Grills are a hot item

A recent facebook messenger conversation between me and dear husband:

Me – I don’t think you understand how serious this is – I CAN’T FIND MY RIB RECIPE

DH – OMG call the rescue dogs.  They will find the ribs.

Me – I don’t have a scent for them to pick up

I found this recipe in 2005, making ribs for the first time for our house-warming party as a young married couple, living on a lake.  It was perfection and I never strayed from this recipe.  It was easy to make ahead and dear husband would heat up on the grill at the time of party.

When I couldn’t find my paper version, I panicked a little, but figured I would find it online.  After too many long minutes of searching I really started to panic and alerted Dear Husband to my panic.  He didn’t seem too concerned (probably partly to the fact that I am an expert web searcher).

Long story short, I found it.  I made it.  And we moaned all over again at how good it is.

It comes from Bob Sloane, who has his own tailgating cookbook,The Tailgating Cookbook: Recipes for the Big Game.  I was able to find a copy of this recipe available through Epicurious, Southwestern-Style Baby Back Ribs.  It is so good and easy.  I’ll give you his recipe (with my changes).

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon dried thyme, minced garlic, onion powder, brown sugar, paprika, chili powder

1 teaspoon dried rosemary, salt, ground black pepper

About 5lbs of baby back ribs (mine was 2 racks)

3 cups of barbecue sauce (we used Sweet Baby Rays)

Directions:

1. Mix the thyme, garlic, onion powder, brown sugar, paprika, chili powder, rosemary, salt and ground black pepper together.
2. Lay down a sheet of plastic wrap for each rack of ribs.  Place the rack on each sheet of plastic wrap.
3. Sprinkle the spice rub over both sides of each rack of ribs.  Wrap in plastic and refrigerate overnight or up to 24 hours.
4. Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees.
5. Unwrap the ribs and place them on a baking sheet.  Cover completely with foil.  Bake, starting at 1 hour and 10 minutes.  My ribs have always taken at least 15-30 minutes longer before they are really tender enough.  I check tenderness to see if the meat pulls apart easily with a fork.
6. Let the ribs cool.  When cool, refrigerate them, wrapped in plastic, until you are ready to pack (for a tailgate) or in preparation for a party, up to 24 hours.
7. Just before leaving, cut the racks down into stacks of 2 or 3 and place them in a large sealable plastic container.  Add 1 cup of barbecue sauce and coat all the ribs.
8. To grill: Prepare coals for a medium fire.  Grill the ribs for 10 minutes, until they are lightly charred and heated through, turning them several times with several moppings of sauce.

Serves 4

Advertisements