Happy Birthday Dad! To celebrate we had everyone over for a BBQ and the main feature was our Triple Cooked Ribs! These are based on the recipe I found by Mark Bittman of the New York TImes, and these make absolutely the most mouthwateringly tender and flavourful ribs you’ve ever had! It takes a bit of time, and there are a few more steps but it is well worth it.

Triple Cooked Ribs

Prep Time: 30mins Cooking Time: 4-6 Hrs

Ingredients:

1. •Ribs (beef or pork - back or side) 1 rack per person
   

2. •Salt & Pepper
   

3. •Olive Oil
   

4. •1 Lg bottle of Dark Beer (i.e. Stout or Porter)
   

5. •BBQ Sauce
   

Preparation:

Using a sharp knife make a slit in the membrane on the underside of the ribs and using a paper towel to grip the membrane, peel it off the rack of ribs. Cut the racks into pieces that will fit into the bottom of a heavy pot. Generously salt and pepper each side of each piece.

Cooked 1st Way - Seared:

Put a heavy pot on medium high heat and add 2-3 tablespoons of Olive Oil in the bottom of the pan. When it’s shimmering, add one rack at a time into the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side until a nice crust forms on each side.

After each piece is browned, take it out of the pot and set is aside.

Cooked 2nd Way - Braised:

Stack the ribs tightly in the pot (I found the best way is to stack them on their edges) until you can’t fit any more in, and pour in a large bottle of dark beer. The dark beer will give the ribs a very rich and meaty flavour in addition to helping tenderize them. I found a nice Maple Stout from Canmore Brewing Company, and a Black & Tan beer called Mississippi Mud. If you can’t find stuff like this, Guinness works well and is more widely available.

The beer should almost, but not quite, cover the top of the ribs.

Turn the stove on to low, cover the pot with a lid, and let it braise in the beer for a minimum of 2 hours, but I think you should leave it for at least 4 hours.

Cooked 3rd Way - Grilled:

After 4 hours the ribs will be falling off the bone tender, so be careful when you are moving them out of the pot. Place them on a cookie sheet, and in theory you could boil down the braising liquid into a dipping sauce but I never bother.

Turn the grill on to high and once it’s hot, carefully place the racks on the grill and cook until they get a little charred on the outside.

At this point you can also brush on a little BBQ sauce if you would like the added flavour. In the photo below the ribs on top have just had a rub of oil, garlic and fresh herbs on them and the ones at the bottom of the picture have BBQ sauce grilled on them.

Once your ribs are a little charred, take them off and enjoy!!

Footnote: If the weather outside is uncooperative, you can easily grill these in the oven using the broiler. Put the broiler on high, and place a rack on the highest or second highest position. Cover a cookie sheet with tin foil and place your racks of ribs on them and grill them under the broiler until you get a little charring.