Tag: ribs

House of Q BBQ Sauce

Posted on by Sharman

IMG_3079At Porkapalooza in June I had the pleasure of meeting Brian Misko of House of Q and tasting his gluten free BBQ sauce. Sweet, savoury, and even some spice, I was instantly addicted.

House of Q launched their bbq sauce and spice line in 2007 and their signature Apple Butter BBQ Sauce has been declared the number one bbq sauce in Alberta twice at the BBQ on the Bow BBQ Championships and the 3rd best bbq sauce in North America at the National BBQ Festival in Douglas, Georgia. 

Brian and his wife have created an at-home business with products that are in demand and distributed across the country. Sauce flavours include:

  • Apple Butter BBQ Sauce
  • Slow Smoke Gold BBQ Sauce
  • Sugar and Spice BBQ Sauce 
  • Rock’n Red BBQ Sauce.  

Click here to see a full listing of retail locations in Alberta or across Canada. If you are in Edmonton you can grab a bottle at Acme Meat Market Ltd., Barbecue Country, Easyford Cattle Co, Mundare Sausage House, Real Deal Meats Ltd, Smokin’ Iron Farms, and Sunterra Markets – Lendrum. 

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This weekend I modified a House of Q Hurry Up Grilled Pork Ribs recipe, creating a super simple lazy-girl way to cook ribs.  This is what I did:

  1. Start by removing the membrane on the back of the ribs. Lift an edge of the tough film and then use a paper towel to help you grab the membrane. If you have a good grip of it, you can pull the whole thing off in one pull.
  2. Smear your sauce of choice all over the ribs and then coat generously with House of Q House Rub or your own salt/rub combination. Let the rib sit at room temperature for 10 minutes so the rub can start to draw moisture from the meat and stick to the ribs. If you move the ribs too soon, all of the rub will fall off.
  3. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Place ribs in a casserole dish and cover with a lid. I like to use my cast-iron La Crueset pot. Cook for 2 1/2 hours.
  4. If you want to reserve the ribs to cook later in the day or the next day, remove from the pot and allow to cool before storing in the fridge for later use. Otherwise, prepare your grill for low heat.
  5. Brush ribs with additional BBQ Sauce, place on grill, and close the lid. Flip at 5-7 minutes, ribs should be caramelized and lightly grilled. 
  6. Remove the racks from the grill and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Cut between the bones for each portion and serve. 

 

 

 

 

 

Recipe: Dry Rubbed Back Ribs with Warm Potato Salad

Posted on by Sharman

Tzin wine bar on 104 street in the warehouse district in downtownEdmonton is home to a soft-spoken chef with menu featuring a number of fabulous dishes with Irving Farms Berkshire pork. The space is eclectic and intimate – you may end up chatting with your dining neighbour as I do each time I go – and you will be amazed at the food that Chef Corey McGuire can pump out at what may the smallest kitchen inEdmonton.

Walk by the unassuming restaurant on 104th and you likely catch a peek through the front window of Chef McGuire prepping for the evening dinner service. The menu at Tzin features a number of carefully crafted tapas including braised bacon and seafood (and sausage) paella. I’ve been gently nudging Chef McGuire for a recipe, and when I gave him a four-day warning I was coming in with my sister, I was happy to see this busy chef had time to write down his Dry Rubbed Back Ribs with Warm Potato Salad recipe for me.

My sister Shawna and I recently dined at Tzin and were excited to walk away with the recipe of our favourite dish that night. Of course, the two Ukrainian sisters went to town on the potato salad and bit every last morsel off the ribs.

