BBQ Pork Ribs & Sweet Potato

📝 Ingredients

• 500 g pork ribs
• 4 tsp smoked paprika (3 for rubbing the meat, 1 for the sauce)
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar + 1 tsp soy sauce
• 400 g sweet potatoes (2 small ones of about 200 g each)
• 60 ml semi-skimmed milk
• 5 fresh chive stalks
• Salt, black pepper

🍴 Utensils

• Air fryer
• Small saucepan
• Saucepan
• Potato masher
• Pastry brush

📖 Steps

1. Cut the ribs between the bones into pieces of 3 or 4 ribs so they fit in the basket. If possible, remove the thin white membrane on the bone side: lift it with the tip of a knife, then pull it off using kitchen paper. The meat will be more tender.
2. Mix 3 tsp smoked paprika, the garlic powder, 1 tsp salt and some pepper. Rub the ribs all over with this mixture, massaging it well into the meat, then leave to rest while you preheat the air fryer to 180 °C.
3. Place the ribs in the basket bone side up, without overlapping, and cook for 30 min at 180 °C, turning halfway through, until the meat is browned and has shrunk back about 1 cm from the bones.
4. Meanwhile, make the sauce: in a small pan, mix the tomato purée, honey, vinegar, soy sauce, the rest of the smoked paprika and 3 tbsp water. Simmer gently for 3 min over a low heat, stirring, until glossy and thick enough to coat the spoon.
5. Peel the sweet potatoes and cut into 3 cm cubes. Cook for 15 min in a pan of boiling salted water, until the tip of a knife slides in without resistance, then drain thoroughly.
6. Heat the milk for 30 s in the microwave. Mash the sweet potatoes with the hot milk using a potato masher and season with salt and pepper: the mash is naturally creamy, no need to add butter. Sprinkle with snipped chives and keep warm, covered.
7. Pour off the fat that has collected under the basket so it doesn't smoke. Brush the ribs with two thirds of the sauce on both sides, then put them back for 5 min at 200 °C, until the sauce is caramelised and sticky. Keep an eye on the last minute: honey burns quickly.
8. Serve the ribs straight away with the mash and the rest of the sauce on the side. No air fryer: wrap the rubbed ribs in foil, cook for 1 h 30 min in the oven at 160 °C, then open the foil, brush with sauce and cook for 10 min at 220 °C.