A Well Rubbed Rack...

I used to not eat meat. Buffalo chicken and ribs brought me back to reality and I am forever grateful.  When I normally buy ribs, I buy "country" style which are a little bigger, a little fattier and come in pieces that fit perfectly in my crockpot. However, a whole entire rack of ribs was on sale this week so I decided to give those a chance...the traditional, "fall off the bone," "finger lickin' good" type you'd get in a restuarant.  These did not fit in my crockpot.  So what to do when I'm in need of some culinary advice...go to facebook!

I knew I wanted to barbecue them but the last time I made a huge rack they didn't come out so good. Like didn't fall off the bone. At all. And were super tough and couldn't even be eaten, hence no finger lickin.'  I was told by a few people to boil them first, which I thought was kinda odd.  Usually boiling cooks all the nutrients out of your food and I wasn't too sold on doing that to this lovely rack of ribs. I did it anyways then grilled them.  They were pretty much inedible.  My solution was the "country style" that fit in the crockpot. These come out amazing but it's just not the same experience as digging your ravenous teeth into a huge chunk meat and ripping the succulent pork off the bone like the natural meat eaters we are.

When I'm not totally confident in how to make something, I usually search a ton of recipes and take bits and pieces that I like to make them my own. That's what I magically did with these ribs and they were just about perfect! I adjusted the time in the oven so the meat falls off a bit more.  My husband threw the rub together and massaged it into the ribs and I did the rest. I do have to warn you, unlike most of my other recipes, this one takes several hours to cook...but come out so good they will be gone within minutes.

BBQ Ribs

• One full rack of ribs
• 2 tbs paprika
• 1 tbs garlic powder
• 1 tbs onion powder
• 1 tbs chili powder
• 1 tbs cumin
• 1 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup chicken stock...beer would probably work good too!
• Sweet Baby Ray's
• 2 tbs cornstarch
• 1tbs water
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tbs balsamic vinegar

Combine all your spices in a bowl. Rub thoroughly on both sides of the ribs. Put in an oven proof baking dish and cover with saran wrap and tin foil then put in the fridge for about 2 hrs.

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees. Place ribs in. They will need to cook for 3-4 hours. After 2 hours, pour your chicken stock in the pan and coat the ribs with the barbecue sauce.

After about 4 hours, place them on the grill over medium high heat. Cook on both sides for about 7 minutes or until it has a char that you like.  Brush with more barbecue sauce if you want!

Now for some dipping sauce. Pour the leftover juices from the baking dish into a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil over medium heat.

In a separate bowl combine the water and cornstarch. This helps it not get lumpy when you add it in.

Lower the temperature to a simmer. Add the brown sugar and vinegar. Whisk in the cornstarch to the sauce. It should thicken within seconds, if not add a little more.

It should be done at the moment your ribs are.





































We made grilled corn on the cob too which is my favorite way to eat it. Put a piece of corn, a slab of butter and your favorite spices in a foil package. Grill for about 20 minutes but make sure you move it around in between so it caramelizes evenly.




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