Wow. Just wow. (That’s us! On Saveur’s website!)

Let me get a little mushy. Just a little. Just for a minute.

It’s always so nice when someone tells me that they like The Hungry Mouse. This site has been a labor of love for The Angry Chef and I for the last year or so. Food and cooking are a huge part of our everyday lives, and it’s an honor to be able to share our kitchen antics with you guys.

We’re especially flattered when folks try our recipes and really like them. The proof is, after all, in the pudding.

But we’re always, without fail, totally floored whenever we get a nice piece of press. So, you’ll understand that I was totally beside myself when we found ourselves on Saveur magazine’s Best of the Web list today.

Yep, Saveur. Hands down, my favorite food magazine of all time. You can’t see me right now, but I’m grinning from ear to ear.

And…they listed three (three!!!) of our recipes! Here’s a quick recap of the ones they selected.

Saveur Magazine, Best of the Web: The Hungry Mouse

Ah, pork. These Fig and Ginger Glazed Pork Ribs are so good. This is one of those dishes that looks a little unappetizing when it goes into the oven (after all, fig preserves are kind of brown and lumpy)—and is utterly drool-inducing when it comes out.

The second recipe is for…more pork! These Pork Spare Ribs with Cocoa Spice Rub are succulent as can be, and borrow heavily from Mexican mole—blending fragrant chilis, garlic, and onion with rich chocolate. It’s unexpected and totally delicious.

They also included one of my favorite go-to salads of all time. This Sesame Garlic Snap Pea Salad is packed with flavor and crunch—and is ridiculously easy to whip together.

If you don’t know Saveur, definitely pick up a copy. It’s some of the best foodie reading out there. You can subscribe here.

More to come soon! (Announcements and excitement, oh my!)

Thanks again! We’re so very honored. We’re really looking forward to the coming year.

We’re particularly excited to officially (if a little belatedly) celebrate our one-year anniversary next month. We have a handful of over-the-top giveaways planned�along with one very special announcement.

Stay tuned!

+Jessie

Related posts:

1. Cracking the Code on All Things Egg @ The Hungry Beast Check out my latest article, Cracking the Code on All...
2. Bon Appetit Invited Us To New York! This has officially been the craziest year of my life....
3. Advertise Become a Premium Sponsor & reach 70k+ foodies each month...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

This recipe is so easy, it’s kind of like cheating. I’m OK with that, though. (I’m all for fancy sauces and complicated meals. But there’s a definite time and a place for dishes like this.) It takes no time to slap together—then your oven does all the hard work. And while the ribs roast, you’ll have more time to hang by the pool, have a cocktail or three with your guests—or, in our case, finish unpacking while dinner takes care of itself.

Beef back ribs are the very same ribs you see on a standing rib roast (hands down, my favorite kind of holiday roast beast). And they have the same rich, beefy flavor—at a fraction of the cost. If you don’t see them in your grocery store, you should be able to find or order them from any good neighborhood butcher.

Some folks like to cook them at a higher temperature, for less time, tightly covered in foil. That works well. Me? I usually prefer to cook them at a lower temperature for a longer time. This helps the meat develop a really good crust—and get meltingly tender.

Wait, you’re using sauce from a jar? How very Sandra Lee of you!

I know, I know…but this recipe is all about short prep. I also really like Lee Kum Kee brand chili garlic sauce. The flavors are well balanced, with just the right amount of heat.

Now, you could make a similar mixture with fresh chili peppers, garlic, rice wine vinegar, salt, and sugar…but this recipe is about getting in and out of the kitchen fast. (Now that I think about it, that sounds really good. Homemade Chili Garlic Sauce! Coming soon from The Hungry Mouse Test Kitchen!)

All method, no recipe

This is really more method than actual recipe. It works just as well for one rack of ribs as it does for four. If you make more than one rack, just be sure to space them out on your pans so they’re not touching.

Chili Garlic Beef Ribs

Beef back ribs
Chili garlic sauce
Green onions, cut into rings, for garnish

Line a sheet pan with foil. Preheat your oven to 275 degrees.

Put a few large spoonfuls of chili garlic sauce on your ribs. (Actual amounts will vary depending on the size of your ribs.)

Slather the sauce all over the ribs with your hands, covering the top and bottom evenly.

Pop the pan into your preheated 275-degree oven. Bake uncovered for 3 to 3 1/2 hours, until the meat is nicely browned and falls off the bone.

Test the meat by tugging on an edge with a fork. If it’s still a little tough, pop your ribs back into the oven for 15 minutes or so, then test again. Your final cooking time will depend on how thick your ribs are.

Slice into individual ribs. Heap on a platter and sprinkle with chopped green onions.

It’s simple and easy. Enjoy!

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

These ribs get a ton of deep, pepper-y flavor from freshly cracked black pepper—and a fair amount of heat from ground chipotle chili.

They also get a double dose of smoke from a generous amount of ground chipotle and smoked paprika.

