Honey-Tamarind Baby Back Ribs

We tried this recipe from Food & Wine tonight. Pretty tasty.

The only thing is, both kids have had their braces adjusted and amended this week and their teeth were really too sore to allow for productive gnawing of meat off of the bones. Poor kids; I ended up cutting the pork off the ribs for them (Hubby was away tonight, having dinner with a work colleague). If I make this again anytime soon, I’ll buy the boneless, country-style ribs. I’m more of a knife-and-fork gal than a finger-food kinda gal, anyway, so that’s probably better for all of us.

I couldn’t find the recommended tamarind concentrate, so I ended up using the “brick” tamarind that has to be soaked and strained before use. It had to sit for a little while (I had plenty of time while the ribs were doing their first 2-hour bake), but it really wasn’t a big deal to do.

I had never used the tamarind paste before and really liked the flavor. These ribs were sweet and sticky, but also salty and savory. The tamarind has a flavor a little bit like dried figs/dates/raisins, somewhere along those lines, but the honey, soy, and chile add a really nice depth to the flavor, so don’t be scared of these ribs if you don’t like raisins (yes, Honey, I was talking to you…). I would recommend upping the amount of ginger in the sauce – it could have used a bit more “kick”. Add a bit more sambal, too, if you’re a fan of spicy foods.

Overall, pretty tasty and VERY easy. They take a long time to bake, but it’s 95% passive – not much “hands on” required, so these would be great for company or for some time when you are planning “fussy” sides.