Sugar Ribs

Inspired by David Chang and his NYT Bo Ssam Pork Shoulder Recipe

David Chang is a culinary genius, a giant of the sorts. But he’s also just a regular guy who makes great food. When I had the chance to sit down and talk with him, the main feeling I got from our chat was that he’s all about just making delicious things. He doesn’t get too caught up in the pretentious world of high-end cooking. He just brings great flavors together to deliver some truly delicious meals. What I admire most about Chang is that he’s able to bring the food he grew up eating to the mainstream of the culinary world. That’s not easy to do and should not be taken lightly.

Bo Ssam is a Korean dish where pork is wrapped in fresh greens and served with other tasty things like rice and kimchi. Korean food is really in right now and for good reason, it uses so many flavors that Americans love (i.e. sweet, spicy, and savory). But don’t be “basic” about your Korean food, try all kinds of Korean dishes because it truly has a huge spectrum of awesome dishes. Yes we all know that you “love” Gochujang, but don’t limit yourself to just pork bellies and rice. Delve deep into Korean cuisine and you’ll find great stews, soups, and other dishes that will truly blow your mind.

My sugar ribs are a spin on David Chang’s Bo Ssam Pork Shoulder recipe. The dish is simple yet delicious, I didn’t have any pork shoulder lying around so I decided to use ribs. I didn’t adapt my recipe word for word, but it follows the guidelines fairly closely. The trick to this dish is the sugar in the rub, you get this delicious smokey caramel taste to your ribs. Typically you’d want to avoid putting sugar on so early in the cooking process, but by slow cooking the ribs, you avoid the risk of burning your ribs.

The end result of this dish is fall of the bone ribs that are truly addicting. I recommend eating them with some rice, I prefer deboning all the rib meat so you have one big pile of meat to serve with some fresh rice. This would probably also work really well on a beef short rib as well.

Recipe – Slow Cooked Pork Sugar Ribs

Ingredients

1 Rack of Pork Ribs

2 Tbsp. of White Sugar

2 Tbsp. Salt

BBQ Glaze

1 Tbsp. Red Chili Pepper Paste

2 Tbsp. Brown Sugar

1/8 Cup of Rice Wine Vinegar

1 Tsp. Fish Sauce

Method

Mix salt and sugar together, rub on ribs.

Refrigerate overnight.

Place on a broiling pan and cook in the oven at 300F for 3 to 4 hours. Baste with the juices 2 to 3 times during the process.

Mix all of the glaze ingredients together.

*Optional*  I finished the ribs on the grill to give a smokey flavor, you don’t necessarily have to do this.

Place ribs on a hot grill, after about a minute, apply glaze liberally to the ribs. Remove from the grill.

Put ribs back in oven at 300F, cook for another 15 minutes, applying glaze liberally about every 5 minutes.

If you have any extra glaze left, use for dipping sauce.

Enjoy!