Smokey Chipotle Ribs

Morita chiles are red, fully mature Chipotles. This gives them a unique, medium – hot smokey flavor which is popular in many Southwestern dishes. These can be added to sauces (including Mole) to add smokey flavor and maintain the red color of the sauces. These peppers are about 2-4 inches in length, 1 inch in width, and have a deep brick reddish brown color. The word Chipotle translated to smoked chile. Consider the Chipotle a 6.5 on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the hottest). Scoville heat units 7,000-25,000.

Suggested Use:
Use Morita in enchilada sauces, chili, stews, barbecue ribs, and corn bread. Their smoky quality combines well with poultry, meats and fall squash.

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Ingredients:

1 tsp instant coffee
1/4 cup hot water
1/2 cup orange juice
3/4 cup plum sauce
2 tbs brown sugar
2 tbs chipoltes, rehydrated in hot water, drained, and minced
3 lbs pork back ribs

Instructions:

Dissolve the instant coffee in the 1/4 cup of hot water.

In a small saucepan, combine the coffee water and the rest of the ingredients except the ribs. Bring to boil over medium heat, reduce heat for a low boil and boil for about 5 minutes or until sauce is slightly reduced and slightly syrupy. Remove from heat; cool.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Line a large roasting pan with aluminum foil. Lay ribs in a single layer in pan. Reserve 2/3 cup of the sauce for basting. Pour remaining sauce over ribs, coating both sides well. Cover pan with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour. Remove foil and baste with remaining sauce. Bake for another 60 minutes.

Remove from oven and let the ribs rest 10-15 minutes before cutting into portions and serving.

Makes 4 serving.

Adapted from bakeatmidnite.com