If you're inclined to change up your ribs once in a while, this recipe is a winner. Moroccan-style glazed ribs give you a flavour combination that tricks your pallet and keeps you reaching for another rib, and another, and another.
You'll employe the same technique as you would for burn-end ribs on a smaller kamado, that is, you'll use a plate setter/deflector covered in aluminium foil and you'll set your kamado at 300F/149C with touch of smoke. For this recipe I used my new favourite "go-to" wood, lychee.
But before we get to the set up, here's what you'll need and how to prep these wonderful ribs:
2 racks of your favourite ribs - St Louis or Baby-back ribs are fine - just remove the membrane
Zest from 2 whole lemons, finely minced
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup of quality honey
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp ground coriander seeds
1 tbsp ground cumin seeds
1 tbsp freshly ground nutmeg
2 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp chili pepper flakes (add more for a bigger zing!)
1 tsp Kosher salt
6 cloves of garlic, finely minced
2 green onions with the white bits, finely minced
1/2 freshly chopped cilantro
1/2 freshly chopped mint
A quick word about the spices. Try to use real seeds here instead of the pre-ground stuff. Toast up coriander and cumin seeds in a small skillet until you start to smell the aroma of the spices. Transfer both at the same time to your spice grinder and give them a blitz. Be careful here because the seeds are still piping hot and you can easily burn yourself if you're not careful. Then grind your nutmeg, throw the cumin and coriander back in with the nutmeg and quickly blend it all. The smell of this combination is sensational!
Make up the glaze/marinade by combining all the ingredients above. Reserve half of the mixture as you'll use that to baste the ribs later. Cut your racks in half and place them in an airtight container like a zip-top bag. Add the marinade, remove the air from the bag and give it a gentle massage, ensuring you get the marinade to cover the ribs entirely. I put this back in the fridge for about 6 hours before I put them on the kamado.
Follow the steps above in terms of set up. 300F/149F, a small chunk of wood, covered plate setter and your trusty rib rack. We use the rib rack because we want to rest the ribs on the bone ends during the first two hours of the cook. That produces your 'burnt end effect.'
When ready, put your ribs on for 1 hour. At the end of that hour, flip them so that the ribs are resting on the opposite bone ends. After the second hour, remove the ribs and place them on a heavy duty or doubled-up aluminium foil packet. Add a smear of the reserved marinade, sprinkle a small amount of brown sugar on the meat side of the ribs and add a small knob of butter and wrap them up nice and tight but be careful not to puncture the packet with ribs ends.
Place the packets back onto the rib rack and let them steep for 30 minutes. When ready, remove the ribs from kamado, carefully open the foil packets, reserving all that amazing juice and let them rest for about 5 minutes before you slice and serve.
Cut the ribs into individual pieces, arrange and drizzle the steeping sauce on top. Add a dash of freshly chopped coriander too and you're done! Tasty as ever and an amazing complex flavour profile that will make you the champion of your kamado!
