Today of all days, it would probably be more appropriate to write about the flavour of the long weekend. But if you are anything like me, I imagine by the time you read this you will appreciate a break from the sweet, brown confectionary we all know and love. Hence my decision to save this topic for a later date. Instead this Easter, I thought I’d go with something that requires the use of your hands and a serious appetite. Mostly because I love them, and secondly because they featured on my Easter menu last night. Vegetarians continue with caution.
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| The one and only. |
The all-mighty Ribs. The MBP dictionary defines the rib as: “a rib of an animal with a joint of meat adhering to it used as food.” Pretty straight forward really. There is something rather fascinating about the act of chewing a tasty morsel of muscle straight from a bone. Whether it’s the fact that you can use your hands, you have an excuse to get food all over your face, or that they are usually covered in a sweet, sticky and delicious sauce. Either way their ability to provide finger-licking goodness means they win, every time!
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| Win. |
If among your culinary adventures you haven’t experienced the infamous Lone Star Ribs. Do it now. It is here and Cobb ’N’ Co that my childhood memories will always associate with spare ribs. With the plates piled high, none have ever gone spare on our family outings. In fact the fight to get the biggest, juiciest and meatiest is often a highlight of the evening and has been known to cause a few tears. Needless to say many a birthday celebration has been spent devouring a stack of mouth-watering ribs.
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| 350g of goodness. |
Surprisingly, one of the greatest ribs I have tasted was on my Balinese adventure. It was an Australian-inspired restaurant situated mere minutes from our resort in Kuta Beach. After devouring all the seafood and vegetarian dishes they had to offer, being keen carnivores we searched for something to really sink our teeth into. At ‘The Grill Corner’ we found our calling. Their signature dishes included Prime Ribs and Imported Steaks. Used to being charged around $30 for a good steak in kiwi-land, when we realised they were charging a mere $14.15 for their “Australian Prime Beef Ribs – 350g” and “Baby Back Pork Ribs – 350g” we were sold. You could choose two from a list of tasty side dishes to suit any palate- with everything from fries to a Balinese green bean salad of which we feel in love. Needless to say we went back, at least 3 times during our travels. And every time our tastebuds were treated to the meat-fix they deserved.
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| Soaking in their flavoursome broth |
Over the summer I also dabbled in a few of my own rib creations. An Asian-inspired sticky sauce, where I crushed the beautiful aromas of star anise, cumin seeds, chilli and mixed it with a soy and honey to produce a flavourful concoction. Letting ribs marinate for at least 30 minutes means they are juicy, moist and the flavoursome liquid penetrates right to the bone. I like to eat ribs with something light and refreshing like a sesame coleslaw and plenty of serviettes. Last night I opted for a smokey BBQ style sauce enhanced with a hint of chilli. The ribs were sweet, sticky and succulent and definitely an Easter meat-feast to remember.
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| An Easter entree fit for a King. |
Maybe its my subconscious being vain but it always seems that the people I choose to eat ribs with are close to my heart and thankfully more than happy to get a little bit messy. So I can freely lick every last drop from my fingers and avoid being judged by the mess on my face.
Happy Easter everyone.
