Succulent Ribs

On the menu: Mac and Cheese, Napa Cabbage Coleslaw, and Apple Jack Ribs

I think it must be because I cooked so many big meals over the holidays that I am in the mood to try some things that I have not tried in a long time, and to be honest I have been gutting out my fridge and found some things that while still good really needed to be cooked.  Geoff’s brother was over for dinner and it was a great time to cook the 4 racks of ribs that I bought before the holidays. These ribs were part of a larger “Southwest” themed dinner and I will be adding some of the other items as well.

Ribs are definitely a guilty pleasure, so yummy and decadent.  Cooked properly, they can be very tender and moist but to be truly delightful they need time on the BBQ being smothered by sticky gooey sauce.  My father has been claimed that they can be “all lickem and no eat” so choosing nice meaty ribs make the preparation worth the effort.  We grill year round so we don’t just wait for summer to enjoy wonderful BBQ.

Braising Ribs before Grilling...

Just out of the oven -2.5 hours is well worth the wait

Geoff’s Aunt Diane (who grew up in Hawaii and therefore knows ribs) passed along this method. I had done it before but it not really solidified as to what was happening until she served us the most succulent ribs – EVER!  I have been doing this ever since and experimenting with different sauces and liquids.

So if there is one piece of wisdom that I can pass along about ribs is to braise them before you grill them.

How to do it...

·         Place the ribs in a roasting pan or on a cookie sheet (I prefer to line with foil as it keeps all the moisture in and makes clean up easier. 

·         Add about a cup of liquid (beer, water, wine, bbq sauce, anything really)

·         Seal the foil and

·         Cook in a 325F oven for about 2-2.5 hours.

Lots of Lickem and Eat!

This does seem a little ridiculous but it helps break down the meat and make it fall off the bone tender.  Once this is done get a BBQ sauce of some sort and head to the grill.  The ribs are all already cooked so what you are looking to do is add another layer of flavour and caramelize the sauce a little. This should not take more than 15-20 minutes.

What I did on Sunday night was add about 2/3 cup apple cider and 1/3 cup of Jack Daniels (did I mention that I was cleaning out my cupboards and decided to finish off my supply of cooking Jack!) as my liquid to braise the ribs.

For the Sauce (Inspiration from Ted Reader “King of the Q’s Blue Plate BBQ)

½ cup	Packed brown sugar
½ cup	Apple butter
¼ cup	Jack Daniels
3 tbsp	Apple cider

Mix together and brush on ribs on the BBQ.

I have been known to “doctor” a store bought sauce for this as well and will use the same sauce for braising.  Don’t sweat it too much; these are ribs and are meant to be fun and not take too seriously.

ENJOY!