenheit until it melts into gelatin. This conversion of tough connective tissue requires sustained low heat over two hours, whereas roasting uncovered at 375 degrees dries out the exterior long before the interior reaches tenderness. Opening the foil packet at the end releases that accumulated steam, allowing the broiler to evaporate surface moisture and set a sticky glaze.
Sugars burn rapidly under direct broiler radiation, transforming from glossy to acrid in under sixty seconds. Watch the sheet pan continuously during the final two to five minutes, pulling the meat out the instant the sauce bubbles vigorously and darkens at the edges.
