Polynesian Ribs — The Practice of Feeding Fourteen with Love

Christmas. Eighth year. O Holy Night. The nod. The table. Fourteen at the table (Marcus home from Morehouse; Darnell's family came). Every dish. Every tradition. The kitchen that has held eight Christmases — five without Mama, two in this house — ran like the finely tuned instrument it has become. I didn't rush. I didn't stress. The cooking was automatic now, the way breathing is automatic: the body knows. The hands know. The recipes know. Christmas dinner for fourteen is not a challenge anymore. It's a practice. The practice I've been doing for eight years. The practice that Mama did for forty. The practice is the thing. Not the food. Not the table. The practice of showing up, every year, and doing the thing with love.

Curtis sat at the table in his wheelchair and Derek sat beside him and Marcus sat across from him and the three men — grandfather, step-father, grandson — formed a triangle at the table that was the structural foundation of the family. Three points. Three kinds of quiet. Three kinds of love. Curtis: the love of endurance. Derek: the love of presence. Marcus: the love of departure and return. The triangle held. The table held. The food held everything else.

New Year's Eve. Black-eyed peas. Eighth year. Marcus ate his bowl and said, "The peas at Morehouse aren't the same." I said, "Nothing at Morehouse is the same." He said, "The library is good." I said, "Baby, I don't mean the library. I mean the KITCHEN." He laughed. We ate peas and said goodbye to 2022 and hello to 2023 and the year turned and the family turned with it and the can caught the light and the line held.

Every year I anchor the Christmas table with something that asks something of me — a recipe that takes time, that has to be tended, that rewards patience the way tradition rewards showing up. These Polynesian Ribs are exactly that. The sweet depth of the glaze, the low-and-slow surrender of the meat off the bone — it’s the kind of dish Curtis reaches for before the blessing is even finished, the kind Marcus talks about on the drive back to Atlanta. When the practice of showing up for fourteen people year after year is the whole point, you want a centerpiece on that table that knows it, too.

Polynesian Ribs

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 2 hr 30 min | Total Time: 2 hr 50 min | Servings: 8–10

Ingredients

• 4 lbs pork spare ribs or baby back ribs, cut into serving pieces
• 1 cup pineapple juice
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
• 3 tablespoons ketchup
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated (or 1 teaspoon ground ginger)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
• 2 green onions, sliced, for garnish
• Sesame seeds, for garnish

Instructions

1. Make the marinade. In a medium bowl, whisk together pineapple juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, ketchup, rice vinegar, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, and red pepper flakes until the sugar is dissolved.
2. Marinate the ribs. Place rib pieces in a large zip-top bag or baking dish. Pour 3/4 of the marinade over the ribs, reserving the remaining 1/4 for basting. Seal or cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight for best results.
3. Preheat oven. Heat oven to 325°F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet or roasting pan with foil and set a wire rack inside.
4. Arrange and cover. Remove ribs from marinade (discard used marinade) and arrange in a single layer on the rack. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 1 hour 45 minutes, until the meat is tender and beginning to pull from the bone.
5. Reduce the reserved glaze. While ribs bake, pour the reserved marinade into a small saucepan over medium heat. Simmer 8–10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened. Remove from heat.
6. Glaze and finish. Remove foil from ribs. Brush generously with the reduced glaze. Increase oven temperature to 400°F and bake uncovered for 20–25 minutes, basting once more halfway through, until the glaze is caramelized and sticky.
7. Rest and garnish. Let ribs rest 5 minutes before serving. Arrange on a platter and scatter sliced green onions and sesame seeds over the top.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 480 | Protein: 34g | Fat: 28g | Carbs: 22g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 820mg