Ribs are a backyard-BBQ staple meal. Which is why Ballistic BBQ host Greg Mrvich is excited to share his Brazilian pork rib cook—complete with marinade and glaze recipes—in this Backyard Life video.

Prepping the Pork Ribs

Greg kicks the cook-off by creating a marinade that he blends in a food processor.

With his marinade complete, Greg then preps his ribs by removing the outer membrane. When asked why he does this, Greg notes that t allows smoke penetration through both sides of the rib. (If you leave the membrane on, it prevents this from occurring.) He likes the mouthfeel of ribs without a “plasticky” crunch. (That said, Greg says to “do what you like to do.”)

How to Remove the Membrane From Pork Ribs

Greg says removing the membrane (and trimming the excess) is an easy process accomplished with only a butter knife. All you need to do, he says, is slide the butter knife under the top membrane. Then, twist to loosen it up so you can get a finger underneath, and pull it off. Preferably, take ONLY the top membrane off. The bottom’s made of open fibers which help keep the ribs together, so you don’t want to risk removing it. 

If there’s a bone on the end of the rack that’s been saw cut, you’ll want to cut that rib off so you’re left with a nice, clean-cut. Then, trim excess loose ends of membrane or fat to square off the ends of ribs.

Once the ribs are prepped, he places them in 2-gallon Ziploc bags filled with marinade for a minimum of 2 hours. This takes up less fridge space and easier to massage the ribs in. (Greg prefers to marinade his ribs overnight.)

Although ribs can be cooked on a variety of grills (kettle cooker, or pellet, gas or charcoal grill), Greg is opting for an Argentine grill. Namely, because it burns logs and has adjustable racks. He notes that you’ll want to generate coals, while also being mindful of your temperatures. On a kettle cooker, for example, Greg would do indirect heat with the lid on at about 250 degrees Fahrenheit, then finish them over direct heat. 

Regardless of the type of grill you use, Greg says you’ll want to rotate the ribs so they’re evenly cooked. “Cook in the mid-200-degree range for about an hour (flipping often and spritzing with water) to achieve a nice, even cook,” he reiterates. 

Assembling Glaze and Finishing the Cook

Next, Greg will mix his glaze (his recipe is below), then microwave it for 30 seconds before applying. While the ribs can be cooked to your particular temperature/consistency liking, Greg prefers to grill his for approximately 5 hours (or, until the bones begin falling apart). Going the “low-and-slow” route helps create optimal flavor and tenderness.

Greg notes that your ribs can be cooked to your particular temperature/consistency liking, but that he prefers to grill his for almost 5 hours (or, until bones begin to fall apart). He always goes the “low-and-slow” route to achieve maximum flavor and tenderness!

And, there you have it! All you need to do now is break out the wet wipes!

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Grilled Brazilian Pork Ribs Recipe With Ballistic BBQ

Brazilian Pork rib Ingredients

• 3 racks St. Louis pork spare ribs (trimmed)

• Marinade

• 7 cloves Garlic

• 1 chopped Medium white onion

• ½ cup Apple cider vinegar

• 1 tbsp. Ginger (fresh)

• 3 Limes (juiced)

• 1 Lime (fresh)

• 2 tsp. Dijon mustard

• 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

• 1 tsp. Dried oregano

• ½ tsp. Cumin

• 1 tsp. Black pepper

• Honey Glaze

• 1 cup Honey

• 2 pinches Dried coriander

• 2 pinches Chili powder

• 2 pinches Coarse kosher salt

Brazilian pork rib Directions

• Add all marinade ingredients into a food processor and blend.
• All all hone glaze ingredients into a bow and mix together.
• Place trimmed ribs in a plastic zip-top bag with marinade and refrigerate 2-12 hours.
• Remove ribs from bag, then remove excess marinade (over sink).
• Place ribs on preheated grill and cook over low, or indirect, heat until tender (typically takes about 5 to 6 hours).
• Apply honey glaze to both sides of ribs and continue cooking over low heat until glaze sets.
• Allow ribs to rest for approximately 15 minutes before slicing.

More Like This:

• Cherry-Glazed, Pork Belly Slider Recipe
• Mango, Pineapple, Ginger Glazed Pork Spare Ribs Recipe
• Stuffed Pork Loin with Cranberry Apple Bacon Jam

Ballistic BBQ host Greg Mrvich’s recipes are known for their complex mix of flavors. And, his cherry glazed pork belly slider recipe featured in this Backyard Life video follows suit. It’s a sweet, savory dish that dishes out a little bit of heat.

Greg begins by dicing an eight-pound skinless pork belly into the two-inch squares needed to fit inside his Hawaiian sweet rolls. Once cut, Greg places them on a rack before cooking them, later.