Dry Rubbed Back Ribs with Warm Potato Salad

Recipes courtesy of Chef Corey McGuire, Tzin Wine & Tapas

Dry Rubbed Back Ribs

Ingredients

  • pork back ribs
  • 30 ml Rub Seasoning per rack of ribs
  • 1 small onion, sliced
  • chicken stock

Method

  1. Optional -remove membrane from underside of ribs.
  2. Rub the ribs with your favourite rub. Salt and black work fine. Really massage the seasoning into the meat. Wrap in saran wrap and let rest in the fridge for 4 – 24 hours.
  3. Lay some aluminum foil on a baking sheet and place a bed of onions down the center.
  4. Lay the ribs on the onions and add 60 ml of chicken stock.
  5. Loosely wrap the ribs in the foil.
  6. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place ribs in one hour. Unwrap and check for doneness – the best way is to poke the meat with a paring knife. If there is not much resistance, the ribs are probably done. If they are still tough, replace the foil and cook in 15 minute intervals until done.
  7. To ensure they are done, cut the end rub off the rack and take a bite. The meat should bite off cleanly, but not fall off the bone.
  8. Ribs can be served immediately, finished on the grill, or chilled and finished on the grill at a later time.

 

Warm Potato Salad

Ingredients

  • 1 lb Yukon gold potatoes (any potatoes can work; ask the farmer at your local farmers market about what they recommend)
  • 5 strips of bacon, cut in to matchsticks (Irving Farms if available)
  • 2 green onions, chopped
  • ½ red pepper, small dice
  • ½ pink lady apple, small dice
  • 4 tbsp mayo
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • cold pressed Canola Oil

Method

  1. Clean and dice the potatoes into 1” cubes. I leave the peel on.
  2. Blanc the potatoes in salted boiling water until fork tender.
  3. Strain and toss the potatoes in cold pressed canola oil.
  4. In a non-stick pan, render the bacon over medium heat until it starts turning brown.
  5. Remove from heat and strain off fat, reserving 1 tbsp of fat.
  6. Place the pan over medium to high heat and add the reserved bacon fat, bacon, and potatoes.
  7. Sauté until potatoes are warm through, and start to brown slightly
  8. Meanwhile combine the onion, peppers, apple, mayo, lemon juice, and vinegar in a large bowl.
  9. When potatoes are ready, drain any excess fat from the pan and add the potatoes and bacon to the bowl with the other ingredients. Toss to combine and season as needed with salt and pepper.

To plate – place the potato salad on a large platter with the ribs piled on the top and enjoy!

Recipe: Honey and Gochujang Pork Ribs

Posted on by Dan Clapson

Just because the long weekend is over, doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy some food in the sun! Everyone loves some sticky, spicy and finger-licking ribs in the summertime. This simple recipe is full of Asian flavours and best enjoyed in a backyard on the patio with some good friends and cold beer!

What you’ll need…

Ribs:

1 rack of pork side ribs

1 yellow onion (quartered)

3 cloves garlic

2 TSP salt

2 TSP ground black pepper

water (enough to cover)

Sauce:

2 TSP sesame oil

1 TBSP gochujang

2 TBSP oyster sauce

1 TBSP honey

1 TBSP soy sauce

1 TBSP rice wine vinegar

1/2 cup water

1 TSP ground black pepper

Directions:

Starting with the ribs, place all ingredients in a slow cooker and cover with water. Cook on low until ribs are nice and tender, approximately 4 hours. Can be done a day in advance.

To make the sauce, heat the sesame oil in a medium pan on medium-high heat, stir in the gochujang and let cook for 2 minutes. Reduce to medium heat, add the next 6 ingredients to the pan, and stir until well incorporated.

Let the mixture continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce begins to thicken, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool until you’re ready to brush on the ribs.

If you’re using the barbecue, cover the ribs with the Asian-inspired sauce and grill for 3 minutes on each side, reapplying sauce after flipping. If finishing the ribs in the oven, preheat to 400 degrees, place on a prepared baking sheet and brush liberally with sauce. Let bake, uncovered for 25 minutes and serve.

Serves 2-3

Total cook time…4 hours, 30 min

Recipe contest winners

Posted on by Admin

Remember the recipe contest where we wanted to see your Passion for Pork? Well, with June now over, I can announce the winners who were randomly chosen from the submissions. It was great to see the versatility of pork in your recipes.

