Ribs "My Way" For Father's Day
Sunday is Father's Day and whether your dad or husband is great or not-so-great when it comes to Grilling, this wonderful recipe will make him "King of the Grill" on his special day. The secret to these scrumptious, tender, juicy Ribs is in the preparation and slow-roasting. All your special dad will need to do is slather them with sauce and cook them just five minutes a side or until slightly charred. These are fantastic, perfect every time, but also so easy to do. I have added my own favorite barbecue sauce that I have added chipotle peppers to give the sauce a great smoky flavor with a little kick. Just the ticket to spice up your Father's Day celebration!
Readying the Ribs:
First, you may or may not know that ribs come with a sinewy membrane that needs to be removed prior to grilling as it is tough and does not cook away when grilling. To remove: on the underside of the rib, with a sharp paring knife, score down the middle of the underside of the rib cutting through the sinewy membrane. (This will allow you to remove the membrane in 2 long strips, which I find much easier to do than in one big piece.) Starting at top of the rib, grab the corner of this membrane with a paper towel to keep if from slipping off your fingers when pulling and slowly pull it away from the underside of the rib all the way down the entire rack of ribs. Discard the membrane. Some chefs also "dock" the rib meat by piercing the meat between the bones a couple of times with the tines of a dinner fork for extra flavor. I skip this step as our dry rub and slow-roasting will really bring out the flavor in the ribs while rendering away extra fat.
Cooking Method:
After you have removed the membrane from the underside of the ribs, it is time to cut the ribs and season. For easy and quick clean-up, I line my cookie sheets with heavy duty foil first. Then, I cut the ribs in three to five rib sections, as it is easier to grill and serve them that way. Hold the rack of ribs vertically on a cutting board and cut the ribs between the bones into the size of sections that will be easiest for you to flip and then serve. I then place the sections of ribs on the lined cookie sheet in two rows and then season the ribs with a spice rub or steak rub. You can season your ribs with your favorite spice rub or use the recipe below before roasting if you would like. I feel this step is important as pork is one of those meats that really benefits from seasoning during slow-roasting. Cover the ribs on the cookie sheet tightly with foil and let them sit for about an hour or you can refrigerate them until you are ready to roast them. Just bring them to room temperature prior to roasting or add time to the roasting time. Before roasting, double check the foil to make sure it fits snugly around the pan. Slow-roast the ribs in a 250 degree oven for three-four hours. The meat will pull slightly away from the bone and the fat has rendered.
Grilling:
Always preheat your grill - depending on the type of grill you are using, this could take anywhere from 15-25 minutes to reach the temperature you want to grill these ribs, which is medium-high heat. You'll also need to oil your grill grates. This is easily done by rubbing the grates with an oil-soaked paper towel, using long-handled tongs. If you don't oil your grates, you may find the ribs will stick as most barbecue sauce has sugar in it and tends to stick when the sugar melts from the heat. If you have cut your ribs in sections of two to four ribs, it will be easy to flip the ribs using a large spatula rather than trying to turn with tongs. Now, brush the roasted ribs with sauce and place on the grill upside down. Grill for several minutes, searing the sauce to the ribs, but not burning the sauce. Flip the rib sections over, brush with more sauce, and continue to grill until the ribs are heated through, becoming well glazed and nicely charred. This entire cooking process will only take about 10 minutes or less. Allow the ribs to rest a few minutes prior to serving. You can heat extra sauce to serve with the ribs.
Now, you have melt-in-your-mouth flavorful ribs --- a celebration in itself!
Here's a recipe for a dry rub you may want to try:
Rib Rub
2 Tab. Chili Powder
1 Tab. Paprika
1 Tab. Dried Oregano, crushed finely
1 Tab. Dried Thyme, crushed finely
2 Tab. Kosher Salt*
2 Tab. Black Pepper, freshly ground*
*Can substitutue 4 Tablespoons of the "McCormick Grill Mates Montreal Steak Seasoning" for these two ingredients.
Combine all dry ingredients. Using your hands, sprinkle or rub onto racks of ribs prior to slow roasting. Cover ribs tightly and allow ribs to sit for an hour to marinade or cover ribs tightly and refrigerate until time to roast.
Here's a recipe for barbecue sauce with a little kick to it, but yummy! (I thought I better put my name on it just in case it becomes famous one day!)
Margie's Chipotle Barbecue Sauce
1 Tab. Onion Powder
3-5 Garlic cloves, finely minced
2 Tab. Worcestershire Sauce
1 Cup Ketchup
?Cup Dark Molasses or packed dark brown sugar
2-3 Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce, minced, with 1 Tab. Of Adobo Sauce
1 Cup Beer
?Cup Water
1 Tab. Spicy Brown Mustard (or mustard of choice)
1 Tsp. Chili Powder
1 Tsp. Ground Cumin
2 Tab. Cider Vinegar
Salt and Pepper to taste (I used ?tsp. pepper and ?tsp. kosher salt)
Mix all the ingredients together. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently, uncovered, for 30 minutes, until sauce thickens. Remove from heat. Cool sauce to room temperature before using. (Sauce can be covered and refrigerated for up to 7 days.) Slather this spicy, smoky sauce on ribs, steaks, or chicken when they have almost finished cooking. Serve the remainder in a bowl.
I love to cook "Ribs My Way" for several reasons:
Preparation time is quick and easy and can be done ahead of time --- even the day before.
By slow-cooking the ribs before grilling, you are sure to have the most tender ribs every time!
Since the ribs are slow-cooked before grilling, grilling time is only 5 minutes a side or even less, so you can do a few or a whole bunch in no time at all. This leaves time to enjoy your special someone or visit with your guests.
Flavoring your ribs is so very versatile as you can use your favorite dry rub or my recipe for a rib rub on the ribs before roasting.
You can also use your favorite barbecue sauce or try my recipe below that utilizes chipotle peppers for a little smokiness and heat. Jungle Jim's has a treasure cove of sauces to choose from - so many in fact that I lost count!
You can find Cincinnati Gee's and Montgomery Inn as well Buckeye Gourmet, Mob-B-Que, Bone Suckin' Sauce, Jardine's Jalapeno, and even an organic Legend BBQ sauce and a no-carb sauce. There is something for everyone, so don't limit yourself to just one sauce.
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