Trending
In celebration of this Sunday's Super Bowl LVIII, between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers, today's column is all about feeding hungry fans. Whether you're a Chiefs or a 49ers fan, the only way to watch the Super Bowl is with a super selection of foods and beverages. And wouldn't it be fun to offer popular foods typical of the regions the teams call home?
Coincidentally, both do great things with pork. Kansas City is famous for its succulent ribs, while in San Francisco you'd find tender and juicy slow-cooked pork (Carnitas) perfect for making tacos, burritos, nachos and more.
Oven
Kansas City
Style Ribs
2 racks baby back pork ribs or spare ribs
Dry Rub (recipe below)
BBQ Sauce (recipe below)
Directions: Remove membrane from the back of the ribs and trim of any excess fat. Reb each rack with dry rub on both sides. Wrap ribs in foil and refrigerate overnight. When ready to bake preheat oven to 325-degrees F.
Remove foil and place ribs, bone side down, on top of a wire rack set in a foil-lined baking tray. Bake 2 1/2 to 3 hour for spare ribs or 1 1/2 to 2 hours for baby back. Half-way through baking, cover with foil to keep ribs from drying out.
In last half hour of baking, baste top of each rack with sauce, re-cover with foil and finish cooking to an internal temperature of 195-degrees F. Allow to rest 5 to 10 minutes before cutting.
Dry Rub:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup paprika
1 T. each black pepper, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, cayenne pepper
Directions: Whisk together the ingredients and store in airtight container. Makes 1 cup.
BBQ Sauce:
2 T. butter
1 small onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups ketchup
1/3 cup dark molasses
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 apple cider vinegar
2 T. yellow mustard
2 T. chili seasoning
2 tsps. chili powder
2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. liquid smoke
Directions: In medium saucepan over medium heat melt butter. Add onion and cook till softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another minute.
Add ketchup and remaining ingredients and whisk to combine. Bring to boil, reduce heat to low and simmer till thickened, about 30 minutes, stirring frequently.
Use a hand blender or carefully pour into regular blender and puree till smooth. Let cool. Transfer to clean jar with lid and keep refrigerated up to 1 month.
Slow Cooker Carnitas
4 to 5 pounds pork shoulder, cut into 4-inch pieces
1 T. kosher salt
4 tsps. ground cumin
2 tsps. chili powder
2 tsps. garlic powder
2 tsps. dried oregano
2 tsps. onion powder
1 tsp. ground black pepper
Juice of 1 large orange
2 T. lime juice
Directions: In small bowl, combine all the spices. Season the pork cubes on all sides with the mixture. Pour the orange juice and the lime juice into a slow cooker and place the pork shoulder on top.
Cover and slow cook on low 8 hours, or on high 4 to 5 hours. With a slotted spoon transfer the meat onto a large baking sheet and shred with a fork. The meat should fall-apart tender and shred easily.
Use as is, or if desired crisp the shredded pork under a broiler. To broil, pour about 3/4 cup of the cooking liquid onto the shredded pork. Toss to coat and broil 8 to 10 minutes, stirring halfway through, until crispy.
Garnish with cilantro and freshly squeezed lime juice in tortillas or on nachos with your favorite condiments. Serves 10.