Our first prize winner, Meredith Mclellam , takes home a $150 gift certificate to her choice of participating restaurants (Memphis Blues BBQ House, Romer’s Burger Bar, Cache Bistro & Lounge, Campagnolo, Cioffi’s Meat Market & Deli in Vancouver, or Caramba Restaurante, Fairmont Chateau Whistler, Ka-Ze Japanese Restaurant in Whistler)

She describes her feta-stuffed pork tenderloin chops as “a simple but classy entree sure to impress any guest, with minimal efforts from the chef.” I like the minimal effort part. 🙂

Feta stuffed pork tenderloin chops

Ingredients
Pork tenderloin
Pesto
Pine nuts
Feta
Olive oil
Salt & pepper

Cut tenderloin into thick 2-3″ chops. Butterfly each chop.
Mix together crumbled feta cheese, toasted pine nuts and pesto to your own taste. Stuff each chop and secure with toothpicks.
Lightly coat chops with olive oil, and salt and pepper. Grill until done.

Natalie Van Apeldoorn is our second prize winner who receives a $75 gift certificate to one of our participating restaurants. She sent a recipe for BBQ Pork Spareribs with a twist; they’re done in the oven. However I’m sure the delicious sauce would work just as well on the barbecue. She says, “These fall-off-the-bone ribs are tangy and just hit the spot for those cravings for ribs.”

BBQ Pork Spareribs

Ingredients
1 medium onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
3 Tbs olive oil
2 Tbs brown sugar
3 Tbs champagne vinegar
4 Tbs lemon juice
1 cup ketchup
1 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbs Dijon mustard
1/3 cup hot water
1 tsp salt
3 racks baby back ribs

Brown spare ribs under broiler in oven. Cook onion and celery until soft in olive oil. Add remaining ingredients and bring to boil. Lower heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Place ribs in baking dish. Pour half sauce onto ribs. Turn spareribs over and add
remaining sauce. Bake uncovered at 325 for 3 hours. Serve with coleslaw and french fries!

Third-prize winner Alicia Barber will be looking sharp in a Passion for Pork chef’s jacket. Her recipe for pork tenderloin vindaloo came from an Indian cooking class and is a regular standard in her house.

“She told us that this is the most authentic preparation, to use pork and to simply call it Vindaloo as it is assumed pork is the main protein. Chicken, lamb & seafood are not traditional and are westernized versions of this traditional Goan dish. This is a wonderfully easy and aromatic dish using a combination of spices,” says Barber.

“This dish is best made in advance and is even better the next day — or so we are told, we usually devour it the same night! This recipe can easily be doubled to serve more hungry mouths.”

Pork Vindaloo

Ingredients

Pork tenderloin – for the 2 of us we use about 2 -4 lbs assuming leftovers
1 cup finely chopped onions
2 tbsp finely grated garlic
2 tbsp finely grated ginger
7 pieces dried red chilies
3/4 tsp turmeric powder or garam masala
6 cardamom seeds
5 cloves
2 tbsp coriander seeds
10 peppercorns
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dark mustard seeds (be careful not to add too much or your Vindaloo will be bitter)
5 tbsp oil
4-5 tbsp malt vinegar
1 tsp sugar (we like brown sugar)
2 tsp salt
Fresh cilantro for garnish

1. Trim silver skin from tenderloin and cube pork into 1 1/2″ pieces.
2. Place spices into a mortar & pestle or spice grinder and grind until powdery.
3. Heat oil in a wok, kadhi or large pan. Add the garlic & ginger. Sauté until they begin to slightly brown. Take care to not heat the pan too fast! Keep heat on medium/low. Add the onions. Carefully stir the mixture until the onions caramelize. This step is really important! Do not rush; keep heat on medium/low.
4. Once browned (not burnt!), add the powdered spice mixture for about 30 seconds. Once the pan is dried out and spices are aromatic, add the pork. Sauté the pork until the juices evaporate and then add about 3/4 cup of water. Add salt at this time. 5. Cover with a lid and cook on medium/low until the meat is fully cooked – approx 45 mins – 1 hour.
6. Add the vinegar & sugar and stir. Sprinkle in chopped cilantro. Serve with basmati rice & a green salad.