1001 Low-Carb Recipes: Hundreds of Delicious Recipes From Dinner to Dessert That Let You Live Your Low-Carb Lifestyle and Never Look Back (107 page)

Okay, I admit it. This is not a spontaneous recipe; it takes forever! It’s quite simple, though, and these ribs taste wonderful with no other seasoning at all. This recipe is for a half-slab, so feel free to double it.

½ slab pork spare ribs, about 4 pounds (1.8 kg)

½ cup (145 g) salt

7 cups (1.7 L) hot water

2 cups (480 ml) cider vinegar

½ cup (12 g) Splenda

½ cup (120 ml) sugar-free pancake syrup

1½ teaspoons cracked black pepper

½ cup (120 ml) oil, plus more for ribs

Wood chips or chunks, soaked for at least 30 minutes

Dissolve the salt in the hot water and then stir in everything else but the ribs. Put the ribs in something shallow, flat, and made of a nonreactive material—you may want to cut the slab into a few pieces to fit it in. Reserve ½ cup (120 ml) of the brine for basting and pour the rest over the ribs, making sure they’re submerged at least a little bit. Stash them in the fridge and let them sit for 3 to 4 hours.

Six hours before you want to eat, start the grill for indirect cooking—build a charcoal fire to one side or light only one burner of your gas grill. Pull the ribs out of the brine and pat them dry. Rub the surface of the ribs with a little oil.

When the fire is ready, put the ribs over the side of the grill not over the fire and add soaked wood chips to the fire—apple wood would be especially appropriate, but I’ve used other chips and gotten good results. Smoke the ribs for a good 6 hours, adding wood chips whenever the smoke dies down.

What do you do with that ½ cup (120 ml) of reserved brine? Mix it with ½ cup (120 ml) oil and use it to baste the ribs while they’re smoking, every time you add more chips or chunks. Use a clean utensil each time you baste.

You can add other seasonings or a sauce to these if you like, but I like them with just salt and pepper. The brine/mop adds a lovely flavor of its own and makes these ribs wonderfully juicy!

Yield:
5 to 6 servings

If you consumed all of the brine, you’d get a substantial quantity of carbohydrate (7 or 8 grams) but you discard most of the brine, of course. Count 1 to 2 grams per serving, at most; 32 grams of protein. Analysis does not include polyol sweetened in sugar-free syrup.

3 pounds (1.4 kg) pork spareribs (about a half a slab)

1 tablespoon (6.9 g) paprika

1 teaspoon salt or Vege-Sal

2 teaspoons spicy brown mustard

1 bay leaf

½ teaspoon chili powder

¼ teaspoon cayenne

2 tablespoons (30 ml) Worcestershire sauce

¼ cup (60 ml) cider vinegar

cup (80 ml) tomato sauce

2 tablespoons (30 ml) Dana’s No-Sugar Ketchup (page 463)

½ cup (120 ml) water

1 teaspoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons (20 g) minced onion

1 clove garlic, crushed

½ teaspoon blackstrap molasses

In a large, nonreactive saucepan combine everything but the ribs. Stir together, bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer, and let it cook for 10 to 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C, or gas mark 8). While the sauce is cooking, I like to cut in between the ribs about halfway up, but that’s optional—it just gives more surface for the sauce to coat! Place the ribs on a broiler pan.

Pour some sauce into a small bowl and paint the ribs thoroughly with the rest of the sauce. Let them roast for 30 minutes. Now turn the oven down to 350°F (180°C, or gas mark 4). Baste the ribs with fresh sauce using a clean utensil, turn them over, and baste the other side. Continue roasting the ribs for 90 minutes, basting every 20 to 30 minutes, and turning them over when you do. Serve with plenty of napkins!

Yield:
3 to 4 servings

Assuming 4, each will have 37 g protein; 8 g carbohydrate; 1 g dietary fiber; 7 g usable carbs—and that’s if you use up all the sauce.

3 pounds (1.4 kg) country-style pork ribs

16 ounces (480 ml) orange-flavored Fruit
₂
O

1 tablespoon (18 g) salt

2 cloves garlic

teaspoon blackstrap molasses

1½ teaspoons soy sauce

½ cup (120 ml) olive oil

Wood chips or chunks, soaked for at least 30 minutes

Dissolve the salt in the Fruit
₂
O—heating the Fruit
₂
O a bit will help the salt dissolve. Stir in everything else but the ribs and oil. Set aside ½ cup of the brine for basting and 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of the brine to use in the Orange Rib Glaze (following). Put the ribs in a shallow nonreactive dish and pour the rest of brine over them, making sure the ribs are submerged at least a little bit. Put the whole thing in the fridge and let the ribs soak in the brine for 4 to 5 hours.

