This delicious mango-jalapeno rib glaze has a little sweetness and a bit of heat that is perfect for brushing onto pork ribs. Apply this sweet and savory glaze towards the end of grilling time and let it cook right into the meat. Make a little extra to serve on the side sauce.
Rib glazes have become a popular way of flavoring pork ribs and a great alternative to traditional sauces. While tomato-based barbecue sauces will remain a BBQ mainstay, rib glazes have also earned their rightful place. Sauces, like this one, provide a thin, shiny, and incredibly flavorful building block for smoked pork ribs. This mango-jalapeno rib glaze is also great on smoked pork belly, grilled chicken, pork chops, smoked cream cheese, and grilled tofu.ย
What is a rib glaze?
A rib glaze is a syrupy sauce applied to proteins, vegetables, or meat substitutes during the cooking process. This allows the sugars in the glaze to caramelize and provide and nice sweet coating to foods like BBQ ribs or chicken.
What is the difference between a glaze and BBQ sauce?
BBQ sauce is typically made with tomato sauce (or ketchup), spices and vinegar. These sauces are applied 15-20 minutes before the end of cooking time. A glaze does not contain tomato and is made with ingredients like honey, jellies, hoisin, etc., and applied 1 hour before the end of cooking time.
Ingredients for Mango-Jalapeno Rib Glaze:
- Mango nectar
- Apricot preserves
- Fresh lime juice (substitute with fresh lemon juice, but note that it will alter the flavor ever so slightly.)
- Honey (substitute with real maple syrup)
- Jalapeno pepper
- Fresh ginger
- Cumin
- Cinnamon
- Salt and black pepper
Making a Glaze:
- Cut jalapeno in half and remove the seeds, chop into smaller chunks. I highly recommend wearing food-safe gloves when handling hot peppers.
- Place jalapeno and lime juice into a food processor or blender, and puree mixture.
- Place all sauce ingredients, including pepper puree, into a medium saucepan. Simmer over medium heat for 2 minutes, stirring often. Reduce heat to low and simmer for an additional 5-6 minutes. Add a few tablespoons of water if the mixture is too thick.
- Remove rib glaze from heat and cool for 5 minutes before using.
- This mango-jalapeno rib glaze can also be used as a dipping sauce or table sauce.
- If making ahead of time, store sauce in a jar or airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Rewarm before using. Discard any sauce that has come into contact with raw or undercooked meat.
How to use mango-jalapeno rib glaze:
- During the last hour of cooking time, apply the rib glaze with a silicone brush onto barbecued ribs every 15 minutes until done.
- Use 1/2 cup of rib glaze per rack of baby backs, and 3/4-1 cup of glaze per rack of spare ribs.
- If using this glaze on chicken, pork chops, or tofu, brush on during the second half of cook time.
- For smoked cream cheese, drizzle heated mango-jalapeno rib glaze and on the cream cheese right after it comes off the smoker.
- Make a double batch of this rib glaze and serve half of it as a table sauce.
Mango-Jalapeno Rib Glaze
Ingredients
- 1 cup mango nectar
- 1 cup apricot preserves
- 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 small jalapeno pepper (seeded and roughly chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin
- 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
- pinch of salt and black pepper
Instructions
- Cut jalapeno in half and remove the seeds, chop into smaller chunks. I highly recommend wearing food-safe gloves when handling hot peppers.
- Place jalapeno and lime juice into a food processor or blender, and puree mixture. If the jalapeno is larger, add an extra 1 tablespoon of water for blending.
- Add all sauce ingredients, including jalapeno puree, into a medium saucepan. Simmer over medium heat for 2 minutes, stirring often. Reduce heat to low and simmer for an additional 5-6 minutes until sauce can coat the back of a spoon.
- Remove sauce from heat and cool for a 5 minutes before using. Use 1/2 cup of glaze per rack of baby backs, and 3/4-1 cup of glaze per rack of spare ribs. This glaze can also be used as a dipping sauce or table sauce.
- If making ahead of time, store sauce in a jar or air tight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week after initial preparation. Rewarm before using. Discard any sauce that has come into contact with raw or undercooked meat.
