Recipe: Barbecue Baby Back Ribs with a Watermelon Glaze

Ribs? Watermelon? The pairing screams summer—and thankfully, we’ve got a recipe featuring both of these ingredients just in time for Father’s Day. Head chef Lian Cosby at the Blue Hat Bistro out of the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts has come up with a delicious ribs recipe done on the barbecue that Dad is sure to love. Make sure to do the grocery shopping in advance because you’ll need at least a whole day to prep and cook to make the most of this recipe. Dig in and get your hands dirty.

What You’ll Need

This BBQ ribs recipe serves up to four people depending on how much each person eats. The ingredient list may seem intimidating and the process long, but it’s actually fairly simple.

Equipment:

• A smoker or barbecue
• Metal racks
• A pastry brush
• A hand blender

Ingredients:

• 2 full racks of baby back pork ribs, with the silver skins on the back removed

Umami Dry Rub:

• 6 tbsp garlic powder
• 6 tbsp onion powder
• 6 tbsp smoked paprika
• 6 tbsp sweet paprika
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 2 tsp ground mustard seed
• 6 tbsp coarse salt
• 3 tbsp black, green and pink peppercorns, freshly cracked
• ¼ cup toasted coconut (pulse in a food processor till medium coarseness)
• 4 tbsp cane sugar

Watermelon Glaze:

• 12 cups watermelon juice (juice of 1 watermelon)
• 2 medium Spanish onions, thinly sliced
• 1 cup ginger thinly sliced
• ½ cup garlic thinly sliced
• 1 large bay leaf
• 3 green onions whole, cut into pieces roughly the size of matchsticks
• 1 tsp koji seeds
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• ¼ cup oyster sauce
• 6 tbsp blackstrap molasses
• ¼ cup ketchup
• 2 tbsp oil
• 2 tbsp yellow mustard
• 2 tbsp rice vinegar
• 2 tbsp sherry vinegar
• 4 tbsp cane sugar
• 1 cup water

Instructions for BBQ Ribs Recipe

1. In a bowl, add all the ingredients for the umami dry rub and mix well.

2. Then, rub the pork ribs with the umami dry rub. Place the seasoned ribs on a wire rack on a tray, and leave them in a well-ventilated part of your refrigerator.

3. For the best flavours, let them rest for 24 hours, but if not, for as long as possible.

4. While the ribs rest, it’s time to work on the glaze. Pour the watermelon juice into a pot and bring it to a boil to reduce the watermelon juice by half. Once it’s reduced, set it aside.

5. In a separate, large, wide and deep pot, gently sweat the onions in the oil over medium heat with the ginger and garlic.

6. Once the onions are slightly coloured, it’s time to add (almost) everything for the glaze: the yellow mustard, ketchup, molasses, sesame oil, oyster sauce, rice vinegar, sherry vinegar, koji seed, cane sugar, water and reduced watermelon juice. Mix this well with a wooden spoon.

7. Add the bay leaf and green onion, the last of the ingredients, and let it simmer for 20 minutes until it reduces to a glaze.

8. Then, remove the glaze from the heat and mix it with an immersion or hand blender until it’s smooth.

9. With the glaze done (and set aside), it’s time to get barbecuing. Grab the ribs that have been resting in the fridge and fire up the barbecue or smoker.

10. Smoke ribs at 180°F for three hours, rotating the ribs about halfway through.

11. Finish the baby back ribs on the barbecue, glazing them every 10 minutes with a pastry brush to achieve maximum deliciousness.

12. The final and most important step: Enjoy.