After 15 years in fine dining, Chef Carlos Jorge applied his restaurant opening expertise to a fast-casual artisanal sandwich, soup and salad concept in Kakaako called HiCraft Kitchen and he joins us this week in our kitchen.
Carlos says he visited Hawaii a few times and realized he could do something using the level of technique and cuisine expertise that he had acquired over the years and translate it to the simplest of all comfort foods. That is how he came up with HICraft Kitchen, the fast-casual operation that he opened in March 2019.
His restaurant has invested in the construction of their artisanal eatery. From the repurposed wood lanes of a bowling alley to the old newspaper clippings from the Honolulu Advertiser, you can count on the atmosphere to feel warm and inviting. Guests will be treated like one of the family by friendly staff members throughout their dining experience. They use locally sourced products for many of their menu options as well.
This sandwich was created from a desire to offer a boneless rib sandwich free from all the overly processed ingredients you might find at some of the big name places. It is crafted with honest, simple ingredients with names you can pronounce.
The technique is akin to the sous vide style of cooking wherein food items are placed in specialty polyethylene bags that have had all the air vacuumed out of them.
The food product in the bag is then placed in a circulating water “bath” set at a very precise(+/- 1/100th of a degree) temperature and cooked for extended periods of time with no loss in moisture/flavor/texture.
Here we mimic that process by cooking low and slow and utilize the steam generated from the ribs themselves to cook them in 100% humidity.
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Baby Got Back Boneless Rib Sandwich with Apple Fennel Slaw & BBQ Sauce by Chef Carlos Jorge from HICraft Kitchen
Equipment
- Sharp non-serrated knife
- 1/2 sheet tray (cookie sheet)
- Mandoline slicer
- medium-small salad mixing bowls
Ingredients
RIBS
- 3 lbs Baby back ribs (one rack)
- 4 cloves Garlic peeled, rough chopped
- 1/ 3 Cup Ancho chile powder
- 4 tsp Brown sugar
- 1 tsp Dried Oregano
- 1/2 tsp Ground Cumin
- 4 tsp Fresh ground black pepper
- 5 tsp Kosher salt
APPLE FENNEL SLAW
- 1 Each Medium fennel bulb (reserve fronds)
- 1/2 Each Granny Smith apple
- 2 Tbsp Whole grain mustard
- 1 Tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
- 2 Tbsp Fresh mint leaves
- 1 Tbsp Maple syrup
- 2 Tbsp Cider vinegar
- To taste Salt
- To taste Pepper
BBQ SAUCE
- 2 Tbsp Chili powder
- 1 Tbsp Ground black pepper
- 2 tsp Morton’s kosher salt
- 2 Cup Ketchup
- 1/2 Cup Yellow mustard
- 1/2 Cup Cider vinegar
- 1/3 Cup Worcestershire
- 1/4 Cup Lemon
- 1/4 Cup Steak sauce (A1 fine)
- 1/4 Cup Molasses
- 2 Tbsp Tamarind paste
- 1/4 Cup Honey
- 1 tsp Hot sauce ( Tabasco fine)
- 1 Cup Dark brown sugar
- 3 Tbsp Vegetable oil
- 1 Each Medium Spanish onion
- 4 Each Garlic cloves
Instructions
Method to Prep Ribs
- Combine all dry ingredients for Ribs with garlic in a food processor and blend thoroughly.
- Liberally dust rib rack on both sides with mixture rubbing into meat from end to end to ensure even coverage.
- Place ribs uncovered in refrigerator and allow to rest overnight.
- The following day, remove ribs from refrigerator, preheat oven to 250 degrees F. and scrape off excess spice mixture accumulation from ribs.
- Wrap rib rack in two layers of plastic wrap then one layer of heavy duty foil and place in preheated oven for 3.5-4 hours or until desired degree of doneness is achieved.
- Remove ribs from oven, remove foil and allow ribs to cool down in plastic wrap until easy to handle without burning your fingers.
Apple-Fennel Slaw
- While ribs are cooling, make Apple-Fennel slaw: cut off top stems from one fennel bulb reserve 2-3 Tablespoons of the small fronds to garnish the slaw.
- On a mandoline slicer, slice fennel bulb very thin and place in mixing bowl.
- Repeat slicing process with Granny Smith apple and add to bowl.
- Pick mint leaves off stem, roughly chop leaves add them to fennel apple mixture.
- In a small jar or soup cup, combine Extra virgin Olive Oil, syrup, mustard and vinegar.
- Shake well to combine, pour over apple fennel mint mixture,
Method to Prepare BBQ Sauce
- Chop onion fine and mince garlic In a small bowl, combine chili powder, salt and pepper.
- Warm oil over medium heat in saucepan.
- Add onion and sauté till translucent.
- Crush garlic and add to pan sauté till aromatic, no color.
- Add dry spices to pan and continue to sauté for approx. 2 mins.
- Add all wet ingredients and simmer over.
- Medium low heat with lid off to allow to thicken.
- Sauce can be enjoyed as is, or allowed to sit overnight in refrigeration to develop in intensity.
Continue with Ribs
- Once ribs are cool enough to handle but still warm to touch, Cut plastic wrap by running a sharp knife across rack on the bone side perpendicular to the direction of the bones.
- Remove plastic wrap, perpendicular to the direction of the bones. Remove plastic wrap, Place ribs on a cutting board (bone side up) and pull out bones (they will slide out smoothly).
- Remove any extra bone fragments in the area where the shortest bones are located with sharp knife, slice ribs in the grooves left from bones removal.
- Cut into four equal sized portions.
- Turn over the portions so the meat side is facing up.
- Brush meat side with warm BBQ sauce and place on bottom half of bread/roll of choice.
- Mound apple-fennel slaw on top of rib portion, close sandwich and enjoy!