This is for the hardcore dark chocolate lovers out there. And if you love dark chocolate and you love ribs, you won’t want to miss this recipe. Like star-crossed lovers, these two beloved foods have had many admirers, but somehow they’ve missed the love connection – until now. Chocolate on meat, in the form of a mole, is common in Mexico, where they don’t always feel the need to add sugar to chocolate. Full disclosure: if you are wedded to the base flavor of tomato in a barbecue sauce, this may not be for you. There are plenty of tomatoes in this recipe, but they provide the texture for the sauce, not the flavor. Chocolate is a complex and powerful food, and when you combine it with red meat, the taste is distinctive – maybe more of a fifth flavor, beyond sweet, salty, sour, and bitter. (That’s not to say that it tastes anything like umami, which some people consider to be the fifth flavor.) It’s robust and rich, but it’s not a red sauce barbecue. The heat of the chiles arrives in the aftertaste; it doesn’t overwhelm the chocolate.
Cooks outside of Mexico are beginning to appreciate the power of chocolate beyond the dessert course, and work with it in varied and inventive ways. I found this recipe on the Vosges website, that repository of insanely voluptuous and unusual chocolate combinations, and had to give it a try. You don’t have to use the Vosges Red Fire chocolate: you could substitute a good 55% cacao dark chocolate and add ancho and chipotle chiles to the mix to achieve the same result.
This makes a spectacular meal if you’re having fellow chocoholics over for dinner. The chocolate darkens the ribs to a deep mahogany color that will make your mouth water. I would serve it with a spicy jicama slaw, a pot of pinto beans, and ice cold beer to wash the heat away. Good eating.
Adapted from the Vosges website
Serves: 4
Prep time: 2 ½ hours
3 pounds baby back ribs
For the dry rub:
Ingredients
- ¼ cup peppercorns
- 1/3 cup salt
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon chipotle
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
Barbecue Sauce:
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 medium onion, minced
- 1 dried ancho chili
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons crushed peppercorns, coarsely ground
- 28 ounce can of whole tomatoes
- 8 ounces tomato sauce
- ¼ cup of honey
- 2 tablespoons molasses
- ¼ cup dark brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 2 teaspoons cumin powder
- 2 ounces Vosges Red Fire Chocolate bar, or 2 ounces 55% cacao chocolate bar and an additional ancho chili
- ½ cup orange juice
- 1 cup cilantro, chopped
For the ribs:
Directions
- Preheat over to 300 degrees.
- Mix dry rub ingredients together and coat ribs on both sides.
- Put ribs into a baking sheet, and fill with water half way up the pan.
- Seal with foil and roast for two hours.
- Finish on the grill by putting ribs on medium-heat grill, bone side down.
- Cook for five minutes, then flip ribs and baste with chocolate barbecue sauce.
- Baste and grill ribs until they are crispy and covered in sauce.
- Cut into individual pieces to serve.
For the Barbecue Sauce:
Directions
- Heat oil in a large saucepan at medium low heat.
- Saute onions and ancho chile pepper about ten minutes, until the onion is golden.
- Deglaze pan with apple cider and cook on high for 2 minutes.
- Add all other ingredients, except cilantro, and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer uncovered.
- Stir occasionally and allow to cook at very low heat for 2 hours until thickened and dark.
- Puree sauce before basting.
- Before serving, add cilantro.
- Brush sauce on ribs just before serving.
- Sauce can be kept in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
