Five-Spice Pork Ribs with Smothered Onions and Spicy Dried Cranberry BBQ Sauce

Recipe courtesy Tom Berry, Bambara Restaurant, Cambridge, Mass.

Show: Sara's SecretsEpisode: Chef Cooks at Home

Rated: 4 stars out of 5Rate itRead users' reviews (16)

RECIPE
COMMENTS & REVIEWS(16)

Cook Time:
3 hr 0 min
Level:
Intermediate
Yield:
4 servings (3 cups of sauce)

Times:

Prep: 10 min
Inactive Prep: 12 hr 0 min
Cook: 3 hr 0 min
Total:: 15 hr 10 min

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Ingredients

Ribs:

2 quarts water
2 tablespoons Chinese 5-spice powder
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoon kosher salt
2 1/2 pounds baby back pork ribs (about 2 whole racks)
2 medium onions, cut in half and then sliced 1/4-inch-thick
1 tablespoon butter
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Sauce:

1 tablespoon canola oil, for cooking
1 medium onion, diced
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 cup sweetened dried cranberries
2 cups cranberry juice
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons chopped chipotle chili pepper (canned peppers in adobe sauce works best)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
To make the ribs: Whisk together the water, five-spice, sugar and salt until dissolved. Cut the racks in half and submerge fully in the brining liquid. Refrigerate overnight.

Directions

Preheat an oven to 300 degrees F.

Line a sheet tray with enough foil to completely cover and seal the pork ribs. Evenly spread the sliced onions on the foil and place the butter on top. Remove the ribs from the liquid and season both sides with salt and pepper. Place the ribs in one layer on top of the onions, and fold the foil over making sure to tightly seal the package. Roast undisturbed for 2 hours.

To make the sauce: Coat a small saucepan with the canola oil. Over medium heat, sweat the onions and garlic until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Add the sugar, cranberries, cranberry juice, vinegar and chipotle peppers. Simmer until the liquid is reduced by half. Puree the sauce in a blender until very smooth, season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Remove the ribs from the oven, unwrap and baste the ribs with the sauce. Increase oven temperature to 350 degrees F and bake the ribs uncovered for 10 minutes until the sauce is lightly browned.

Divide the smothered onions onto 4 plates and serve with half a rack per person, or serve family style on a platter.

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Comments & Reviews

recipe Five-Spice Pork Ribs with Smothered Onions and Spicy Dried Cranberry BBQ Sauce
CJ Brooklyn, NY 11-30-2008
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Tender, flavorful alternative
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

Love these ribs -- agree that the braising technique used in this recipe can work with other BBQ sauces as well with good... results. For those who have problems with the sweetness of the sauce, be sure to use unsweetened cranberry juice (i..e, pure cranberry) as anything with sugar added will require you to adjust sugar downward. Also, to eliminate onions from drying out, make sure the foil is sealed -- this will ensure meat is tender as well. Enjoy!Read more
recipe Five-Spice Pork Ribs with Smothered Onions and Spicy Dried Cranberry BBQ Sauce
Jane Copperas Cove, TX 04-08-2008
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Fantastic!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

The sauce for these ribs is fabulous and it makes enough for more than one batch. Even people who think they are straight... meat-and-potatoes guys can't get enough of these on their plates. It's an easy dish to prepare, and if I could rate the recipe 10 stars I would.Read more
recipe Five-Spice Pork Ribs with Smothered Onions and Spicy Dried Cranberry BBQ Sauce
Russ Marana, AZ 07-28-2007
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It's Terrific!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

Outstanding rib recipe. Regarding the sauce, I substituted 2 cups pomegranate juice for the cranberry juice and reduced the... brown sugar to just 2 tablespoons packed. It was still sweet, but not overly sweet. I've since used this sauce on grilled chicken and pork chops. It's an excellent barbecue sauce.Read more
recipe Five-Spice Pork Ribs with Smothered Onions and Spicy Dried Cranberry BBQ Sauce
Suzanne Jonesboro, AR 08-14-2006
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Too sweet!!!!!
Rated: 2 stars out of 5

I just made the sauce and I agree with Melanie from CA. it is much too sweet; next time I will leave out the brown sugar... altogether b/c this time I only used half of what was called for in the recipe and that was too much. I wonder what the other reviewers did that Melanie and I did not do. I didn't even use sweetened cranberry juice!Read more
recipe Five-Spice Pork Ribs with Smothered Onions and Spicy Dried Cranberry BBQ Sauce
Taniella Jamaica, NY 07-21-2006
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Tasty
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

Very good spice. Flavor was excellent. Ribs were tender. A great alternative to the grill.
recipe Five-Spice Pork Ribs with Smothered Onions and Spicy Dried Cranberry BBQ Sauce
STEPHEN Richfield, MN 10-23-2005
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Just the ribs
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

Just used the rib part with regular bbq sauce and they are still fantastic and easy.