Al Pastor Ribs and Arroz Verde Mexicana

[chilerelleno]

There are days here and there where I step out of my comfort zone and try something new, today is one of those days.

I did something completely new to me, and I sure am happy I did.
Al Pastor Ribs with a Pineapple Lime Glaze

I'm a St. Louis ribs done Memphis style snob, and they get cooked dry rubbed, no wrap, no spritz/mop, no wrap and no glaze.

But I started out last night by marinating three racks in my Al Pastor marinade.
Link >>> Chile's Al Pastor Marinade/Sauce
I was thinking how best to marinade 3 racks of ribs and it hit me, place them in a vac bag and just seal/no vacuum.

Pulled them out of the marinade, and dusted them with Guajillo chile powder and my basic pork rub.
Note: Measure out one cup of basic rub and add 1/8C Guajillo chile powder.
Link >>> Chile's Basic Pork and Chicken Rubs

Fired up the smoker to 225°-250° with Cherry for smoke and slapped the ribs down.

Then I made the Pineapple Lime Glaze.
In a small sauce pan combine the following and bring to slow boil.
And then set aside to cool.
1 18oz Pineapple Preserves (Publix generic)
1/2C Brown sugar
Juice of 1 Lime and Zest of 2 Limes
1/2t Cloves, ground

Then I cooked up a batch of Arroz Verde / Green Rice.
Link >>> Confetti Rice / Green Rice / Garden Rice

So like I said before, no this, no that... These were marinaded beforehand, mopped with pineapple juice and glazed.
I mopped 3x in the first 3 hours, them let them ride till they were just passing the Pop, Bend and Crack Test.
Then I glazed them and gave it 30 minutes to set up.

The Finale

 

[fivetricks]

And? What did YOU think of them? All these glazes tend to fall flat flavor wise for me. Tell me why I'm wrong :-D

 

[chilerelleno]

I did something completely new to me, and I sure am happy I did.

No complaints from the family or I.
They had a nice Pineapple Lime sweetness with just a hint of Al pastor flavor, quite nice actually.

The glaze is pretty good, but could use more lime zest and perhaps clove.
The Al pastor marinade needs to be thicker, omit the pineapple juice from the can.
And perhaps add half again as much Guajillo powder.
Or my basic pork rub could be modified with added Annatto and Guajillo to increase the flavor profile of Al Pastor.

 

[drdon]

...let them ride till they were just passing the Pop, Bend and Crack Test and glazed them and gave it 30 minutes to set up

Nope, nope, nope...I couldn't wait that long unless there were physical restraints. Looks too good sir! Nice money shot too.
Don

 

[chilerelleno]

Nope, nope, nope...I couldn't wait that long unless there were physical restraints. Looks too good sir! Nice money shot too.
Don

Thanks Don.
Man it was hot/humid enough to not to want to go out to the smoker unless absolutely necessary... Waiting for the perfect time was easy.

 

[chilerelleno]

And? What did YOU think of them? All these glazes tend to fall flat flavor wise for me. Tell me why I'm wrong :-D

Are you buying glazes or making your own?
Make your own and you can taste test as you go, lets you make changes on the fly.
But, continued changes in time, temp and interactions with other substances changes the chemistry and taste, and leaves me thinking more Lime/Clove.

EDIT: Updated glaze recipe with more lime zest and clove.

 

[fivetricks]

I'm a huge Clove/allspice guy. just enough gives things that's secret bite that no one can quite pick out :-)

I always make my own, but perhaps am a bit hamstrung by the fact that no one in my house actually enjoys real flavor. So I always try to keep it safe for them but fall flat in my own view. But I also don't have the natural culinary talent that you do. Everyone says I do, but after all they don't like flavor. What do they know?!

 

[chilerelleno]

I'm a huge Clove/allspice guy. just enough gives things that's secret bite that no one can quite pick out :-)

I always make my own, but perhaps am a bit hamstrung by the fact that no one in my house actually enjoys real flavor. So I always try to keep it safe for them but fall flat in my own view. But I also don't have the natural culinary talent that you do. Everyone says I do, but after all they don't like flavor. What do they know?!

So screw'em and cook for yourself.

 

[Hawging It]

Perfection! Going to try the glaze.

 

[chilerelleno]

Perfection! Going to try the glaze.

Appreciate it Hawg, thanks.

 

[Smokin' in AZ]

Chile,
Great looking cook
Like!

 

[chilerelleno]

To all the folks Looking, Liking and Leaving... Thanks for the Likes!
jaxgatorz
tallbm
zwiller
@Derek717

 

[chilerelleno]

Chile,
Great looking cook
Like!

Thanks John, for both the compliment and Like.

 

[chilerelleno]

Leftovers, I love my leftovers for snacks and lunches.
A lot of the time it seems that leftover's flavors meld together and improve with age.
Not this time... Just killed the leftovers and they seem to have mellowed out to the point of bland, just weird.

My youngest son thought they were still great.
Maybe I was a bit nose/taste blind from cooking the pork belly?

Either way, I'll just make the marinade and glaze more flavorful.

 

[drdon]

Just killed the leftovers and they seem to have mellowed out to the point of bland

As BB King sang....the thrill is gone baby.... Sorry to hear that. We know you'll just whip something else up in a hurry.
Don

 

[gmc2003]

John you should step out of your comfort zone more often. Those ribs look scrumpdillyicious!!!

Point for sure
Chris

 

[chilerelleno]

As BB King sang....the thrill is gone baby.... Sorry to hear that. We know you'll just whip something else up in a hurry.
Don

Yep, it was already on the plate, see my pork belly from yesterday.
Link >>> Hickory Smoked/BBQ Braised Belly

This just means I have to kick it up a few notches.

 

[xray]

Looks awesome Chile!! Haven’t gotten around to getting ribs on the smoker this summer, my where does the time go?

Killer plate and the rice looks delish too!

 

[dannylang]

Chili looks great as always, something new.. looks great.
dannylang

 

[chilerelleno]

John you should step out of your comfort zone more often. Those ribs look scrumpdillyicious!!!

Point for sure
Chris

Thank you Chris, appreciate that.
I'm a creature of habit, but I do occasionally break a bad habit.
But it's always replaced by 2-3 new ones.
This recipe is going to be a habit once I get it nicely tweaked.