Slow-cooked onterib in home-made BBQ sauce

Ingredients

• For the BBQ sauce
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 small onion, grated
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 140 g tomato paste (1 small can)
• ½ cup water
• 3 tbsp silan (date syrup)
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp mustard
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• ½ tsp black pepper
• For the meat
• 1.5 kg veal onterib, thawed in the fridge
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 1 cup water or stock

Method

1. Make the sauce: heat the oil in a small pot over medium heat and cook the onion for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and stir for 1 minute. Add the remaining sauce ingredients and simmer gently for about 10 minutes, until thickened. Set aside ⅓ cup of sauce for glazing at the end.
2. Heat the oven to 150°C (conventional).
3. Season the meat with salt and pepper and place it in a deep baking dish or ovenproof pot. Spread most of the sauce over the top, and pour the water or stock in beside the meat – not over it.
4. Cover tightly with a lid or two layers of foil and bake for 3½–4 hours. After 2 hours, check that there is at least 1 cm of liquid in the dish; if it has dried out, add ½ cup hot water.
5. The meat is ready when a fork slides in easily. If it is still firm, keep baking and check every 30 minutes.
6. Uncover, brush with the ⅓ cup of reserved sauce, raise the oven to 200°C and bake for 10–15 minutes. Check every 5 minutes – silan and sugar can scorch quickly. If the glaze darkens too much, take it out at once.
7. Rest for 10 minutes, slice against the grain and serve with the sauce from the dish.