Vermont Maple Glazed Pig Candy

"I got first place on my ribs Sunday using your Vermont Maple Glazed Pig Candy recipe!"
Steve Triplet, Galatia, IL

This method makes extremely tender, juicy, meat with a beautiful mirror like glaze. More than one cook has written me to tell me that they make the best ribs he ever tasted. The secret is real mmmmmmaple syrup.

Ingredients
1 slab ribs
4 tablespoons of Meathead's Memphis Dust
1 cup apple juice
2 pinches salt
2 teaspoons hot sauce
1/4 cup real maple syrup

About the maple syrup. Make sure to use real maple syrup, not the fake stuff. Interestingly, the less expensive, darker, Grade B maple syrup is slightly better for this recipe and most cooking.

Here's one from a reader in the Dallas suburb of Lewisville: "Do not drink eight Heinekens and spread Pig Candy on ribs with fingers. Major ouch." Should we nominate him for an honorary Darwin Award?

Do this
1) Set up your cooker for indirect cooking.

2) Skin 'n' trim your ribs.

3) Coat liberally with Meathead's Memphis Dust and massage it in. If you can, wrap them in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

4) Smoke roast St. Louis Cut ribs for 3 hours. If you are using baby back ribs, smoke roast for 1 1/2 hours. Then wrap them in foil with the apple juice as described in the Texas Crutch technique article and cook in foil for 30 minutes.

5) Take the meat out of the foil and put it back on at 225F, no smoke for another hour.

6) Pour the apple juice into a sauce pan. It will be heavily flavored with rub spices. Boil it until about 1/3 cup remains. Add 1/4 cup of maple syrup and heat over medium high until it starts to foam. Then turn down the heat until it stops foaming and cook until it reduces and thickens almost to the consistency of house paint. You don't want it foaming for long or it could turn to hard candy. When it is the right consistency, add the salt and hot sauce.

7) Paint the ribs with one coat of the pig candy. It should make a thick shiny glaze. Don't use too much. Heat the ribs over the hot part of the grill until they glaze burbles a bit, about 15 minutes max. Keep the lid open and watch them so they don't burn. Serve and accept the praise gracefully.

This page was revised 9/23/2009