Cooking with Leftovers

Cooking creatively with leftovers, creating meals and snacks from nearly-empty cupboards, and having fun in the kitchen.

Saturday, December 17, 2005

BBQ

When I cleaned out my fridge before moving, I combined the rest of the meat in the freezer and the rest of the ketchup to make some tasty bbq. I've made it since then with no complaints.

a package of pork ribs (you can also use chicken or beef)
Sauce:
  • about a cup of ketchup (or the rest of the bottle, if it's close)
  • some water (about a cup)
  • half as much vinegar (half a cup)
  • sugar, you can put in as little as a tablespoon and as much as half a cup. (Sometimes I substitute some honey for part of the sugar)
  • some chili powder. It's both for spice and flavor, so use whatever spiciness you have at hand, depending on your tastes
  • a little dried basil (optional but highly reccomended)
  • a pinch of powdered ginger (optional)
  • other spices, like aleppo pepper or dried japalenos (very optional)
You'll need a baking dish large enough to hold the meat and sauce without you worrying about any of it spilling when you move it, and foil to cover it
  • Combine all of the sauce ingredients into a small sauce pan, mix and stir. Heat over medium heat until it boils.
  • Pour the sauce into the pan with the meat. Make sure that the sauce gets under the meat and cover the pan with foil.
  • Bake for about 3 hours, uncovering after the first hour and turning every half hour until the meat is very tender.
  • Serve the extra sauce with the meat. If you're so inclined, skim off extra fat from the sauce before serving. Another way to get rid of some of the fat is to put them meat in boiling water for 2-3 minutes before baking it with the sauce.