Sweet & Sticky BBQ Chicken and Ribs

Sweet, sticky, finger licking, lip smacking goodness.

Ah yes… ribs! Chicken and ribs to be precise. The stuff my dreams are made of!
After having lived in Texas for over 2 years, every once in a while I will get a serious craving for meat doused in BBQ sauce. And I’m not talking about sophisticated chicken breasts or fillet mignons brushed with a thin layer of the stuff. I am talking about quarter chicken parts, manly pork ribs, and meaty beef ribs sloshed with so much brown goodness that they are almost swimming.


Once cooked, good chicken and ribs should be sticky and slippery between your fingers. And most importantly, there should be a trail of reddish brown gooey-ness dribbling slowly down your chin. So, if you are not prepared for this madness; if you would prefer a fork and knife kind of meal, then stop reading now. This is definitely not your bag!

All right. Now that we have weeded out the wimps, let’s get down to business. There are an infinite number of possibilities when it comes to chicken and ribs, and they are oh so good. And so so easy! Basically, put the chicken and ribs (pork ribs, beef ribs, or both if you prefer) in a ziplock back, add the marinade, squish it around, and pop it in the fridge for 1 hour to 1 day. Dump it out onto a roasting tray, and bake until sticky. Could it get any easier?

There are lots of great recipes out there for chicken and ribs. On today’s menu? Chicken & Ribs with a Tangy Mango BBQ Sauce. Slightly sweet, slightly spicy, dark and rich, this is the perfect complement to a nice cool beer, a jug of sangria, or both! If you don't have mango, use nice ripe peaches instead.


Chicken & Ribs with Tangy Mango BBQ SauceServes 4

For the BBQ Sauce
(this sauce has been adapted from the recipe "Chicken with Mango Barbeque Sauce" by Ellie Krieger, 2006 )

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, diced (about 1 cup)
1 red pepper, diced (about 1 cup)
3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons molasses
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons lime juice
1/4 cup pureed tomatoes
1 mango, diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
3 fresh green chillies, seeded and minced

3 kg of Meat (I would suggest 2 kg pork or beef ribs, 1 kg chicken parts with skin and bones)

To make the sauce: Cook the onions in the olive oil for a few minutes until translucent. Add the red peppers, garlic, salt and pepper, and allspice and cook until peppers are soft. Stir in the vinegar, molasses, Worcestershire sauce, lime juice and tomato sauce and heat through. Add mango and chillis and blend all until smooth.

Marinate the meat: Place the chicken and ribs in a ziplock bag with the bbq sauce. Make sure everything is coated with the sauce. Leave to marinate in the fridge for 1 hour (or up to one day).

Almost Ready to Eat: Dump the contents of the bag into a roasting tray and place in a preheated oven (200 degrees C) for about 1 hour, or until the chicken and ribs are sticky.

Enjoy!