“If I had to choose one ingredient to dedicate a short book to, what would it be?” After receiving two recipe books from Connie, one with only Chickpea recipes and the other with Ginger, I had to ask. The answer should’ve been obvious, though. I very recently dedicated an entire post to cooking with oranges. Which is more of an intro to what’s to come with my love of these versatile globes, and my love for not wasting an ingredient. I use juice, pulp, and peel in a variety of different dishes and ways, and I look forward to sharing them with you. Today, though, let’s quickly talk about that mind blowing moment I had very recently while making marmalade and seasoning ribs for next day’s dinner.
I had just jarred my small batch of blood orange and meyer lemon marmalade and put it to the side to cool and thicken a little bit more. I took out a cutting board and decided I might as well start spicing up the ribs for tomorrow so I don’t have to deal with it in the morning. I like to do a quick rub of oregano, garlic powder, cumin, smoked paprika, Hungarian (hot) paprika, salt, and brown sugar. I ran out of brown sugar, though. I love a smoky, spicy, sweetness to my ribs before brushing a thin layer of BBQ sauce all over them. I glanced over at the marmalade and eyes lit up. I rubbed a couple of teaspoons of it over the ribs, covered with plastic wrap and left it in the fridge til next morning.
Guys. I might as well open up a restaurant dedicated to grilling/cooking/baking/roasting with preserves. It WORKS. I must’ve told Dan this story at least 5 times, but for Father’s Day last year, I made grilled Blueberry BBQ chicken and was wowed by the result. This may even be better.
After about 45 minutes in the oven in 300 degree heat, (we don’t have a grill yet!), tightly sealed in aluminum foil, I uncovered the ribs and brushed on some more of the marmalade and raised up the heat to 400 for about 15-20 minutes more. The outcome was pretty amazing, especially the peels themselves as they slightly blackened and crisped up. I could eat preserves like this for daysssssss. Broil them for 5-8 minutes if they haven’t blackened up a bit after 15 minutes!
I don’t even care that these photos were taken with a phone instead of my canon. I’ll make this again and edit this post, but why wait to share this with you?
Directions
The marmalade is simple. I used two medium-sized Sicilian blood oranges and one meyer lemon. Halve them and thinly slice. Whatever the amount of fruit you get in cups, you’d want to use the same amount of sugar and water. In this instance, I did 2 cups of each. I added a splash of meyer lemon infused vodka. Next time? I’m adding red pepper flakes. Simmer for about 30 minutes, or until peels have softened and liquid thickens. You can test it out by putting a little on a plate that has been in the freezer. If it thickens on the plate, it’s ready. Jar it or put in plastic container. It’s a small batch and will go after a few uses.
Let me know what you think! I can’t wait to experiment more with BBQ and preserves. Maybe I’ll even try this on chicken. I should also mention that the marmalade in teas and on warm biscuits is a true delight. In fact, I made these specifically for homemade biscuits. Smothered with butter. THE. BEST.
Looks tasty