The tartness of the tamarind tempers the sweetness of honey in these fall-off-the-bone ribs. Serve with a side of creamy potato salad—and make sure you have plenty of napkins on hand!
- Prep time 15 minutes
- Total time 4 hours
Ingredients
Method
Remove membrane from underside of ribs, if attached. Place each rack, meat side up, on large piece of heavy-duty foil. Stir together five-spice powder, salt and pepper; rub all over ribs. Cover each with another piece of foil; fold and seal edges to form packet. Bake on rimmed baking sheet in 275°F oven until tender, about 3 hours.
Meanwhile, in blender, purée together honey, barbecue sauce, 1/4 cup water, tamarind pulp and soy sauce. Add up to 1 tbsp more tamarind pulp, if you like.
Remove ribs from oven; drain fat from packets. Brush top of ribs with one-third of the sauce. Bake, uncovered, in 450°F oven until bubbly and browned, 10 to 15 minutes. Turn; brush with half of the remaining sauce. Bake for 10 minutes. Transfer ribs to cutting board; let rest for 5 minutes. Cut into smaller portions. In large bowl, toss together ribs, remaining sauce and chives (if using) until lightly coated. Serve warm.
Tip from the Test Kitchen: Tamarind pulp comes from the pod of a tamarind tree, native to Africa. Buy it in blocks in Asian or Indian grocery stores or specialty food shops.
Makes 4 to 6 servings
Nutritional facts Per each of 6 servings: about
- Fibre 1 g
- Sodium 993 mg
- Sugars 28 g
- Protein 42 g
- Calories 532
- Total fat 27 g
- Potassium 670 mg
- Cholesterol 169 mg
- Saturated fat 6 g
- Total carbohydrate 30 g
%RDI
- Iron 23
- Folate 5
- Calcium 9
- Vitamin A 1
- Vitamin C 2
