Oven-baked Jamaican Jerk Ribs
Jerk rub, jerk sauce and pineapple-mango salsa bring plenty of flavor and a little heat to these oven-baked pork ribs.
Servings 4 plus possible leftovers
Ingredients
- 3 pounds pork baby back ribs or St. Louis-style spareribs
For the Jerk Rub:
- 1 tablespoon ground allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated or ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon ground sage
- 2 tablespoons garlic powder (not garlic salt—see Kitchen Notes)
- 4 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika (or 1/2 teaspoon sweet, 1/2 teaspoon smoked—see Kitchen Notes)
For the Jerk Sauce:
- 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 – 2 minced Scotch Bonnet peppers (we used 1 jalapeño—see Kitchen Notes)
- 1 cup finely chopped onion
- 1/2 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 1/4 cup soy sauce (we used reduced-sodium)
For the Pineapple-Mango Salsa:
- 1 cups diced pineapple (we used canned in its own juice)
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh mango
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped red bell pepper (we used green)
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
- 1/2 hot chile pepper, minced (we used jalapeño)
- 1 small clove garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 2 tablespoons grapeseed or vegetable oil
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Pat ribs dry with paper towels and place on a board. Season generously with jerk rub, using your fingertips to work it into the ribs. Place ribs bone side down into a sealable container and refrigerate overnight, preferably, or at least 4 hours. (Note: you’re going to bake the ribs in two pans or glass baking dishes, so I cut the rack of ribs into two pieces.)
- Preheat oven to 400ºF. Place oven racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven.
- Place ribs bone side down into foil-lined roasting pans and cover the pans with foil, sealing the edges tightly. Place one pan on the top rack and one on the bottom, then bake for 1-1/2 hours, swapping the pans’ positions halfway through.
- Meanwhile, make the jerk sauce. Combine all the ingredients in a blender or food processor and process until smooth. Transfer the mixture to a saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until the sauce has slightly thickened and darkened in color, 10 – 15 minutes.
- Also meanwhile, make the pineapple-mango salsa. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Make at least an hour ahead to let flavors combine. You can make it even sooner and refrigerate, but let it come to room temperature before serving.
- Finish the ribs. Remove the foil and baste ribs with the jerk sauce. Cook uncovered, basting every 5 minutes, until ribs are glazed, about 15 minutes.
- Serve ribs with pineapple-mango salsa and remaining jerk sauce.
Kitchen Notes
Garlic powder, not garlic salt. Garlic powder is dehydrated garlic. Garlic salt is a little of that mixed with a lot of salt, about a 1 to 3 ratio. So a tablespoon of garlic salt will only give you a 1/4 tablespoon of garlic powder. If all you have is garlic salt, use 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon, and don’t add the 4 teaspoons of salt to the jerk rub. It won’t be as garlicky, but it won’t be overly salty either.
Paprika—smoky or sweet? The recipe calls for all smoky paprika. We did a mix of smoky and sweet because the smoky tends to overpower things for us. Use what you like and what you have.
What kind of peppers? The jerk sauce calls for Scotch Bonnet. We wimped out and used a jalapeño, but we used the whole thing, seeds, ribs and all. The sauce had a mild kick to it for our tastes, and we were good with that.
Where to find your own copy of Jubilee. You can purchase Jubilee: Recipes from Two Centuries of African American Cooking, published by Penguin Random House, on Toni Tipton-Martin's website.