RECIPE

6 / 8 / 21

Indoor Spiced and Glazed Ribs

4 to 6 Servings

These are superlative, indoor, make-ahead ribs that yield stunning results, if I
must say so myself. You can season them up to 3 days ahead, and if you’d like,
you can cover and chill them after steaming and broil them a couple of days
later. If you love to grill, glaze and char (after steaming) over medium-high direct
heat instead of using the broiler. To simplify the spice rub, omit the mustard
powder, MSG, and coriander and leave the other measurements the same.

FOR THE RIBS AND THE GLAZE

1 rack pork spare ribs (4–5 lbs), 11–13 rib bones, trimmed, silver skin removed
1 tablespoon coriander seed, finely crushed
2 scant tablespoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon MSG
2 tablespoons brown sugar, divided
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon ground mustard
1 tablespoon chile powder (Kashmiri)
2 tablespoons smoked paprika
2 teaspoons cayenne
1 whole star anise
3 bay leaves
½ cup cider vinegar, divided

FOR THE CELERY-HERB SALAD

1 celery bunch, thinly sliced (about 5cups)
2 shallots, thinly sliced
1 cup torn cilantro leaves and stems
1 cup torn mint leaves
1 lime
Kosher salt
Neutral oil, for drizzling

Cut ribs in half, place on a rimmed baking sheet, and season

on both sides with spice mix, packing it on. Let sit at room
temperature for 3 hours, or refrigerate, covered, for up to 72
hours.

Pour about an inch of water into a tall pot and bring to a boil
over high heat. Drop in star anise and bay leaves, crushing
as you go. Place ribs into pot upright, bending them to nestle
into pot if necessary. Cover pot, lower heat to medium-
low, and steam ribs for 30 minutes. Flip ribs top to bottom
and add water if it’s getting low (it shouldn’t be, but check
anyway!). Cover and continue steaming until rib meat is
tender but not falling off the bone, 15–30 minutes more.

Transfer ribs to a rimmed baking sheet; rinse out pot. Strain

cooking liquid into a 4-cup measuring cup (you’ll have
approximately 3 cups of liquid). Add ¼ cup vinegar and
remaining tablespoon sugar to liquid, stir to combine, and
return to pot. Bring to a simmer and cook over medium-
high until liquid has the consistency of a light syrup and has
been reduced by ½, about 10 minutes. Stir in remaining ¼
cup vinegar, then taste glaze and adjust seasoning with salt,
pepper, and/or more sugar, if desired.

Heat broiler with rack in second-highest position. Brush glaze

liberally on underside (concave) sides of ribs. Broil, checking
every minute, until glaze is bubbling, 2 minutes. Remove
baking sheet, turn ribs over, and brush glaze onto top (meaty)
side. Repeat broiling, turning, and brushing one more time
on each side, at which point glaze should be caramelized
and ribs should be very dark brown with some charred spots.
Remove from oven and brush with any remaining glaze.

While ribs cool down a bit, make celery salad. Toss together
celery, shallot, cilantro, and mint in a medium bowl. Cut lime
in half and squeeze in juice from both halves. Season with
salt and toss to combine. Drizzle with a little oil and toss
gently to coat.

Cut ribs between the bones into individual pieces and serve
with celery salad on the side. Or, cut meat from ribs in big
bite-size pieces and toss into salad to combine.

FROM THE MARKET SPIN IT

Pork spare ribs St. Louis ribs can replace spare ribs
Celery Use fennel, radish, or green cabbage instead of celery
Shallots A small red onion or a quarter of a white onion can replace the
shallot
Cilantro
Any type of basil can replace either herb, or use scallions,
Mint
perilla or shiso leaf

AT HOME SPIN IT
Coriander seed Use cumin instead of coriander
Kosher salt Mushroom powder or tomato powder can replace the MSG, or
MSG omit

Brown sugar Granulated sugar can replace brown sugar

Garlic powder Use onion powder instead of garlic powder

Ground mustard Regular sweet paprika can be used in place of smoked

Chile powder Use 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flake instead of cayenne

Smoked paprika Use a cinnamon stick instead of star anise

Cayenne Toasted sesame oil would be delicious in place of neutral oil in

the salad
Star anise
Bay leaves
Cider vinegar
Lime
Neutral oil