Thai Sweet Chile Ribs

Botch · August 2018

One of the best ribs I've made, this recipe is a keeper. Or, at least the way I mangled the recipe. It called for boiling the ribs in a pressure cooker first, then finishing on the grill. I didn't want to get banninated so I slow-smoked them (hickory) at 275º (I really love my SmoBot!). Since they weren't boiled in apple juice, I added the juice to the sauce instead (also had lime, soy sauce, fish sauce, and the sweet chile sauce in it). And I didn't have apple juice, so used some orange juice concentrate instead. I did have some of the dried shrimp the recipe called for, but they've been in my cupboard since the Carter Administration so I passed on those.

Started them at 0800 and by One-thirty, the bones still weren't showing and they didn't pass the bend test. I was starving so I removed the ribs, cranked Mr. Egg up to 500º (did I mention I really love my SmoBot?), sauced the ribs, and back into the grill for 5 or 10 minutes to carmelize. Sprinkled w/ crushed peanuts, scallion, cilantro and lime juice. Juicy, and just enough chew, pulled cleanly off the bone but didn't fall off.

Made a green papaya salad to go with (dumb question: is a green papaya just an unripe one (orange, in my case)?). A green one might've been better with the green beans and tomatoes in the salad, and a mandoline is NOT the right tool for a ripe papaya! Very tasty, though.