A few years after we moved from Bellaire, TX, 3 Asian-American young men from Alief opened Blood Brothers BBQ, an Asian-Texan fusion restaurant, in Bellaire to national attention.  Ever since, I have been on the lookout for their recipes, with little luck so far.  However, a few months ago America’s Test Kitchen published a recipe inspired by the gochujang-glazed ribs at Blood Brothers BBQ, from which this recipe is adapted.  America’s Test Kitchen’s recipe was based on a Weber kettle grill, whereas I used my electric box smoker.  Another change was that the grocery store I went to did not have any plain ribs, so I bought a 3-lb. package of country ribs instead.

Carol and I both had the same reaction about the sauce, which is that it would be better if it were sweeter, for example if it had some Thail sweet chili sauce mixed in with it.

One of the popular dishes at Blood Brothers BBQ is fried rice containing barbecue, and I plan to use some of the rib meat chopped up in fried rice later this week.

This took about 5 hours.

For the ribs and rub

1 Tbs. Morton kosher salt (or 1.5 Tbs. Diamond Crystal kosher salt)

1 Tbs. gochugaru (Korean ground chili – I substituted Kashmiri ground chili)

1 Tbs.  toasted sesame seeds

1 Tbs. packed brown sugar

2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1.5 tsp. granulated garlic

5-6 lbs. spareribs or 3 lbs. boneless country ribs

For the sauce

¼ cup gochujang

¼ cup soy sauce

¼ cup packed brown sugar

2 Tbs. ginger ale

2 Tbs. toasted sesame oil

For the garnish

2 large scallions, thinly sliced

2 tsp. toasted sesame seeds

Mix together the rub ingredients in a small bowl and rub them onto the meat.  In a medium bowl mix together the sauce ingredients.

Preheat the box smoker to 250 degrees.  Add the meat to the smoker and smoke for 2 hours, adding chips at the beginning, 45-minute mark, and 90-minute mark.

After 2 hours remove the meat from the smoker and put it on sheets of aluminum foil.  Sprinkle with a little of the sauce.  Wrap tightly and return to the smoker for about 1.5 hours.

Heat a barbecue grill and grill the ribs for a few minutes.  Brush both sides of the ribs with the sauce.

Remove the ribs from the grill, garnish with the scallions and sesame seeds and serve with more of the sauce.