Rum and Coke Ribs

I got my love of cook books from my mom. Even now when I go home for a visit, I can't resist flicking through her latest interesting additions. It seems appropriate then, that she's the one who bought me the quirky Canadian cookbook which has inspired this ribs recipe: Cooking with Booze by Ryan Jennings and David Steele. We're also doing a family cookbook, and this is the first recipe I have added as it's become a favourite and I'd happily serve these to any rib lover.

I absolutely love ribs - it's my desert island food. It must be the way it taps into the primal self, gnawing on bones and licking your lips. Even one of my favourite family foodie experiences includes ribs - it was on a trip to Alaska when I was a kid, eating Alaskan sized beef ribs in Fairbanks (I think they found an extinct Mammoth, these were so big!). This was an early food reference point and my family still talks about them to this day. You can imagine then, how horrified I was when I first came to New Zealand a number of years ago, and getting ribs was virtually impossible. Butchers looked at me funny, no restaurant in their right mind would have it on their menu, and it was THE one thing I had to have whenever I made a trip home to North America. Things have come a long way in New Zealand, and ribs are now par for the course but this early deprivation is probably one of the reasons I now have an obsession and just can't get enough of them.

Rum and Coke Ribs

(Serves 4)

This recipe is pretty straight forward - It's a slow cook and moist rib recipe, with the rum and coke adding moisture as well as flavour. You can make the sauce while cooking the ribs and all will come together nicely at the end.


The Coke part:
2 racks pork ribs
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 onion peeled and quartered
6 cloves garlic, crushed
8 cups (2L) coke

Preheat oven to 135C / 275F
Trim any visible fat, remove membrane from underside if attached.  Season both sides with salt and pepper and place meat-side down in a large baking dish. 
Arrange onion and garlic evenly around ribs.
Pour enough coke to cover ribs completely.  Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 2hrs 15 min.
Remove from oven and allow ribs to come to room temerature in cooking liquid, about 1.5 hours.

The Rum part: (Caribbean barbeque sauce)
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 onion minced
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
3/4 cup ketchup
1/3 cup dark rum
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
(optional: Dash hot pepper sauce.  I find it spicy enough with the chili powder, so a matter of taste)

Heat oil in small saucepan over medium heat.  Add onion, garlic, cumin and chili powder and cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.  Add ketchup, rum, brown sugar, venegar, mustard, Worcestershire sauce and hot pepper sauce and simmer for 15 min.

Rum meets Coke

Preheat bbq/grill to low.

Place ribs meat side down on bbq and close lid.  Cook, turning occasionally, and after slightly browned and tender (about 10 - 15 min) brush ribs with the BBQ sauce. Turn and brush a few more times until nice and sticky and caramelised (about another 10 minutes). 

Cut and serve with some coleslaw and corn or other BBQ favourites.