Chef Aaron Sanchez’s Banging Baby’s Got Back Ribs

Aarón’s Adobo

• ¼ cup cumin seeds
• ¼ cup coriander seeds
• ¼ cup fennel seeds
• ¼ cup yellow mustard seeds
• 2 pasilla chiles, stemmed, seeded, deveined, and torn into small pieces
• 2 ancho chiles, stemmed, seeded, deveined, and torn into small pieces
• ½ cup dried whole oregano (preferably Mexican)
• 2 tablespoons onion powder
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• ¼ cup Spanish paprika (pimento), preferably sweet or hot

Banging Baby’s-Got-Back Ribs

• 3 racks (about 5 pounds) baby back pork ribs
• 1 cup Aarón’s Adobo
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 medium white or yellow onions, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, very finely chopped
• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 cups Chile Colorado Sauce
• One 15-ounch can crushed tomatoes
• ½ cup molasses
• ½ cup apple cider vinegar
• Grated zest and juice of 1 orange

DIRECTIONS

Banging Baby’s-Got-Back Ribs
1. At least 8 hours before you plan to cook, lay the ribs on a cutting board, curved bone side up. Using a sharp pairing knife, slice into the touch white membrane covering the ribs. Carefully peel off and discard the membrane. Rub the ribs generously all over with Aarón’s Adobo. Wrap them in plastic wrap and refrigerate them for at least 8 hours, or overnight, to allow the flavors to penetrate.
2. Make the sauce. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook them until softened and translucent, about 6 minutes. Add the cayenne, Chile Colorado Sauce, tomatoes, molasses, vinegar, and orange zest and juice and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until reduced and thick, about 45 minutes.
3. When you’re ready to cook, preheat a gas grill to medium or an over to 250°F, or burn down charcoal to red embers covered with gray ash. Turn off one burner or push the coals to one side and put the ribs on the grill rack over indirect heat. Cover the grill and cook the ribs for 2 hours, adding more charcoal now and then as necessary to keep the heat even. For oven cooking, line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and lay the ribs on it. Mop them thickly with the sauce, and cover with more foil. Roast for 2 to 3 hours, adding more sauce every 30 minutes. Until the meat is tender and falling off the bone. (Times will vary; check the meat every 30 minutes.)
4. For grilling, after 2 hours, brush the ribs thickly with the sauce on both sides and flip them. Cover the grill and cook, brushing occasionally with sauce, until the ribs are tender, about 30 minutes.
5. Serve warm or at room temperature with any extra sauce for dipping.