• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

By Root 662 0

flat meat, say a nice juicy sirloin, over really high heat, quickly remove it from the heat, and wrap it tightly in two layers of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Then wrap that in an insulator, like a kitchen towel, and set the whole package aside for half an hour on the kitchen counter. Since the foil traps in moisture, and the foil/towel combo traps heat, you have actually added a very effective braising step.

The residual heat may not be enough to actually cook the meat, but pulling it off the heat early and allowing it to finish in this manner can result in a much more tender piece of meat. And the foil catches any and all juices that might leak out of the meat. Au jus, anyone?

No-Backyard Baby Back Ribs

I love baby back ribs because they deliver flavor and finger-lickin’ goodness with little fuss and even less time. I have friends who smoke their ’back ribs for hours and hours and then wonder why they’re tough. The reason is connective tissue, lots of it, and no amount of dry heat is going to dissolve that. If you can’t imagine baby back ribs without smoke, however, go ahead and smoke them for an hour or so before the braising step (see Smoked and Braised Short Ribs). Personally I don’t bother. I often wear rubber gloves at the table and eat these ribs over a large mixing bowl. It isn’t pretty.

Application: Braising, then Broiling

Rinse the ribs and pat dry with paper towels. Place on a sheet of extra-wide, heavy-duty aluminum foil. (The foil should be 4 inches longer than the ribs on either end.) Season liberally on both sides with the salt and Rub Number 9.

Turn the ribs meat-side-down and tightly seal according to the illustrations at right.

Place the packet in the roasting pan and refrigerate for 6 to 12 hours, turning the sealed packet over once.

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Remove the packet from the refrigerator and unroll one end, shaping the foil upward like a funnel. Pour in the orange juice and the Margarita mix. Reseal the foil packet and see-saw it back and forth a couple of times to evenly distribute the liquid inside.

Return the packet to the pan and place the pan in the middle of the oven. After 1 hour, reduce temperature to 250° F and cook until tender, approximately 2 hours.

Remove the pan from the oven, unroll one end of the packet, carefully drain all juice into a saucier or small saucepan, and add the honey, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, espresso powder, and cayenne.

Bring the mixture to a boil, whisking frequently until reduced to a glaze that coats a spoon. Remove the pan from heat.

Move oven rack to the next-to-the-top position and turn on the broiler (use the high setting if you have a choice).

Remove the slab from the foil packet and cut it into four equal sections (I use kitchen shears for this). Place ribs on the broiling pan, meat side up, brush with the glaze, and broil for 2 to 3 minutes. Reglaze and repeat until the ribs are a dark mahogany color. Flip the ribs bone side up, glaze, and broil a minute longer.

Remove and allow to cool a couple of minutes before serving, preferably with potato salad or copious amounts of coleslaw.

Yield: 1 to 3 servings, depending on who’s doing the eating

Note: For one rack of ribs, ½ to ¾ cup of rub will be sufficient. The ratio of ingredients for Rub Number 9 is: 5 parts brown sugar, 3 parts chile powder, 1 part garlic powder,½ part ground thyme, ¼ part cayenne, and ¼ part allspice. A part can be any amount—a tablespoon, for example—depending on how much is needed.

Software:

1 full rack/slab baby back ribs

Kosher salt

Rub Number 9 (see Note)

½ cup orange juice (not fresh

squeezed)

½ cup prepared Margarita mix

⅓ cup honey

⅓ cup ketchup

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon espresso powder or

instant coffee (freeze-dried, not

actual grounds)

⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Hardware:

Paper towels

Extra-wide, heavy-duty aluminum

foil

Shallow roasting pan

Saucier or small sauce pan

Kitchen shears

Broiler pan

Chicken Piccata

Piccata is Italian for “sharp” and refers to