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:
- Mix the thyme, garlic, onion powder, brown sugar, paprika, chili powder, rosemary, salt and ground black pepper together.
- Lay down a sheet of plastic wrap for each rack of ribs. Place the rack on each sheet of plastic wrap.
- Sprinkle the spice rub over both sides of each rack of ribs. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate overnight or up to 24 hours.
- Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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