Revive your spice rack with Black Garlic! + recipe

Black Garlic Powder and Black Garlic Cloves in this post were provided by The Black Garlic Company but the opinions expressed here are my own.

I heard the early buzz about black garlic about 10 years ago. I tried black garlic 3 years ago when I interviewed one of my chef friends, Chef Joe Youkhan. I wrote an article for CBS Local about Healthy Thanksgiving Recipes and he infused black garlic into his Charred Eggplant Baba Ghanoush. He sent some home with me and I just fell in love with this new facet of garlic. It looks like a normal bulb of garlic with the layers of translucent, delicate, papery skin on the outside. The treasure lies within - soft and slightly sticky black cloves of garlic. I love the zingy sucker punch of fresh garlic (I eat one clove every morning to get my day started), but I also love the mildly sweet, earthy, umami flavor of black garlic.

My friend, Jodi Taffel a.k.a. The Fabulous Bacon Babe, introduced me to The Black Garlic Company located in Bryan, TX. They use domestically grown garlic and make their products with heat, humidity, time, and love - no additives, preservatives, or artificial colors. Their products are also shelf-stable for a year.

I wanted to use the black garlic powder and cloves in one recipe. The first thing that popped in my head was BBQ! I do not have a smoker for proper barbeque but have learned to adapt in the kitchen using the oven, plastic wrap, and aluminum foil. I use a technique I learned from Chef LeeAnn Wong (Top Chef alumni and Chef/Owner of Koko Head Café in Honolulu, HI) and it works like a charm!

Black Garlic BBQ Pork Ribs by OC Food Diva
Serves 4-6
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours

Ingredients:
1 tbsp The Black Garlic Company Black Garlic Powder
¼ cup granulated onion
2 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp granulated garlic
½ cup brown sugar, divided
1½ tsp kosher salt
1½ tsp black pepper
2 racks pork spareribs, trimmed and cut into half rack portions
1 tbsp light olive oil
1 tbsp The Black Garlic Company Black Garlic Cloves
¾ cup ketchup
½ cup apple cider vinegar
3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp Koops’ Arizona Heat Mustard
2 tsp shoyu

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. In a bowl, combine black garlic powder, granulated onion, paprika, granulated garlic, ¼ cup brown sugar, kosher salt, and black pepper. Rub onto top and bottom of trimmed pork ribs. Wrap each half rack of ribs in plastic wrap, once around the lengthwise and once around width. Then wrap with heavy duty aluminum foil and place seam side down on full size baking sheet. Trimmings can be seasoned and wrapped up as well or placed in a freezer safe bag for later use in stock or soup. Cook in the oven for 30 minutes. Turn down the heat to 300°F and cook for an hour and 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let it sit for 15 minutes.
3. In a blender, combine ¼ cup brown sugar, olive oil, black garlic cloves, ketchup, cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, and shoyu. Blend until smooth. This is a no-cook sauce, but if you like your sauce thicker: Place sauce in a small saucepan on low heat and simmer until desired thickness is achieved.
4. To serve, baste sauce on top of ribs. You can serve them individually cut or just as the half rack. The pork is so tender that it will almost fall of the bone.
   

For more information:
The Black Garlic Company