Five to six hours before you want to eat, prepare the grill for indirect cooking—build a charcoal fire to one side or light only one burner of your gas grill. When the fire is ready, pull the ribs out and drain them. Pat the ribs dry and rub them with a little oil. Put them on the grill and add soaked wood chips to the fire. Cover the grill and smoke the ribs for 5 to 6 hours, adding more chips or chunks when the smoke dies down.

Combine the ½ cup (120 ml) of reserved brine with ½ cup (120 ml) of oil and use it to mop the ribs every time you add chips or chunks to the fire. Use a clean utensil each time you baste.

I like to coat these with Orange Rib Glaze in the last 20 minutes before they come off the grill, but serve them with whatever sauce or seasoning you like!

Yield:
5 servings

Exclusive of any sauce you might add, these are virtually carb-free! 32 grams of protein.

1 tablespoon (15 ml) sugar-free imitation honey

1 tablespoon (15 ml) reserved orange brine from Orange Brined Ribs recipe (preceding)

¼ teaspoon orange extract

½ teaspoon soy sauce

1 clove garlic, crushed

½ teaspoon grated ginger

Simply stir everything together and brush evenly over Orange Brined Ribs in the last 20 minutes of cooking. This is just enough to make a thin glaze over the ribs. It’s not enough to spoon over them at the table—but trust me, if you’ve used the brine and the mop, you’ll have plenty of flavor.

Yield:
5 servings

Each serving has 3 grams of carbohydrate, exclusive of the polyols in the imitation honey; a trace of fiber; a trace of protein.

No rub or finishing sauce needed—the marinade/baste alone makes these mustardy-tangy-sweet.

1 slab pork spare ribs, about 6 to 7 pounds (2.7 to 3.2 kg)

1 cup (240 ml) bourbon

1 cup (240 ml) oil

1 tablespoon (15 ml) molasses

1 cup (240 ml) spicy brown mustard

2 tablespoons (4 g) dried sage

2 teaspoons salt or Vege-Sal

2 teaspoons pepper

1 tablespoon (4 g) dried thyme

1 cup (25 g) Splenda

Wood chips or chunks, soaked for at least 30 minutes

Combine everything but the ribs and the wood chunks. Cut the ribs in two so they’ll fit in a pot—use a nonreactive one, only big enough to fit the ribs. Reserve some bourbon mixture for basting, pour the rest over them, and let them marinate for several hours, at least.

Now you get to make a choice: to simmer, or not to simmer? I like to simmer—put the pot over medium-low heat, bring the marinade to a simmer, and let the ribs cook for 25 to 30 minutes.

Either way, set up your grill for indirect smoking (pile all the coals on one side or turn on only half the burners on a gas grill) and add the wood chips or chunks.

If you’ve simmered your ribs, smoke them for 3 hours. If you haven’t, smoke them for 5 to 6 hours. Either way, baste them with the reserved bourbon-mustard marinade every 30 to 45 minutes while they’re smoking, using a clean utensil each time. Baste them for the last time at least 15 to 20 minutes before pulling the ribs out of the hot smoke. Replace the wood chips whenever the smoke dies down.

These don’t need any sauce at all—just eat them as is.

Yield:
8 servings

If you consumed all the marinade/baste, you’d get 8 grams of carb per serving, with 1 gram of fiber, but you won’t consume all of the marinade/baste!
Estimating generously that you’ll eat two-thirds of the bourbon-mustard mixture, you’ll get 6 grams of carb per serving, with a trace of fiber, and the count may actually be lower than that; 39 grams of protein.

Another Chinese-influenced version of ribs. You’ll have to make the low-carb Hoisin Sauce first, but it’s a nice thing to have on hand anyway.

1 slab pork spareribs, about 6 pounds (2.7 kg)

¾ cup (180 ml) Hoisin Sauce (page 464)

¼ cup (60 ml) dry sherry

3 tablespoons (45 ml) sugar-free imitation honey

4 cloves garlic, crushed

1 teaspoon grated ginger

1½ tablespoons (2 g) Splenda

Oil

Salt and pepper

Simmer the ribs first for this one—put them in a pot big enough to hold them and cover them with water. (You can add a little soy sauce and Splenda, if you like.) Bring them to a simmer and let them simmer for 30 to 45 minutes.

While that’s happening, get the fire going, especially if you’re using charcoal. You’ll want the fire medium-low.

Next, put the low-carb Hoisin Sauce, sherry, imitation honey, garlic, and ginger in the blender, and run it until everything is well combined.

Okay, the ribs are done simmering. Pull them out, pat them dry with paper towels, and give them a nice massage with a little oil. Season them with salt and pepper and put them over the fire—we’re directly grilling them this time, instead of slow smoking them. Put them meaty-side down, close the grill, and let them cook for 20 minutes. Flip them over, re-close the grill, and let them go another 40 to 45 minutes.