Slow-Roasted Ribs in Five Spice Rub and Mango Barbecue Sauce

October 28, 2013 by Laura Haugen 4 Comments

I’m not a big fan of watching sports on television, but I do like cooking up a spread of food for a festive game day. I’ve experimented with different barbecue sauces for ribs and think this one scores big on flavor. Slow-roasted with a Chinese five-spice rub, these ribs are then slathered in a gingery mango sauce. Enjoy!

Slow-Roasted Ribs in Five Spice and Mango Barbecue Sauce

• 2 racks of pork baby back ribs
• sesame oil
• Chinese five spice
• salt & pepper
• 1 tsp. cooking oil
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1 ripe mango
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1 Tbs. hoisin sauce
• 1 Tbs. grated fresh ginger (or a dash of ground ginger)
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• dash of cayenne pepper
• splash of vinegar
• green onion, chopped
• handful of cilantro, chopped coarsely

Directions: Pre-heat the oven to 300 F/150 C. Line a baking sheet with foil. Pat the rib racks dry and lay them meat-side up. Coat with sesame oil and season liberally with Chinese five spice and a sprinkling of salt & pepper. Cook in the oven for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until the meat is beginning to release from the bone and is tender. Meanwhile, prepare the sauce: Chop the mango and blend in a blender along with the soy sauce. In a medium saucepan, cook the minced shallot in oil until translucent. Add the blended mango & soy sauce, the ketchup, hoisin, ginger, brown sugar, and cayenne; blend and continue heating until incorporated. Add the vinegar and blend well.

Pour about half the sauce over the rib racks to coat the tops and sides and return to the oven to cook for an additional 20-30 minutes. Optional: in remaining few minutes, place them under the broiler to crisp up. Once cool enough, use a knife to separate the racks into individual ribs. Garnish with green onion and cilantro and serve with extra sauce for drizzling or dipping.

Note: For another variation, substitute diced canned pineapple, juice and all, for the mango.