Smokey Black Pepper Beef Ribs

4 lbs. beef back ribs (about 8 ribs)
2 Tbls. freshly cracked black pepper
1 Tbls. kosher salt
1 Tbls. dark brown sugar
1 tsp. smoked paprika
1 tsp. ground chipotle
spray canola oil

Serves 3-4 for dinner, or 6-8 for an appetizer

Smokey Black Pepper Beef Ribs: Prep the meat

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

Line a sheet pan with foil and/or parchment paper. Grab your beef ribs and spread them out on the pan so they’re not touching.

Leave them on the counter to knock the chill off them while you mix up the spice rub.

Smokey Black Pepper Beef Ribs: Make the spice rub

Grind up the black pepper.

Put the black pepper, kosher salt, brown sugar, smoked paprika, and ground chipotle in a medium-sized bowl.

Mix to combine with a fork or whisk.

You want a fairly uniform mixture, like this:

Smokey Black Pepper Beef Ribs: Coat the ribs

Sprinkle the ribs with the spice rub.

Pick the ribs up to coat all sides. Press the spice rub down with your hands to help it stick to the meat.

Give the top of the ribs a very light spritz with spray canola oil.

Smokey Black Pepper Beef Ribs: Roast, serve & enjoy!

Pop your ribs into your preheated oven.

Roast for about 15 minutes at 425 degrees. After 15 minutes, drop the heat to 300 degrees and roast for an additional 1 hour 20 minutes. Your final roasting time will depend on the size and meatiness of your ribs.

Yank them out of the oven when they have a handsome brown crust and the meat comes away easily from the bone when pulled at with a fork.

Serve and enjoy!

Related posts:

1. Garlic-Studded Sirloin Roast with Chili Pepper Crust Since prepping for Bon Appetit, I've been positively swimming in...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

I’ve said it before: My husband can work absolute magic with the barbecue.

When he made these mouthwatering pork loin chops for us the other night, I asked him if he could do something similar with pork spare ribs—inside, in the oven. (You know how we love ribs at The Mouse House.)

He kindly obliged, and quickly turned out these Maple-Asian Fusion Pork Ribs.

And all I can say is: Oh. My. Goodness. I’m embarrassed to say that if I could have crawled into the oven with them, I think I just might have.

For these ribs, traditional flavors of New England and the Orient blend together, then get a Cajun kick in the pants. They were fall-off-the-bone tender, and coated in a fire-y mahogany crust. The meat itself was moist, slightly sweet, and scented with sesame and maple.

If you have a dog, the smell of these cooking just might make him insane.

Iron Mouse, Battle Spare Ribs

Now, normally, when I make ribs for our Rib of the Week feature, more often than not, I cook them in a marinade or glaze.

The Angry Chef’s method of indoor rib cookery, however, is a little different. He gives them a leisurely soak in flavorful marinade in the fridge—then dries them completely and dusts them with a spice rub.

He blasts them in a super-hot oven for about 13 minutes (which I could never do with a sweet glaze because the sugar would burn)—then drops the heat lower to finish cooking.

Maple-Asian Fusion Pork Ribs

2 1/4 lbs. pork spare ribs (about 5-6 meaty ribs)
spray oil
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
coarse sea salt

Asian Maple Marinade

1 tsp. ginger, chopped
1 tsp. garlic, minced
5 whole cloves
1/4 tsp. powdered chinese anise
1 shot triple sec (1 oz.)
3/4 shot dark mushroom soy (Pearl River)
1 1/2 Tbls. dark amber, grade-A maple syrup
8 – 10 splashes of tobasco (1/4 tsp.)
8 – 10 splashes of liquid smoke (1/4 tsp.)
3 Tbls. sesame seed oil

Medium-Heat Asian Spice Rub

1 Tbls. onion powder
1 1/2 Tsp. garlic powder
3/4 tsp. garlic salt
3/4 tsp. white pepper
3/4 tsp. powdered ginger
1 1/2 tsp. parsley flakes
3/4 tsp. crushed oregano leaves
1 Tbls. powdered chinese star anise
3/4 tsp. ground clove
1 Tbls. chipolte chili
3/4 tsp. smoked Spanish paprika
1 Tbls. ground Ancho pepper
3/4 tsp. red chili flakes
1 1/2 Tbls. cayenne (give or take, depending on how hot you want them)

Maple-Asian Fusion Pork Ribs, Part 1: Marinate the pork ribs

You want to marinate the ribs anywhere from 2 hours to overnight.

Grab the ginger, clove, ground anise, and garlic. Put them in a gallon-sized zip-top bag.

Measure out the triple sec, mushroom soy, maple syrup, tabasco, liquid smoke, and sesame oil. Add them to the zip-top bag.

When all your marinade ingredients are in the bag, seal it up and give it a shake to mix everything. Then grab your pork ribs and add them to the bag.

Seal the bag well and smoosh it around between your hands to coat the ribs with marinade. Squeeze all the air out of the bag, reseal it, and stick it in the fridge for at least 2 hours, or overnight.

Maple-Asian Fusion Pork Ribs, Part 2: Spice & roast the pork ribs

Preheat your oven to 475 degrees. Line a sheet pan with foil (not parchment paper, which will catch fire at this high temp). Spray the foil lightly with oil and set it aside.