Next, Greg creates a homemade rub made of black pepper, white sugar, brown sugar, kosher salt, onion powder, garlic powder, mustard powder, chili powder, ground allspice, paprika and celery seed. Greg combines these ingredients into a shaker and applies them liberally to the pork belly slider.

Once his pork belly’s been seasoned, onto Greg’s pellet grill they go. Greg’s using black-cherry wood pellets, and will cook his pork at 250 to 260 degrees for approximately three hours.

Wild-Cherry Glaze

While the pork’s cooking, Greg begins creating his wild-cherry glaze. It consists of a pickling blend—Karo corn syrup, mustard seed, coriander, crushed red pepper, black pepper and whole bay leaves, and a cup of water that are boiled down and left to sit overnight—along with wild-cherry preserves, pork lard and, finally, cayenne pepper. The latter three ingredients create his dish’s signature sweet, salty and savory flavor profile.

Before applying his glaze, Greg concocts a bed of acidic coleslaw that’ll rest atop his pork belly, and offset its sweet glaze. To create it, Greg adds a mixture of apple cider vinegar and fresh lemon juice to a 14-ounce bag of pre-shredded coleslaw, then refrigerate it for a few hours to allow the juices to settle in. (Greg suggests making the slaw ahead of time.)

Greg’s rubbed pork belly’s been smoking for three hours, so now it’s time for him to apply his wild-cherry glaze. Before doing so, however, he’ll finalize it with a few ingredients: Brown sugar, agave nectar, a few dabs of butter and dehydrated, chopped onion. 

Finally, Greg coats his pork with the cherry glaze, then transfers it into a new pan that’s placed back on the grill for a few more minutes of cook time. When the meat’s done, he lets it rest in the pan a bit before plating it. 

Now, it’s time to finish off his sliders. He adds coleslaw and a pickle atop his pork, then tops things off with his Hawaiian bun. 

Let’s get high on the hog, y’all!

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Pork Belly Burnt Ends (Sliders)

Cuisine: AmericanDifficulty: moderate

Want to cook like BBQ master Greg Mrvich? Then, follow his pork belly sliders recipe to create a dish your backyard guests will go hog wild over!

Servings

12

servings

Total time

6

hours 

Ingredients

• 1 skinless pork belly, 8-9 pounds, cubed into 2” squares

• Dry Rub – Mix ingredients together in a bowl

• 1/4 cup course ground black pepper

• 2 tbsps. brown sugar

• 2 tbsps. white sugar

• 1 1/2 tsps. kosher or sea salt

• 2 tsps. onion powder

• 2 tsps. garlic powder

• 2 tsps. mustard powder

• 2 tsps. chili powder

• 1 tsp. ground allspice

• 1 tsp. paprika

• BBQ Glaze

• 16 bottle bottle of Karo syrup

• 1 cup water

• 1 tbsp. pickling spice

• 1 pinch cayenne pepper

• Coleslaw Dressing

• 1/2 cup Mayonnaise

• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

• 1/2 tsbsp celery seed

• 1/2 tbsp ground black pepper

Directions: BBQ Glaze

• Place water and pickling spice in a pan and bring to a bowl. Simmer until about 1/2 cup of the water is boiled out. Set aside.
• Add 16-ounce bottle of Karo syrup to pan over medium heat.
• Add pickling spice, water mixture.
• Add one pinch of cayenne pepper and bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat and simmer until sauce thickens.
• Set aside and allow to cool prior to using.
• COOKING INSTRUCTIONS FOR PORK BELLY BURNT ENDS
• Preheat smoker or grill to 250ºF – 260ºF.
• Apply a liberal coating of dry rub to pork cubes (on cooking rack).
• Place pork in smoker and cook for 3 hours.
• After 3 hours has passed, remove pork from smoker and place in an aluminum cooking pan.
• Sprinkle on brown sugar (about ¼ cup), drizzle with agave nectar (or honey), then apply about 2 tablespoons of butter to the top of the pork.
• Seal pan tightly with aluminum foil and place back in cooker for 1 ½ hours (until tender).
• After the 1 ½ hours has passed, remove pork from cooker and transfer into fresh aluminum pan.
• Drizzle about ½ cup of glaze over the pork, and toss with your hands or tongs to coat.  Return to cooker for 5-10 minutes to “set” the glaze.
• After the five minutes has passed, remove pork from cooker and allow it to rest for about 15 minutes before serving.
• DIRECTIONS FOR COLESLAW
• Mix dressing ingredients in a small bowl.
  
• Toss dressing with a 14-ounce bag of pre-shredded coleslaw.
  
• Refrigerate slaw for a few hours.

Recipe Video

Notes

• Build sliders by adding 1-2 slices of pickle to the bottom bun. (Greg used Hawaiian sweet rolls). Add dressed coleslaw on top of the pickle. Place one cube of pork on top of the slaw. Crown with the top bun and enjoy.

