Guava Glazed Ribs

I’ve been making these ribs for almost a decade now, but until now I was using a regular barbecue (the propane powered kind) to make them. The original recipe called for the ribs to be cooked over medium heat for 4 to 6 hours. I had no idea what the author meant by “medium heat”. Do I turn the barbecue knob half way? Are all barbecues calibrated the same way? In other words, is medium heat on my barbecue the same as medium heat on the author’s barbecue? I was stumped, but was going to work with instinct and turn the knob halfway.
Then my mother-in-law stepped in.

She said I should put the ribs in the oven at 250 degrees F for 2 hours. That’s what she does and her ribs come out great. I did this, and every time since, then I threw them on the barbecue another 30 minutes basting twice in that time. The ribs always came out fantastic.

So why am I telling you this?

Even though the ribs came out fantastic, I always felt like I was cheating by using the oven. But why mess with a good thing, right? I mean, the ribs were a hit! I could try to do it on the barbecue from start to finish, but I might screw them up. I wasn’t willing risk messing up my ribs. HOWEVER, now I have a Big Green Egg! I’m able to fine tune my temperature so that it was indeed cooking at the right heat. So I set my Egg to 250 degrees, cooked them for 2 hours, and voila, the ribs were not only fantastic, but better than ever before!

EGGcessories Needed

• ConvEGGtor

Ingredients

• 4 Racks Baby Back Pork Ribs (1 to 2 lbs.)

For the Island Rub

• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp. seasoned salt
• 2 tbsp. garlic salt
• 2 tbsp. celery salt
• 2 tbsp. chili powder
• 2 tbsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp allspice
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/8 tsp mace

For the Glaze

• 1 cup guava paste or fruit puree, such as mango or plum
• ¼ cup honey
• ¼ cup fresh orange juice
• 2 tbsp. soy sauce
• 2 tbsp. fresh lime juice
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• ½ tsp ground allspice
• 1 tsp sea salt
• ½ tsp white pepper

Directions

Combine the rub ingredients in a medium bowl and blend well. Place in an airtight container and set aside. I find that these measurements make an insane amount of rub. Like, double the amount needed. No problem! I gently pour the rub onto the ribs from the bag, and then rub the rub in (rub the rub?!) with my hands. I’ll give my hands a quick rinse in between pours. This way I’m not touching the bag, or the rub, with “raw rib meat” hands. Whatever is left gets Ziploc’d and refrigerated for the next time. Because there will be a next time. 🙂

Combine the glaze ingredients in a small saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring with a whisk. Cook for about 10 minutes until the ingredients have been incorporated. I tried (several times) to cook this glaze over medium-low heat, but it always took longer than 10 minutes to for the Goya Guava Paste to melt into the other ingredients. You can see from the picture above that I cut the paste into small cubes, but it still took almost 30 minutes to blend.

I found that if I set my stove to medium-high heat, or 8 on my stove (See above picture for reference. Pardon the child safety lock on our stove. At this writing we have a 3 year old running around.), as long as I keep stirring (so it doesn’t burn) I can cook this sauce in 10 minutes. Just make sure you lower the dial throughout as the sauce starts to bubble.

Set sauce aside to cool.

Remove the membrane from the back of the ribs. Sprinkle both sides liberally with the rub. Try not to lick your fingers. The rub smells great, but you were just touching raw meat. 😉

This is where my recipe alters from the original recipe. Set the Egg for indirect cooking and bring to a temperature of 250 degrees F. Place the ribs on the grill meat side down and cook for 2 hours.

To test for doneness, stab a rib with a toothpick. If the toothpick goes in and out easily they’re about done. Using a pastry brush, coat each slab on both sides with the glaze, cook for 10 to 15 minutes, and then repeat the process.

Allow the ribs to rest for 10 to 15 minutes before cutting into pieces.

Make sure there are wipes on the table. You’re going to need them. There’s only so much that you can lick your fingers clean. 🙂