I love barbecuing…. I do mine over charcoal because thats my preferred method to cook on and taste wise. In this recipe the meat is meltingly tender, but do chill it in between slowing cooking and then reheating on the bbq. I make my own barbecue sauce as Mum is borderline diabetic and cant have the normally sugar packed bbq sauces sold in shops,,, plus this one is delicious. Also delicious cooked with Pork ribs or chicken!
Serves 4 (or two hungry people- I serve lots of sides with my bbqs)
Ingredients:
4 beef ribs (available from a good butchers or Waitrose-they aren’t expensive)
1 white onion, skin on, quartered
2 carrots, roughly chopped
2 celery sticks, roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic, lightly bashed
1htbsp whole peppercorns
1tbsp rock salt
2 bay leaves
Method for Ribs:
In a slow cooker, put all the above ingredients in, cover with water and bring to a boil, I use the “saute” button for 40minutes, then cook for a further 1.5-2hrs on “stew”, until meat is tender. Very carefully remove the meat with a slotted spoon and place on a plate in chill for 2hrs in a cold fridge. Alternatively, in a casserole dish, preheat oven to 170’c. Place all ingredients in a casserole dish and cover with water. Cook, covered in the oven for 2.5-3hrs until meat is tender and chill as above.
To finish on the barbecue, remove meat from fridge, set your barbecue up until coals are white and glowing, or set a gas barbecue to medium-high, brush meat liberally with the bbq sauce and cook on the bbq, brushing with extra bbq sauce to get a nice glaze, around 10-15 minutes, glazing and turning. Be extra careful when loving the meat, as it will be so tender it will want to come off the bone, I recommend using two sets of tongs (one to hold the bone and one to hold the meat on the bone when turning). If using chicken, I would recommend cooking the chicken spatchcock style (backbone removed and flattened out), cooking 3/4’s of the way through on the bbq on a medium heat, and then glazing and turning it with the bbq sauce for the last quarter if the cooking time.
Ingredients & Method BBQ Sauce:
500g passata (or blitzed tinned tomatoes)
2tsp garlic powder
1tsp dried thyme
2tsp onion granules (or 1/2 onion blitzed with tomatoes)
1tsp cinnamon
1/2tsp mixed spice
2tsp smoked paprika
1tsp worcestershire sauce
5-6tbsp xylitol sweetener (granular sweetener/or brown sugar for non diabetic sauce)
2tbsp redwine vinegar
Optional (choose one or use all):
1/2tsp instant strong coffee
2tsp liquid smoke
1htsp chipotle paste
1tsp dried mustard powder (or 1/2tsp english mustard)
1tbsp maple syrup (omit for diabetic sauce)
Method:
In a medium saucepan, add all of the above ingredients. Bring gently up to a bubbling simmer. Lower heat and simmer on a low heat, with saucepan lid on (as it does splatter), cook for 1-1.5hr or so, until thickened. Stirring every 15 minutes or so.
Now, for a “smooth” consistency, you can sieve the sauce through a fine sieve pushing the sauce through,,, frankly, I don’t bother! Freezes well. Keeps in the fridge for five days.
Emmi's Kitchen 