BBQ Pork Ribs with Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Hope you are all having a wonderful Monday! I know I'm posting kinda late again! I was having a lazy day, that's why! Ryan was off from work and the girls were on Fall break last week, so after a week of family fun, staying up late and then sleeping until 10am, it was really hard for me to motivate myself to get my Monday started. Anyway, I am here now, ready to share with you part of the yumminess we enjoyed last Thanksgiving Day.

Since we don't have relatives here in the DFW area, we always celebrate Thanksgiving with friends who are like second family to us. We have a very good friend who has her whole family here (her parents and siblings included), and it has been like a tradition already that we spend Thanksgiving dinner with them every year. But even though we're not the hosts, we still do a lot of cooking. We are always in charge of the roast turkey and some sides and dessert. Aside from that, I always cook something for the four of us to enjoy during lunch, and for this year, it is BBQ pork ribs with creamy mashed potatoes and gravy on the side. As we wait for the big feast with all the traditional Thanksgiving food, we satisfy ourselves with this tender pork ribs and creamy garlic mashed potatoes...

The pork ribs is almost the same as the one I shared with you last week, but instead of stir-fried, Ryan volunteered to grill the parboiled ribs which is more appropriate to go with the mashed potatoes that the girls requested. Basting it with the same barbeque and Hawaiian sauce mixture I used with the stir-fried one made this version equally yummy... 

Ingredients:

For BBQ Pork Ribs:

• 4 lbs spare ribs - cut into half slabs
• 6 cloves garlic - peeled and crushed
• 2 pcs bay leaves
• 1 tsp peppercorns
• ½ cup barbeque sauce
• ½ cup Hawaiian sauce
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1½ Tbsp Tabasco pepper sauce
• garlic powder
• onion powder
• salt and pepper

For mashed potatoes:

• 5 lbs. russet potatoes, peeled and each cut into 6 chunks
• 1 head garlic, peeled and crushed
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream, warmed
• 1 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 tbsp parsley flakes
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For gravy:

• 2 Tbsp butter
• 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 pc Knorr beef cube
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
• 1 can evaporated milk
• 1 cup water or broth

Procedure:

For the ribs:
1. Sprinkle ribs with salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. Let sit in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. The longer, the better. Best if done overnight. 
2. In a bowl, pour barbeque sauce, Hawaiian sauce, Tabasco sauce and 2 Tbsp olive oil. Stir until well mixed. Set aside.

3. Place ribs in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Remove the scum that will form on top. Add crushed garlic, bay leaves and peppercorns. Simmer for about 1 hour or until meat is tender. Drain well.

4. Heat grill to medium. Place the ribs on the grill and baste with BBQ & Hawaiian Sauce mixture. Grill covered for about 7 minutes, then turn and baste the other side and grill for another 7 minutes. Serve hot with mashed potatoes.

For the mashed potatoes:

1. Place potatoes and garlic in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, and cook for 25 minutes or until soft. Strain the potatoes and garlic into a colander. Return to pan and mash the potato mixture with a potato masher. Place over medium heat. Stir in cream, butter, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook for 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Keep warm until ready to serve.

 

For the gravy:

1. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt butter then stir in flour, beef cube, and pepper. Gradually stir in evaporated milk and water until mixture is smooth. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Serve over hot mashed potatoes. Makes 2 cups gravy.