Grilled baby back ribs

Now, baby-back ribs are not the usual cut of meat we can find in the local market here in the Philippines. In big groceries though, they are available. It’s not often I cook it, so it needs cunning and planning to get that well done succulent grilled baby-back ribs. I like to serve my grills with aplomb but never seem to pull it off. With constant reading of recipes and a friendly butcher, I finally got my own way grilling this lovely piece of meat. Mind you, it’s not really unique as you will find out. You’ve probably done the same thing before. But then, here goes my grilled baby-back ribs.

Baby back ribs, or simply back ribs, are taken from the top of the rib cage between the spine and the spareribs, below the loin muscle. They have meat between the bones and are shorter but meatier than spareribs. The rack is shorter at one end, due to the natural tapering of a pig’s rib cage. The shortest bones are typically only about 3″ (7.6 cm) and the longest is usually about 6″ (15.2 cm), depending on the size of the hog. Whilst a pig has 15 ribs, a rack of baby back ribs contains a minimum of 8 ribs but can include up to 15 ribs depending on how it has been prepared by the butcher.

You can grill one whole slab of baby back ribs though it’s difficult to get portions later when you serve it. So I what do is ask the butcher to cut through the spine so that each ribs would be joined by the meaty portion and not the bony spine. I’ve said it before, and I say it again, I love lemongrass so this time, to tenderize the meat, I boil it first in lemongrass, laurel leaves, crushed black pepper and salt till meat is tender. Then I grill it basted with with soy sauce marinade.

Ingredients:
A slab of baby back ribs
2 stalks of lemongrass
2 laurel leaves
1 tbsp salt
Marinade/baste:
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 stalk lemongrass chopped then crushed
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup pineapple juice
1 tsp crushed black pepper
juice of 1 lemon

1. Put meat in cooking pan, add lemongrass, laurel leaves and salt. Add enough water to cover the meat. Bring to a boil then simmer till meat is tender.
2. Mix marinade then rub onto cooked meat. Wrap in Saran wrap then marinate for 30 min to 1 hour.

3. Grill meat till the marinade is glazed around the meat. Baste during cooking to prevent drying of the meat.

Filipinos love to dip grilled food in a mixture of soy sauce, chilis, and calamansi (Philippine lemon) or vinegar. Another version would be to mix also chopped onions and tomatoes with the soy sauce. Or how about adding chopped cilantro to the soy sauce? Yes, non of the oil-based dips for grill meats and fish here.