After your ribs have marinated for at least 2 hours, grab the bag out of the fridge. Leave them on the counter for a few minutes to knock the chill off them. In the meantime, make the spice rub.

Measure out the spices and put them in a mortar & pestle. (If you don’t have one, you could also use a coffee grinder or regular old blender in a pinch.)

With the pestle, grind the spices against the mortar (the bowl) to break them down, release their essential oils, and combine them well. Your finished mixture should look about like this:

If you have an extra spice jar lying around, put the mixture in that. The rub is much easier to apply if you can shake it on.

Maple-Asian Fusion Pork Ribs: Apply the spice rub to the spare ribs

Grab your ribs and a bunch of paper towels. Remove each rib from the marinade. Dry each rib as well as you can with the towels.

Pick off as much of the minced garlic as you can. It can get bitter at high heat in the oven.

Don’t fret about getting rid of the marinade. It’s done its job.

Get them as dry as you can, like this:

Sprinkle each rib on all sides with the spice rib. Press the rub into the meat with your hands.

Lay the spiced ribs out evenly on your prepared pan. Spritz the ribs oh-so-lightly with the tiniest bit of spray oil.

Maple-Asian Fusion Pork Ribs: Blast the ribs in a super-hot oven

Slide your pan into your preheated 475 degree oven for 13 minutes.

After 13 minutes, they should look about like this:

Drop the heat and cook the ribs for a half-an-hour

After 13 minutes, drop the heat down to 325 degrees. Leave the ribs in the oven this whole time. Cook at 325 degrees for 30 minutes.

At this point, they should look about like this:

They’re well on their way to developing a glorious crust.

Maple-Asian Fusion Pork Ribs: Sprinkle the ribs with salt and walnuts and finish roasting

After 30 minutes, take them out of the oven and sprinkle quickly with sea salt and chopped walnuts.

Slide them back into the oven. Finish cooking for another 30 minutes at 325 degrees.

Maple-Asian Fusion Pork Ribs: Serve & enjoy!

After this last 30 minutes, your spare ribs should be done, and look about like this:

They should have a deep brown crust, and the meat should come away easily when pulled at with a fork.

Transfer to serving plates. Scoop up some nuts off the pan and pile them on top of the ribs as a garnish.

Enjoy!

***
Copyright 2008-2009 The Hungry Mouse™/Jessica B. Konopa. All rights reserved.

Related posts:

1. Garlic & Ginger Encrusted Rack of Pork This post could also be titled: How to Find An...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

You all know that I’m one of those folks who loves pork and fruit together.

Now, you have to like figgy-flavored things for this one to work. But man, if you do…the combination is absolutely heavenly.

These ribs get the perfect amount of earthy sweetness from fig preserves. A heaping dose of ginger gives them an impressive heat that’s tempered by the richness of the molten pork fat. A little bit of apple cider thins out the preserves and provides just the tiniest bit of tartness.

This glaze would also be really good on a pork loin roast. If you do that, I’d add a little olive oil to it to compensate for how lean pork roasts can be.

Fig & Ginger Glazed Pork Ribs: A note on ingredients

Use any good fig preserves that are made mostly out of fruit (avoid jars that have a long list of ingredients that starts with corn syrup, etc.). I like Bonne Maman brand preserves a lot.

Fig and Ginger Pork Ribs

5-6 pork spare ribs (about 2 1/4 lbs. or so)
3/4 cup fig preserves
1 Tbls. powdered ginger
1 Tbls. apple cider
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 Tbls. dried parsley

Serves about 2 as a main course or 4 as an appetizer.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and/or aluminum foil.

Fig & Ginger Glazed Pork Ribs: Make the fig & ginger glaze

Measure out your fig preserves and put them in a medium-sized bowl.

Add the powdered ginger, apple cider, and kosher salt.

Whisk together with a fork to combine well. The apple cider will help thin out the preserves. Be sure to break up any lumps of ground ginger.

Admittedly, this isn’t the most attractive looking glaze. No matter, though. The sugar in the preserves will caramelize on the ribs, and they’ll be just gorgeous when they come out of the oven.

Fig & Ginger Glazed Pork Ribs: Glaze the ribs

Grab your ribs out of the fridge. Unwrap them and put them in a gallon-sized zip-top bag.

Pour the glaze in the bag and over the ribs.

Seal the bag well. Smoosh it around between your hands to coat the ribs with glaze.

Lay the ribs out on your prepared pan.

Sprinkle each rib with a little dried parsley.

Fig & Ginger Glazed Pork Ribs: Roast away!

Pop the pan into your 350 degree oven. Roast the ribs for about an hour, or until they’ve developed a lovely crust.

They’re done when the meat comes away easily when pulled at with a fork. Your final cooking time will depend on how meaty your ribs are.

Fig & Ginger Glazed Pork Ribs: Serve and enjoy!

***
Copyright 2008-2009 The Hungry Mouse™/Jessica B. Konopa. All rights reserved.

Related posts:

1. Garlic & Ginger Encrusted Rack of Pork This post could also be titled: How to Find An...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.