Who's your Daddy Blackened Barbecue Pork Ribs

If you are looking for great barbecue sauce, then look no further. This sauce can be used on anything from American pork ribs, leg of lamb, burgers or organic chicken. This recipe is from Jamie Oliver's Jamie at Home, and I have to say that this sauce really punches above its weight. Thanks to a great housewarming gift of a Spice Kit from Herbies Spices in Rozelle (Sydney), I have all of these herbs and spices in my cupboard. I will often make double the sauce that I need, and keep an extra jar or bottle in the fridge.

These ribs are messy, but that is half the fun! Be sure to arm your guests or partner with several serviettes and a bib. If you're not up for recreating Fred Flintstone meets Barney Rubble at your dinner table, then opt for another cut of meat such as chicken, lamb or pork on skewers perhaps.

Ingredients & Preparation:

2 kg American pork rib racks

1 heaped tsp cumin seeds

2 tbsp fennel seeds

5 cloves

Sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

A bunch of fresh thyme, leaves picked

A bunch of fresh rosemary, leaves picked and chopped, a few sprigs reserved

Zest and juice of 1 orange

1 bulb of garlic, broken into cloves and crushed

4 heaped tsp sweet smoked paprika

6 tbsp balsamic vinegar

150 ml tomato ketchup

8 tbsp olive oil

10 bay leaves

Freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice to serve

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Light barbecue about 40 minutes later.

To make the marinade, grind the cumin seeds, fennel seeds and cloves in a pestle and mortar with salt and pepper. Add chopped thyme and rosemary leaves, orange zest and garlic together. Add remaining ingredients and mix together. Instead of a pestle and mortar, I simply combine any of the ingredients that need chopping or crushing in a mini Magimix food processor, which is probably one of the best kitchen tools I own!

Rub your chosen meat all over with the marinade. Place the meat in a snug-fitting roasting tray, top with any leftover marinade and cover loosely with aluminum foil. Bake the meat in oven until tender. This will take an hour and a half for the pork ribs.

Finish the meat on a medium hot barbecue. Place it carefully on the barbecue and sear it well on each side, using the extra sauce to baste while cooking. Keep turning and brushing the meat until you build up a lovey sticky, charred crust. Take it off the barbecue and rest it on a serving dish for a few minutes.

Cut the pork into individual ribs and serve - I just use good quality scissors, and it only takes a few minutes. I like to drizzle lime or lemon juice over the top of the ribs to make the ribs look even more succulent and mouth watering. We had these ribs with a baby spinach and Parmesan salad with an oil and balsamic dressing, which went perfectly. The ribs really are the star of this meal, which is why I chose to dumb down the meal accompaniments, and just chose a simple salad.

Bon Appetit!