Pork ribs and slaw with cornbread recipe

Name: Pork ribs and slaw with cornbread recipe
Cook time: 2 h 30 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 4 pork rib sets, about eight ribs each

Darren Robertson and Mark LaBrooy

January 10, 2018

Smoky glazed pork ribs with slaw and cornbread. Edwina Pickles

Time:2 hours +Serves:4

We love a meal you can pick up with your fingers and get a bit messy. These ribs are definitely one of those – take a seat outside with a roll of kitchen paper and rip in. Try to find ribs from a free-range Berkshire black pig, as they have a great fat content and are perfect for the grill. You need to cook them the day before so you can cool the meat down in the fridge. This makes them firm enough to throw on the barbecue. The slaw is dead easy and transports well.

Ingredients

Pork ribs and beetroot slaw

4 pork rib sets, about eight ribs each

For the glaze

80g smoked paprika
30g chilli flakes
30g salt
60g honey
40g brown sugar
1 tbsp ground ginger
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp garlic powder
160ml apple cider vinegar
1 lemon, juice and zest
1 lime, juice and zest

For the slaw

1 raw beetroot, peeled and shredded
¼ cabbage, shredded
¼ bunch parsley, roughly chopped
½ lemon, juice
50ml olive oil
salt and pepper

For the cornbread

3 eggs
175ml milk
175ml buttermilk
35ml honey
175g butter, melted
225g polenta
225g flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt

Method

Pork ribs and beetroot slaw
1. The day before, heat the oven to 140C. Put a cake cooling rack in a large, deep baking dish and add enough water so the rack sits just above it. Put the ribs on the rack and cover the roasting dish with foil. Bake for 2½ hours, drain the remaining water from the baking tray and set the ribs aside, still on the cake rack in the tray.
2. Mix the glaze ingredients in a large bowl, generously baste over the warm ribs then cool them in the fridge overnight. Keep the glaze.
3. Just before you're ready to eat, add the slaw ingredients to a medium bowl, give a good toss and season.
4. Heat the barbecue or chargrill to high, glaze the ribs again and cook for three to four minutes on each side – they should be charred and caramelised.
5. Glaze the ribs again while hot, season with a little salt and lemon or lime juice, and serve immediately with the slaw and cornbread.
Cornbread
1. Preheat the oven to 160C.
2. Add the eggs, milk, buttermilk, honey and butter to one large mixing bowl, and the polenta, flour, baking powder and soda and salt to anther. Mix each bowl, then add the wet mix to the dry and mix well.
3. Pour onto a lined, deep-sided baking tray, about 30 centimetres x 24 centimetres, and bake for 10 minutes. To check if it's done, give the tray a little shake. It should be firm in the middle, not wobbly.
4. To serve, cut the corn bread into wedges while still warm.
TIP You can also cook your ribs overnight at 100C, but the meat will be very soft. Make sure you cool them in the fridge before grilling.