Ribs and summer weather are a good fit. They bring up thoughts of potato salad, corn on the cob and lemonade. Since summer hasn’t exactly started here, it’s good that ribs are also a good match for sports. The Canucks [Seriously, WordPress, you don’t recognize the word Canucks?] are in the Stanley Cup finals and the whole city is in thrall to its televisions…with some notable exceptions. I’m sure they’ll be commenting to that effect on this post.
I’m a fair weather hockey fan. Bring me to a game and I’ll be watching every play. Otherwise, I don’t follow it until the playoffs. Even then, I only pay enough attention to make sure I don’t miss anything exciting. (The Canucks in the finals – exciting.) My family despairs of me. I was raised in a hockey-loving clan. My grandfather cheered for the Canadiens and some of my earliest memories are of three generations of my family crowded around the television in my grandparents’ living room. The decibel level was impressive. I was already a suspect fan; my favourite part of the broadcast was Peter Puck.
All of this is to say that I’m paying attention to hockey right now and this week’s French Fridays recipe is a perfect fit. Cola and Jam Spareribs, steamed bok choy, mashed potatoes and Gewürztraminer, plus a winning home team game. Not bad for a Friday night at home. At least that was the plan. As of this writing, the ribs have just come out of the oven and we’re planning to eat them tomorrow, though we may have a few as a late-night snack, just to make sure they’re acceptable.
The aroma from the kitchen certainly promises that they’ll be more than acceptable. This isn’t a typically saucy rib recipe. The meat is rubbed with five spice powder, ground ginger, salt and pepper, then marinated in apricot jam, mixed with orange and lemon juices. Late in the roasting process, cola is added to the pan. It’s a long cooking time, with regular basting, but the meat is awfully tender looking. I’ll let you know in the comments how we liked it.
You can find many other blogged descriptions of this week’s FFWD recipe here: Cola and Jam Spareribs
One Wet Foot 
I’m glad you two enjoyed these ribs! LOL on WP and Canucks…one game closer!!!!
We’ll see what happens tonight! I wonder if WP will add Canucks to their dictionary if they win the cup? If not, I suspect they’re Boston fans…lol…
Your ribs look good, hope you’ll like them. They are tender but I found them not flavourful enough.
These really were hit and miss with people. My partner doesn’t really like spicy food, so he loved these.
Congrats on your Canucks! I’ve been to one professional hockey game, it’s impressive and exciting to watch, not the same on TV- you just don’t have a sense of the strength of the skating on the tube in my opinion.
Now, on to the ribs, now that’s a meal fit for a hockey player;-) My husband loves ribs, I would rather have a tuna salad but I would make this recipe again for him. I’m glad you enjoyed it too;-) Your ribs look delicious and they do look very tender.
Thanks, Patty. It really does make a difference being there in person – it’s so much fun to watch! I’m not surprised your husband loved them – my partner offered to run out and get more ingredients before we even finished this batch.
What an AWESOME meal, down to the wine pairing. I hope you liked them!
Thanks Adriana! They were great. We’ll definitely be making them again.
Your ribs look fantastic. I liked the method of cooking, since I’m not a grilling person, but Hubby and I did not particularly care for the taste. Tricia’s family felt the same about them, but it certainly is nice to try new recipes.
This was a really polarizing recipe – some people loved it and others were completely underwhelmed by it. Sorry your family wasn’t thrilled. I do love the cooking method, since I’m not a big grill person either.
Your ribs look great! I am a Penguins fan transplanted to Florida of all places, and without cable, so I don’t get to watch it like I wish I could! I am rooting for your Canuks over the Bruins though, it may have been a long time since they’ve hoisted the cup, but I’d like to see a team that has yet to do it at all get to!
Thanks, Pam! Florida’s a hard place for a hockey fan. I’m glad you’re on my side – I agree that it’s definitely the Canucks’ turn.
Your ribs look great! Hopefully they will be as tasty as the look!
Thanks, Candy – we really liked these a lot. Hope you enjoyed them, too.
I enjoyed these but I’m still feeling a bit trashy for using the Coke. Apparently pig and pork go well together and it is quite well known but it must have escaped me all these years. I did think the flavor was quite nice though. Time for shower.
I know what you mean about the Coke – I made myself feel better by getting some “natural” cane sugar cola. Don’t know how natural it really is, of course. I was surprised at how much I liked this recipe.
Alas! We are an all-season hockey household and am living in a split household this playoff season. Mother against daughter… (The girl is routing for the Canucks, but I still love her 🙂 )
Hope you enjoyed!
I can relate, as my brother roots for the Canadiens (he got that from our grandfather), my cousin is a Flames fan and the rest of the family are solidly behind the Canucks. Makes family gatherings quite…colourful…at times!
We really enjoyed these ribs and will certainly be making them again.
Nice ribs…hope you enjoyed them! Good luck to your Canucks!
Thanks, Kathy – they were really good. As for the Canucks, here’s hoping the close the deal tonight!
Glad you’re back after your FFWD hiatus. I’ve missed you. Sounds like the ribs were a hit at your house. They look delicious! Not so at ours, but worth the try. You never know until you try it. As for hockey, it’s your team against mine! As you might guess, I’m hoping the Bruins will get themselves together and win, but your team is playing better. We’ll see what happens Monday. May the best team win 🙂
Thanks, Betsy – I’ve missed reading your posts, too. I’ve made most of the recipes I missed, but have been too swamped to post. I’ll try to get some catch up posts up in the next while.
We should have had a hockey food throwdown! Canucks vs. Bruins and salmon vs. chowder!
Your ribs look great, we enjoyed them in our home. Looking forward to your next FFWD dish
Thanks, Yvette! I’m looking forward to trying your roasted corn & black bean salad when we finally get some hot weather around here.
Hockey and ribs – a perfect match indeed. I love your opening photo of all the spice jars – very envious as I mainly have messy half used packets of spices tied shut with wire twisters, which are definitely not photogenic!
They really are a perfect match – I wish I had some for tonight’s game! I only pull out my pretty spice containers for photos. I’ve got my share of half used packets in my pantry, too. 🙂
Beautiful photos and the menu sounds yummy. Sounds like a great evening with cooking and hockey.
Thanks, Wendy – it was a great evening, though the aroma from the kitchen was torturing us through the game!
I should say what we liked about these:
They were very tender, even more so because I left the lid on the roaster for most of the process. We really liked the delicate flavour of these, but then neither of us are big fans of barbeque sauce. We’ll be having these again and I think this is a sauce that could translate well to other meats. I might skip the cola, though, in favour of some spirits.