Thanksgiving Double Rib Special

Cranberry Ribs with Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Multigrain Rice

With another Thanksgiving in which I would have to make myself a feast, I decided to indulge myself with some ribs, especially since it had been a while since I last made myself a rack or two.  Having spotted a sale on fresh cranberries, the experimental side of me kicked up a gear and decided to somehow marry them with the ribs.  Though I'm sure there are recipes for ribs using cranberries, I decided to stay away from searching for recipes and just use whatever was available in my kitchen that weekend.

My experimental Cranberry Ribs

I was originally thinking of making one rack of ribs, when, much to my surprise, I discovered the package I thawed and unsealed actually contained two racks.  Thinking fast, I decided to tweak a reliable marinade I've used several times successfully.  Having found that the Grain Mustard, Maple and Thyme Ribs worked well, I gave it a twist and replaced grain mustard with dijon mustard, and I added white wine for good measure.  For the cranberry marinade, I chopped the cranberries with a food processor before mixing them with brown sugar, red wine and sage.

Dijon Maple Ribs

I thought the cranberry experiment was successful.  As for the mustard marinade, though it tasted fine, in hindsight I could've simmered it longer to thicken it before ladling or brushing it onto the ribs, something I didn't do as I feared the foaming of the concoction would spill out of the saucepan if I wasn't keeping a close eye on it.  I'm sure I'll find a way to solve that problem next time!

Dijon Maple Ribs
One (1) rack of pork ribs (cut in half if due to space constraints)
3-4 garlic cloves, minced (optional)

2-3 tbsp. (30-45mL) Dijon mustard
1/4 cup (75mL) maple syrup
1/4 cup (75mL) white wine
1/4 oz. (7g) fresh thyme leaves
1-2 pinches salt and pepper each

Cranberry Ribs
One (1) rack of pork ribs (cut in half if due to space constraints)
3-4 garlic cloves, minced (optional)
12 oz. (340g) fresh cranberries, chopped
1/2 cup (150mL) brown sugar
1/4 cup (75mL) red wine
1/4 tsp. (1.25mL) dried sage leaves
1-2 pinches salt and pepper each

(Prepare and cook using the steps listed in the Maple, Grain Mustard and Thyme Ribs recipe here.  One exception this time is that both marinades were cooked on the stove rather than heated in the microwave.)