Buckle up team… I'm sure you've had my Spiced Baby Back Ribs, and now these Hatch Green Chili Ribs are about to go down. When I tell you these are the ultimate game day food, I’m not messing around!
If you’re not familiar with Hatch Green Chili season… I’m about to rock your world. These incredibly delicious green peppers come into season once a year and they make an incredible sauce. I’ve roasted them and added them to guacamole, made salsa with them, turned them into a sauce for grain bowls and today they are going on 2 racks of baby back pork ribs and OMG life will never be the same.
We all know I love a rib. I’ve done them many different ways here on WGC:
- turned them into a full party menu
- made a Thai-inspired rib platter with smashed cucumbers
- given them a little kick and made spicy ribs
- And if you have my books… you know there are a handful of rib recipes in there as well.
Ribs are without a doubt one of my favorite cuts of pork and seeing as how football season is upon us… lets add another rib recipe into the mix! This time, with a Hatch Green Chili Sauce! The sauce recipe is below and you’ll love it. If you’re making this NOT during Hatch Green Chili season, you can actually just sub out the canned green chilis from the market and call it a day.
Let’s talk pork though… a few tips and tricks when it comes to making:
- Back ribs come from the blade and center section of the pork loin, which is known for the “finger meat” between the bones. Back ribs also are referred to as “baby” back ribs because they are smaller than spareribs. You could use spareribs in this recipe as well if you want a larger rib! The sauce will work for both! For more info about types of ribs - here you go!
- Let’s talk about that silver lining / membrane. You can ask your butcher to remove it from the ribs for you, but if you get home to discover it’s still there… never fear. I like to take a knife and just nick it so I can easily slide my finger under the silver lining and grab it with my thumb and pointer finger and then slowly pull it away from the pork to remove.
- You’ll see below one of my fav methods for cooking ribs is in the oven for a few hours, wrapped in foil, with a little water to give it some extra condensation while baking. You could sub the water for beer - equally as delish! This method gives you fall apart ribs that are then primed for a char.
- Speaking of char… if you’re making these at a time of the year when BBQ’s aren’t easily accessible, you can remove the ribs from the liquid and foil, place them back onto a baking sheet and then broil for a few minutes in the oven to char them up and get those nice crispy bits.
I’ve been working with The National Pork Board the last few months to help spread the word about The United States of Pork. Basically here’s the deal…. The National Pork Board did a survey across America to see the #1 pork dish in each state. Check out the results here (link). The Carnitas Burrito was the #1 recipe for California - and we put our spin on that a few weeks ago. These Hatch Green Chili Ribs were the #1 recipe from Colorado and I am SO into them!! Check out all 50 states here!
Bottom line - go snag yourself some baby back ribs, whip up this sauce and call it a day.
Hatch Green Chili Ribs
Ingredients
- 2 racks baby back style ribs
- ½ cup of your favorite BBQ rub
- 1 teaspoon vegetable or olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoons chopped jalapeno
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 16 ounces hatch green chiles (canned or thawed if you buy them frozen)
- ½ cup white vinegar
- 6 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- ½ bunch cilantro
Instructions
- Peel membrane from ribs and place on sheet pan or cutting board.
- Heat the oven to 350°F. Place ribs on a baking sheet and pat them dry. Liberally sprinkle with dry rub and work it into meat with your hand. Pour 1 cup of water into the baking sheet, and cover tightly with foil. Bake for 2 hours, until the meat nearly falls off the bone
- In saucepan over medium heat, add oil, onion, jalapeño, and garlic, and cook for 5 minutes. Add cumin and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Place all ingredients except for cilantro into a high-speed blender and purée until smooth. Refrigerate until cool.
- Once cooled, add cilantro and purée until well blended and bright green.
- Once the ribs have cooked for 2 hours, remove from the oven and fire up the grill. Liberally brush the ribs with bbq sauce. When the grill is hot, cook them for 7-8 minutes on each side so they get the nice charred flavor. Remove from the grill and add more sauce if desired.
Notes
- Back ribs come from the blade and center section of the pork loin, which is known for the “finger meat” between the bones. Back ribs also are referred to as “baby” back ribs because they are smaller than spareribs. You could use spareribs in this recipe as well if you want a larger rib! The sauce will work for both! For more info about types of ribs – here you go!
- Let’s talk about that silver lining / membrane. You can ask your butcher to remove it from the ribs for you, but if you get home to discover it’s still there… never fear. I like to take a knife and just nick it so I can easily slide my finger under the silver lining and grab it with my thumb and pointer finger and then slowly pull it away from the pork to remove.
Oh my gosh followed the recipe exactly and when we took them out of the oven there was barely anything left on the bone . The bones are huge and meat has all but disappeared. Any thoughts as to why this happened?
that's so odd! I've never heard of that happening!
Gaby, I love your recipes, yours is probably my most used recipe site. I'd like to try this one but I'm a little confused. Usually you would char the chilies before using them. Do you instead put the raw chilies in with the other ingredients in the blender? I assume you remove skin and seeds first?
The canned hatch chiles are pre-roasted!!
I am making these! Love Hatch chiles - what is that delicious looking avocado salad you have in the picture?
https://whatsgabycooking.com/cucumber-feta-salad/
This sounds insanely delicious!! Hatch chiles are the best!!