More Like This:

• Game Day Party Sliders
• Mango, Pineapple, Ginger Glazed Pork Spare Ribs Recipe
• Stuffed Pork Loin with Cranberry Apple Bacon Jam

Ballistic BBQ host Greg Mrvich has been known to grill up many a delicious burger, but even he thinks his Italian version is something special. Watch him assemble this Italian Burger recipe . . . and don’t be surprised if you end up blurting out, “Sì grazie!”

Greg’s love of Italian food inspires his cheeseburger Italiano. Simple dishes like pizza Margherita, caprese salad, and mozzarella with basil leaves are familiar tastes he’s looking to incorporate into this recipe.

Greg begins by pressing three ounces of Italian sausage down onto his griddle with a five- millimeter smasher. Sausage alongside a hamburger, you ask? You bet. That’s only the first wrinkle in what makes this Italiano a “working-class special.” Next, he places four ounces of 80/20 ground beef on the grill. For extra flavor, Greg flattens and partially cooks them in sausage fat. (While using mild sausage is fine, don’t be afraid to go with a spicier variety for little more kick.)

Greg runs his griddle at medium-high heat (around 400 degrees), keeping his two main burners on. He also runs his third burner on low (around 200 degrees), and fourth burner completely off.

Greg also melts shaved parmesan cheese on a square of parchment paper. The cheese will form a crisp, adding a nice, crunchy texture, and a bit of what he calls that parmesan “funk” to the burger. 

Greg’s decided to serve his burger on a Crustini bun that he anointed in sausage fat before gently toasting it over indirect heat.

Additional ingredients like mozzarella cheese, paper-thin-sliced cherry tomatoes, and extra virgin olive oil with a balsamic reduction put the finishing Italiano touches on this burger. Oh, and don’t forget the fresh basil leaves!

The Finishing Touches

Most markets carry balsamic reduction, or “glaze.” But, if you’d like to make it, the process is very easy.

Bring 2 cups of a high-quality balsamic vinegar to a gentle boil, then reduce heat to medium-low heat and let simmer, stirring occasionally until the vinegar thickens and is reduced to about 1/2 cup (about 20 minutes). It should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Remove from heat and allow to cool completely (about 15 minutes).

Buon appetito!

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Delicious Italian Burger Recipe

Cuisine: American, ItalianDifficulty: Easy

This burger recipe was inspired by my love of simple, “Classic Italian” food. I didn’t want to go the obvious route of slapping on some pizza sauce with some cheese and calling it “good.”  I wanted to make a burger that native Italians would love!
 
The following are one-burger portions, so simply multiply to make more.

Servings

1

servings

Total time

1

hour 

Ingredients

• 1 3 oz. Italian sausage patty

• 1 4 oz. beef patty (80% lean, 20% fat blend suggested)

• 1 tbsp. shaved parmesan cheese

• 2 ozs. mozzarella cheese

• 4 cherry tomatoes (sliced paper-thin)

• 6 fresh basil leaves

• 1/4 tsp. extra virgin olive oil

• 1/2 tsp. balsamic vinegar reduction (instructions below)

• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

• Prep all ingredients in advance.
• Preheat griddle to medium-high (400 – 425 degrees).
  
• Place Italian sausage ball on griddle top, cover with a small square of parchment paper, and smash with spatula or “burger smasher.” Hold pressure for 10 seconds.
  
• Place a small square of parchment paper on the griddle surface and spread parmesan cheese in a circular shape. An “egg-ring” makes this easy. Cover cheese with a “burger dome” or stainless steel bowl.
  
  
• Flip sausage after about three minutes and cook an additional three minutes.
  
• Place the ground-beef ball on the griddle, topped with a parchment square, and smash with a spatula or burger smasher. Hold pressure for 10 seconds. Season with salt and pepper, and top with mozzarella cheese. Dome the patty (optional, but helps speed up the process).
  
  
• While the burger is cooking, toast Crustini buns on the griddle top.
  
  
• Check parmesan cheese. Once it’s bubbling, remove it from the heat and allow it to cool so the cheese becomes very crisp.
  
  
• When the top of your burger patty starts looking moist, it is ready to flip.
  
• Remove toasted buns from the griddle.
  
• Place sausage patty on the heal section of the bun.
  
• Place parmesan crisp on top of sausage.
  
• Place burger patty, with melted cheese, on top of crisp.
• Top the burger with a layer of very thinly sliced cherry tomatoes. (I used a “mandolin” to slice mine.).
  
  
• Top the tomatoes with 6 fresh basil leaves.
• Drizzle on a little olive oil.
  
• Drizzle on a little balsamic reduction.
  
• Crown with the top bun.
  
• Enjoy!

Recipe Video