Pork Belly Ribs with Cowboy Candy

As time goes on, I find myself enjoying spicy preparations more and more. This Cowboy Candy Pork Belly is one of them. Pork is a very rich meat. The jalapeno peppers cut through that heavy intensity. You end up with amazing taste and texture, not to mention the bonus prize: a wallop of heat. 

What on Earth is Cowboy Candy?

It’s hard to make cowboy candy pork belly ribs without understanding the fundamentals of Cowboy Candy. To be honest, the term is simply a cheeky way of saying candied jalapenos. Different people have their own “secret” recipe, but keynotes are jalapenos (obviously), sugar, butter, and spice.

A batch of Cowboy candy lasts up to two months in your fridge. So, besides using it on pork ribs, you can:

• Add it to burgers
• Use just the syrup as glaze with any protein
• Stir a little into pasta or coleslaw
• In poppers
• Include in baked beans
• As a snack with crackers and cream cheese
• Sandwich spread
• Pork belly popsicles

Some hardy folk eat it alone as a snack!

Ingredients (Ribs)

• 3-4 lbs pork belly
• Garlic olive oil
• Salt
• Cuso’s Maple Bourbon Seasoning

Directions (Ribs)

1. Preheat grill to 225F
2. Trim the belly all around the edges to remove some of the fat
3. Place the pork belly down and rub the fatty surface with olive oil
4. Sprinkle salt evenly over top
5. Sprinkle Cuso’s Maple Bourbon Seasoning evenly over the top.
6. Place the fat side of the belly down on the rill. 
7. Cook for about 5 hours until the internal temperature is 160

In the meanwhile, make the Cowboy Candy

Ingredients (Cowboy Candy)

• 12 jalapenos chopped
• ½ stick butter
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 tbsp hot honey
• 2 tbsp Cuso’s Hot Honey Seasoning
• 2 tbsp Cuso’s Smoky Garlic Buffalo Seasoning
• ½ cup apricot jam

Directions (Cowboy Candy)

1. Smoke the jalapenos for 25 minutes
2. Melt the butter
3. Add water and both sugars **
4. Pour in hot honey
5. Stir in Cuso’s spices
6. Add the jam

** You can use maple sugar, too

Assembly

Slice the pork into ¾ in strips

Pour down ½ of the Cowboy candy into a disposable aluminum pan

Lay the slices of pork belly therein

Pour the rest of the cowboy candy onto the meat

Braise for one hour

PitMaster’s Memo

Folktales say that a clever 7-year-old, Mindie Heironimus, set out to pickle the extra jalapenos from the season, figuring to treat them like cucumbers. The name, however, is wholly up for conjecture.

Side Dishes

Bacon green beans

Bok choi with snow peas

Grits

Salt and Vinegar Crispy potatoes

Zucchini fries

Deserts

Cinnamon fritters

Fig truffles

Funnel cake

Treacle pudding

Peanut butter cookies

From the Bar

Cider

German Riesling

Lemon Vodka

Mojito

Red ale