BakeKorean
Gochujang spare ribs
Sweet heat, fermented chile, a sticky lacquer. The rib pin that showed up on every dinner-party board last year.
Made it?
3 hr 20 min · 25 min hands-on · pull 195°F · rest 10 min
Ingredients
3.5 lb on the fire · ~1.9 lb to the table · 4 plates at 8 oz
- St. Louis spare ribs1 rack (3 1/2 lb)
- kosher salt2 tsp
- black pepper1 tsp
- gochujang3 tbsp
- honey2 tbsp
- rice vinegar1 tbsp
- soy sauce1 tbsp
- sesame oil1 tsp
Method
- 1
Peel the membrane. Salt and pepper. Wrap tight in foil.
- 2
Bake at 300°F until tender, about 2½ hours. Or smoke at 275°F unwrapped 3 hours if you have the cooker on.
- 3
Stir gochujang, honey, vinegar, soy, sesame. Unwrap, lacquer, and broil or grill 4 minutes a side until the glaze sets.
- 4
Rest 10. Sesame and scallion if you want. The bones should tug free, not fall into mush.
If you don’t have it
- Gochujang → Sambal plus a little miso, or a chili-garlic paste. You will miss the fermented depth. Still sticky.
- Oven → Smoke at 275, then glaze on the grate. The better version if the cooker is free.
Same cook, different day
Baby backs
That is the case. Check 30 minutes sooner. Same glaze.
Extra heat
You want it to sting. Gochugaru in the dry rub, same glaze.
No honey
Less sweet. Rice syrup or a little brown sugar. Still need something to lacquer.
On the plate
With this, try
- With this dish, try making pinto beans.
Start when a packer wraps, or at the beginning of a shoulder. Soaked beans, smoked hock, onion, chili. Simmer until creamy. Salt late.
2 hr 30 min
- With this dish, try making vinegar slaw.
Anytime. Better after an hour in the fridge. Cabbage, carrot, cider vinegar, a pinch of sugar, salt, pepper. No mayo if the meat is already rich.
20 min
- With this dish, try making skillet mac.
In the oven while a roast rests, or the last stretch of a smoke. A real béchamel, cheddar, a breadcrumb top. Do not start it at the same time as a packer and expect timing to match.
40 min