Country Style Ribs With Quick Pickled Watermelon Food

30 MINUTE BONELESS PORK RIBS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350° convection or 375° conventional oven. Trim one slab (about 1 1/2 lb) country-style boneless ribs of fat cap and any silverskin.
• Deepen the cuts to a little over half the thickness of the slab.
• Heat a cast-iron skillet or another oven-safe pan with a teaspoon or two of oil over medium-high heat. Place in the pan and sear for 2-3 minutes per side. Get near the final color you want when done.
• Remove from heat and brush the top (not the bottom) generously with BBQ sauce of your choice. Be sure to get the slices.
• Place in the oven and bake until internal temp of about 145°-150°. About 15 minutes, but time will vary some. Let rest for 5 minutes before cutting.

COUNTRY-STYLE RIBS WITH QUICK-PICKLED WATERMELON

Steps:

• Ribs:
• First, make the marinade. Bring brown sugar and 1/2 cup water to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring to dissolve sugar. Lower heat to medium and simmer until reduced to 1/4 cup; transfer to a medium bowl. Whisk in soy sauce and next 8 ingredients. Stir in onion. Let cool. Pour the marinade into a large resealable plastic bag.
• Rub ribs with mustard powder and add to marinade in bag; seal bag and turn ribs to coat. Place bag in a baking dish and chill, turning occasionally, for at least 6 hours and up to overnight.
• Watermelon:
• Start with the dressing. In a small saucepan over low heat, toast coriander seeds until fragrant and beginning to pop, 2-3 minutes. Transfer coriander to a baking sheet and crush slightly with the back of a cool skillet. Combine coriander, vinegar, lime juice, shallot, and honey in a small bowl. Whisk in oil and season with salt and pepper. Set vinaigrette aside.
• Place watermelon in a large bowl; add 1/2 cup vinaigrette and toss to coat. Cover and chill, tossing occasionally, for up to 1 hour to lightly pickle watermelon.
• Build a medium fire in a charcoal grill, or heat a gas grill to medium-high. Transfer ribs from bag, leaving some marinade clinging to surface, onto a baking sheet. Pour remaining marinade from bag into a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium and simmer for 3 minutes. Set marinade aside.
• Grill ribs until nicely charred and cooked to medium, about 5 minutes per side. Using tongs, dunk each rib into reserved marinade. Return ribs to grill and cook, turning once, until cooked to medium-well, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a platter.
• Toss tomatoes, 1/4 cup cilantro, and 1 Tbsp. vinaigrette in a medium bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Top ribs with pickled watermelon. Scatter tomato mixture over. Garnish with more cilantro. Serve, passing remaining vinaigrette alongside for drizzling over.

QUICK-PICKLED WATERMELON

Steps:

• Add the rice wine vinegar, palm sugar, fish sauce and dried chiles to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Place the watermelon into a bowl over an ice bath. Once the liquid comes to a boil, pour over the watermelon and stir to combine until the mixture has cooled.
• Add to a platter of cheeses, meats, crackers, dried fruit, etc.

WATERMELON BBQ SAUCE AND PICKLED WATERMELON RINDS

Steps:

• Use a Y-shaped peeler to remove the outer green part of the watermelon. Scoop out the pink flesh and place in a blender (you should have about 1 pound 2 ounces); set the rind aside.
• Blend the watermelon flesh in a blender until it becomes juice. Pour through a fine-mesh sieve into a medium saucepan. (The amount of juice you have will vary depending on the watermelon.) You will need 2 cups of juice in the saucepan; transfer any excess to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 1 week and save for another use.
• Add the ketchup, Dijon, Worcestershire, molasses, coriander, garlic powder, onion powder, 1/4 cup of the light brown sugar, 1/4 cup of the vinegar, juice of 1 lime and a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper to the saucepan and whisk until smooth. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened and reduced by a quarter, about 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, combine the salt, lime zest, juice of the remaining lime, and the remaining 1/4 cup each light brown sugar and vinegar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring once or twice, until the sugar has dissolved, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.
• Cut the rind into 2-by-1/4-inch sticks; transfer to the small saucepan with the brine and stir to combine. Add the ice cubes (and stir until the ice has melted. Let sit for 5 minutes to quickly pickle. Drain the pickled rinds and transfer to a serving bowl.