Featured Chef Johnny Law

Honey Adobo Spare RibsAround the Kerry Menu Innovation Center, Johnny is known as "the big red-headed chef that has his nose in everything." It's all for a good cause, and Johnny's relentless curiosity and love of all things culinary has resulted in a couple of Menumasters Awards and an acknowledgement as one of Nation's Restaurant News' 2003 List of America's Top 50 R &D Culinarians.

Johnny's academic training - a B.S. in Animal Science, an Associate's degree in Food & Hospitality and a Chef's Certificate from the Texas Chef's Association - is impressive enough, but his most valuable lessons were learned on the rural Louisiana family farm. "You learned to appreciate the food for freshness and flavor because you put a lot of hard work into producing it." He hasn't stopped since.

Johnny completed his Chef's apprenticeship at the legendary "Mansion on Turtle Creek" in Dallas, TX; where food went beyond a dining experience and became an art form.

Johnny truly found his niche in R&D. He worked for many years as corporate chef of research and menu development for such restaurant chains as Chili's Grill and Bar Dallas, TX and KFC Louisville, KY.

Now as chef for Kerry Foodservice Johnny is able to work with a wide array of restaurant chains providing customized menu development. Or as he puts it "it's as if you took all the aspects that I loved the most from my prior work and condensed them into a single job! It's a lot of fun!"

Honey Cooking Tip

When using honey in a recipe, microwave the plastic honey container for a few seconds to just warm the honey. The warm honey becomes thinner and flows much faster, and allows for easier and quicker measuring.

Honey Adobo Spare Ribs

Yield: Serves 4 to 6 people

In this recipe honey adds great flavor that complements and adds depth to the spiciness of the Adobo, but also the honey gives a great shine to the glaze, which really contributes to the final presentation.

Ribs

1

full rack St. Louis ribs, or trimmed spare ribs

Marinade & Glaze

4

ea. Ancho chiles

2

cups water

1/2

cup Chipotle chiles canned in Adobo (or more for a spicier rib)

1/2

teaspoon ground coriander

1

teaspoon ground cumin

1/2

teaspoon dried oregano, whole leaf

3

cloves fresh garlic

1

teaspoon kosher salt

1

teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

1

pinch ground cinnamon

1/4

cup fresh lime juice

2

Tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1

cup total Clover honey

Braising Ingredients

1

Tablespoon vegetable oil

1

cup onions, chopped

1-1/2

cups tomatoes, fresh or canned,
seeded and chopped

Marinating Procedure:

  1. To prepare the ribs, cut the rack into quarters by cutting across the rack in-between the rib bones. Place the rib quarters into a large zip-lock bag and set aside.
  2. For the marinade; bring two cups of water to a boil, remove from heat, add the seeded Ancho Chiles, and soak until softened.
  3. Place the Ancho Chiles and the soaking water into a blender, and add all the other marinade ingredients and puree until smooth.
  4. Pour the marinade into the zip-lock bag with the ribs. Massage the bag to make sure the ribs are completely coated with the marinade then press out as much air as possible and seal the bag. Place the ribs into the refrigerator for at least a couple of hours to soak up the marinade flavor, but 6 hours or overnight is much better.

Braising Procedure:

  1. Once the ribs are marinated, heat an appropriate size braising pan over medium heat. Add the vegetable oil and sweat the chopped onions until transparent, then add the tomatoes.
  2. While the tomatoes are heating, remove the ribs from the marinade and set aside. Add all the marinade to the onions and tomatoes and bring the mixture to a boil.
  3. Add the ribs to the braising liquid and return to a boil. Immediately cover the pan and place it into a 350°F oven. Cook the ribs for about 1 hour and 15 minutes or until tender.
  4. Remove the ribs from the braising liquid and place onto a baking sheet and allow to cool.
  5. Once cooled, cut the rib quarters into individual rib bones and arrange back on the baking sheet.

Rib Glaze Procedure:

  1. Strain the hot braising liquid through a fine sieve and place it in a saucepan. Skim off any surface fat from the sauce.
  2. Bring the sauce to a boil and reduce to a glaze, skimming constantly.
  3. When ready to serve, heat your broiler and generously brush the ribs with the Honey Adobo Glaze. Broil the ribs for about 10 minutes or until hot and glazed. Baste the ribs with more glaze halfway through the broiling if you like.
  4. Serve the ribs with corn griddlecakes and a fresh Jicama vegetable slaw tossed with lime vinaigrette, and of course more glaze on the side