Tender, moist and flavourful Korean pork ribs
Spicy Korean pork ribs will rock your world.
SERVES: 4
PREP TIME: 10 mins (+ overnight marinading if you can)
COOKING TIME: 2 hrs
DIFFICULTY: easy
IDEAL FOR: crowd-pleaser, family
BUDGET: £
Spicy Korean pork ribs
And create a whole lotta sticky fabulous mess.
We had an epic cooking week, last week.
Lou’s Kitchen Corner was set for another pop-up supper at Michael Sutton’s Cellar.
But this time it was led by Tim and Toby.
And Frankie and I were Sous Chef and Front of House legends.
Cooking
The menu was made up of;
- rustic pork terrine with Toby’s red onion marmalade,
- slow-cooked pork belly, bacon & beans (one of mine)
- and Toby’s Parisian tart.
They worked really hard leading up to the night prepping all the food.
And on the night, they delivered a stand-out meal to 40 friends and guests.
It was a triumph.
And what I loved the most about it…
We did it (again) as a family!
And I think we’ll be doing a third and fourth supper.
But the thing about cooking is…
When it’s over, you’re absolutely shattered.
And in Toby’s case, he doesn’t want to see a red onion for a very long time!
But we needed to celebrate this accomplishment.
And we always do that with food!
Which is why I decided to go for a family favourite.
Ribs.
But these are spicy Korean ribs.
And to get the best favour and tenderness, I highly recommend marinating them overnight.
Apart from that, it’s a super easy recipe.
And makes everyone very happy.
And very messy.
But then who cares when it tastes this good.
So, ribs it was for our celebration luncheon.
Tips on cooking ribs
Ribs no matter what they’re smothered in, are always a hit in our family.
But there is nothing worse than serving up dry, tough ribs.
So, I’ve put together a few tips (and mistakes).
To make sure you always have tender, moist ribs.
Oven cooked ribs
I’m a big fan of oven-cooked ribs.
Rib meat is pretty tough so they need a long time to become tender.
This is why low and slow in the oven is perfect.
7 tips to great tasting tender, moist ribs
Tip 1: Remove the silver skin (membrane)
… or ask your butcher to do it.
When you’re prepping your ribs, take off the thin membrane, it will make them less tough.
Tip 2: Marinade your ribs
When possible, marinate overnight or for a least a couple of hours.
And pop them in the fridge, don’t leave at room temperature.
Tip 3: Low and slow
The key to cooking great baked ribs is low temp and lots of time.
We cook ours at 150°C (130ºC fan) for 2 hours.
The best part is, this recipe is totally hands-off.
Pop the ribs in the oven, cover with foil and let them cook until tender.
Tip 4: Air circulation
If you lift the ribs above the baking tray on a rack it lets the heat circulate on all sides.
So, line a rimmed baking tray with foil. Place the wire cooling rack on top and place the ribs on top of the track.
Tip 5: Cover with baking paper and foil
When you put your traybake in the oven, cover first with baking paper then foil (or a lid).
This keeps the moisture in.
Tip 6: Baste
This doesn’t need to be done until you’ve cooked them for 1.5hrs.
Once you’ve taken off the paper and foil to get the ribs to caramelise, this is when you baste.
Tip 7: Rest your ribs
Like most meat, resting is a key element to ensuring your meat stays moist.
So, give them 15 mins to rest before serving.
Should you boil ribs before baking or grilling?
I didn’t bother with this for the spicy Korean ribs.
I think it’s an option if you’re doing ribs under the grill or on a BBQ.
But here are the pros and cons of boiling ribs first.
Pros
You can parboil ribs for a short time to tenderize the rib meat.
This helps render fat.
It also can shorten the cooking time.
Cons
Boiling can release the natural juices of the ribs.
Which means you may lose a bit of the flavour.
And may even make them a bit drier if boiled too long.
Low and slow for spicy Korean pork ribs
You can choose which method works best, oven, parboil, BBQ/Grill.
But I always think low and slow gives lovely tender, moist ribs.
And you keep all the flavour from the fat as it renders.
If you want some more tips on ribs, take a read of Ribs, ribs, ribs
Or for some different rubs, visit here.
Spicy Korean pork ribs
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup Korean red pepper paste (gochujang, 고추장)
- 1-3 tsp Korean red chili pepper flakes (gochugaru, 고추가루)
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup rice wine (or mirin or white wine)
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 4 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp brown sugar Use regular sugar if unavailable
- 3 tbsp minced garlic
- 2 tbsp grated ginger
- 1/2 medium onion, grated
- 1/2 medium sweet apple, grated
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Prepare the ingredients for the marinade and mix all of the ingredients well.
- Pull off the membrane if it's not been removed. Cut each slab of the ribs into two pieces for easier handling. Coat the ribs well with the marinade, and marinate them for a minimum of eight hours (preferably 24 hours to 48 hours). Turn them over once after half of the marinating time has passed. (You can use large zip lock bags for easier handling.)
- Preheat the oven to 160C/325°F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. I used 2 baking dishes. Arrange the ribs, meat side down. Cover the baking sheet/dish tightly with aluminum foil. Bake them for 1.5 hour (2 hours if you want fall off the bones tenderness). Remove the foil cover.
- Change the oven to grill and preheat for a few minutes. Then grill the ribs until the ribs are lightly caramelized and charred, about 5 minutes on each side. Baste the ribs with the sauce a couple of times while grilling.
Notes
References:
Recipe from Korean Bapsang
