- Yield: 4
- Prep Time: 60 minutes
- Cook Time: 4h 00 min
Succulent Ribs with Mac&Cheese
Saturday night I was set to make Ahi Tuna for Sunday dinner, so I went to the Farmer's Market and Trader Joe's on Sunday morning to procure all the necessary items. Back at home, I watched the Food Network while folding some laundry, when they aired a re-run of "Top 5 Restaurants: Ribs". That's when I realized that I need to change the game and have ribs. Luckily, I picked up a whole slab at Trader Joe's, so there was no need to run for extra ingredients.
The result was a fall-off-the-bone succulent and tender meat, paired with delicious Mac&Cheese (because I usually have all the ingredients on hand it takes) and some green snap peas (mostly for justifying such a meal to myself).
Ingredients
- Pork Ribs - 2 - 3lbs, I used baby back ribs
- Dry Rub
- Dark Brown Sugar - 1 Tbsp
- Paprika - 1 Tbsp
- Coarse Salt - 1.5 Tbsp
- Cocoa Powder - 1 Tsp
- Cumin - 1 Tsp
- Cayenne Pepper - 1 Tsp
- Mac & Cheese
- Macaroni - 2 cups, cooked
- Butter - 2 Tbsp
- Flour - 2 Tbsp
- Whole Milk - 2 Cups
- Sharp Cheddar - 1 Cup, grated
- Parmesan - 1 Cup, grated
- Gruyere - 1 Cup, grated
- Salt, Pepper - To Taste
- Nutmeg - 1 Pinch
- Dry Mustard - 1 Tsp
- Panko Breadcrumbs - 1/2 cup
- Butter - 1 Tbsp
Instructions
- Create a dry rub my mixing all ingredients together. If the cocoa powder has some lumps, sifting it will help.
- Clean the meat, pat it dry, and rub it on both sides with the dry rub, using all of the spice mixture.
- Set the meat, meat side down onto a rack in a roasting dish and cover with aluminum foil.
- Put into a 225° oven for 4 hours
- After the 4 hours, remove the aluminum foil, flip the ribs over, meat side up. Use the drippings to brush the meat and put back into the oven at 425° for about 15 - 25 minutes, until the meat has nicely caramelized.
- Let it rest on a cutting board for 10 minutes before serving.
Start the Mac & Cheese, so they're ready to go into the oven together with the ribs at high heat.
- Boil the pasta 1 - 2 minutes less than according to the instructions on the package. Drain and set aside.
- In a heavy sauce pan, melt the butter and add the flower. Stir to combine and let cook for about 1 - 2 minutes.
- Stir in the milk and whisk to combine, making sure there are no lumps and nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan
- Cook the white sauce for a few minutes, seasoning with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
- Remove sauce from heat and stir in the cheese, 1 cup at a time. Once the cheese has melted and is incorporated, add the pasta and stir to combine.
- Fill pasta into a oven proof baking dish and evenly distribute the panko breadcrumbs on top of it. Drizzle with the melted butter and put it into the oven for about 15 Minutes, until the top is golden brown.
