Recipe Courtesy of Chef Steven Raichlen
Advanced Preparation:
1 to 4 hours for marinating the ribs
Ingredients:
- 4 Racks true baby back ribs (each 3/4 of 1 pound), or 2 racks American baby back ribs (each 2 to 2 1/2 pounds)
- 6 Cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
- 1 piece (2 inches) fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon coarse salt (kosher or sea)
- 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Asian fish sauce or more soy sauce
For Dipping Sauce
- 4 teaspoons coarse salt (kosher or sea)
- 4 teaspoons white pepper
- 4 juicy limes, cut in half
Directions:
- Prepare the ribs and spice paste
- If necessary, remove the thin, papery membrane from the back of each rack of ribs
- If you are using the larger racks of ribs, cut each rack in half
- Place the ribs in a nonreactive baking dish just large enough to hold them in a single layer
- Place the garlic, ginger, sugar, 1 tablespoon of salt, and the black pepper in a mortar and pound to a paste with a pestle
- Work in the honey, soy sauce, and fish sauce
- Spread the spice paste over the baby back ribs on both sides
- Let the ribs marinate in the refrigerator, covered, for 1 to 4 hours (the longer the ribs marinate, the richer the flavor will be)
- Prepare the ingredients for the dipping sauce: Place 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of white pepper in neat mounds side by side in each of 4 tiny bowls for the dipping sauce
- Place 2 lime halves next to each bowl
- Set up the grill for direct grilling and preheat it to medium
- When ready to cook, brush and oil the grill grate
- Place the ribs, bone side down, on the hot grate and grill until golden brown and cooked through, 8-12 minutes per side, a little longer for full-size ribs
- When the ribs are done, the meat will have shrunk back from the ends of the bones by about 1/4 inch
- Transfer the racks of ribs to a cutting board and cut them into individual ribs, then arrange them on a platter or plates for serving
- Just before eating, instruct your guests to squeeze 1 to 2 tablespoons of lime juice into their bowls of salt and white pepper and stir them with chopsticks until mixed
- Dip the ribs in the sauce before eating
