Jasmine, rather than your typical teabag green tea, is the star of these oven-roasted Jasmine Tea rub ribs. Not only is the meat brined in a tea mixture, but the tea is also incorporated into a tasty dry rub. This recipe uses Jasmine tea because of its delicate, fragrant, and floral flavor, but feel free to use your favorite green tea–as long as it’s good quality! This weekend during your weekly grocery trip, pick up some tea and a couple racks of ribs–this recipe is a must-try, and you won’t be disappointed!
Prep Time: 3 hours, 15 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours
Total Time: 5 hours, 15 minutes
Ingredients:
- 6 cups boiling water
- 2 tablespoons dried jasmine tea leaves
- 2 tablespoons salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 rack ribs (about 3 lbs)
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 2 teaspoons high quality jasmine tea leaves, ground into a powder in a blender or spice grinder
- 1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt (add this salt only if your ribs are very meaty)
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons honey, dissolved with 1 tablespoon water
- A handful each of toasted sesame seeds and cilantro leaves
Directions:
- In a bowl or pitcher, combine the hot water, tea leaves, salt, and sugar.
- Let the mixture sit until it’s cooled and the tea has had a chance to steep. It should look very dark and strong.
- Put the ribs in a sturdy 1 gallon Ziploc bag, and pour in the brine mixture.
- Squeeze the air out of the bag and seal.
- Put in the refrigerator to marinate for 3 hours. Don’t marinate for much longer, or it might be too salty.
- Take the ribs out of the bag and brush off any stray tea leaves.
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
- In a small bowl, combine the pepper, cumin, paprika, ground tea, and salt, if using.
- Brush the ribs thoroughly with a thin layer of soy sauce, and rub the spices all over the ribs.
- Transfer the ribs to the oven along with a small heatproof dish filled with water (this prevents the ribs from drying out).
- Bake for 1 hour, and brush the ribs on both sides with the honey water.
- Bake for another 30 minutes, brush with honey water again, and turn. Raise the heat to 375 degrees F.
- Bake for another 30 minutes, remove from the oven, and garnish with toasted sesame seeds and cilantro.
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note that this recipe was previously published on January 5th, 2015
