Dating is such a bizarre process. Especially in the beginning. You’ve got the back and forth. The yin and yang. The boundary drawing. The figuring out whose turf is whose. These, of course, are the unspoken sub-parts of the lovey-dovey-pitter-patter-eyelash-batting-touchy-feely-tingly stuff. They may be unspoken, but they are most definitely a real and tangible part of dating. My wonderful husband and I went through all of these years ago as we began the ritual we all call dating.
Very early on, Paul was enthralled by the fact that I cooked for my family, as well as my sister’s, nearly every night. As I was chopping, mincing, dicing, and shredding, I could see him out of the corner of my eye – a small, but very discernible smile on his face as he watched. Cooking was my thing, and the kitchen was my domain. Well, apparently ribs are his. Thus, we encountered our first “my territory, his territory” event. Super Bowl was quickly approaching and we were having a huge family/football gathering. So Paul (wonderful, thoughtful, guy that he is) suggested that since I’m always cooking for everyone, how about if he takes over on Super Bowl and makes ribs for everyone? Uh…what? My hands broke into a cold sweat. My heart started beating faster, and my vision got a little blurry. The kitchen ismyterrain.My jurisdiction.Mydomain. So, while I was really thinkingnot a chance! You’ve gotta be kidding me if you think you can pull off making delicious meaty, sticky, savory, fall-off-the-bone ribs for 25 people! Wow….! I have no idea what to say, I looked at him lovingly in the eye and told him that would be fantastic! I can’t wait! (You do things like that when you’re dating…)
Then came THE day. Super Bowl. We got to my sister’s early (duh… ribs take like forever to make properly). I immediately gave my sisterthe look. You know the one… the one that only sisters who are as close as twins and can read each other’s minds can give. She knew something was up. She and I quietly slipped outside (while Paul was prepping the ribs). I told her what had happened, and that I was really sorry, but the ribs probably wouldn’t turn out, and that there’s nothing I can do about it, and that I’ll run to KFC to buy some fried chicken if I have to, but that Paul really wanted to make the ribs, and I just couldn’t say no. He was SO excited about it. And there he was… meticulously putting on the dry rub, wrapping them in plastic wrap to “rest” for a few hours, putting them on the baking sheets, carefully slathering them with his homemade sauce, tenting them lovingly with foil. And in they went. Every half hour he would tend to his ribs. More sauce, more tenting, then back in. And every half hour I would peek over his shoulder to see what was going on. What exactly I was dealing with. And every half hour I’d sneak outside and report to my sister no… I don’t think this is going to work. They look terrible! And she would reassure me, like awesome sisters do, that it would all be okay. Everything would be fine, even if we needed to get KFC.
And then something magical happened at the three hour mark. Paul carefully pulled back the foil, and I saw that same barely-discernible grin on his face. They were beautiful! They were perfect! All was good with the world. They were honestly the most delicious, moist, fall-off-the bone ribs I’d ever eaten! And something else magical happened. I actually learned how to give up control (sometimes), let other people do what matters to them, and have some faith and trust in how it’s all going to turn out. At that point in my life, that really was magical. So if you’re looking for a fail-proof, delicious, tender, sweet/savory/with a little kick way to get your ribs on (and maybe have a bit of a magical experience), you’ve found it! These really are amazing!
Yield: 8
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 3 hours
Passive Time: 3 hours
Total Time: 6 hours 15 minutes
When you really want to impress a crowd, try these awesome savory, sticky, sweet, spicy fall-off-the-bone ribs! Worth every minute of the wait!
Ingredients
- 2 Slabs Baby Back Ribs
- 2/3 Cup Brown Sugar, Tightly Packed
- 3 Tablespooons coarse salt
- 1 Tablespoon Chili Powder
- 1/2 Teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
- 1/2 Teaspoon New Orleans Seasoning, Old Bay, or similar
- 1/2 Teaspoon Dried Thyme
- 1/2 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1/4 Cup Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon salt
- 1 1/2 Teaspoons Celery Seed
- 1 1/2 Teaspoons Cumin
- 1 1/2 Teaspoons Ground Red Pepper
- 1 1/2 Teaspoons Garlic Powder
- 6 Dashes Tabasco
- 2 Cups ketchup
- 1/2 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1/4 Teaspoon Liquid Smoke
- 1 Teaspoon Lemon Juice
- 3/4 Tablespoon black pepper
Instructions
- Turn on oven to 300 degrees.
- In a small bowl, mix together Brown Sugar, coarse salt, chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, cayenne pepper, New Orleans Seasoning, thyme, and garlic powder until well combined. Pat this dry rub all over the two slabs of ribs, using all of the rub. Wrap in plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for at least 2 hours.
- To make BBQ sauce, in a medium bowl, mix sugar, salt, celery seed, cumin, ground red pepper, garlic powder, Tabasco, ketchup, apple cider vinegar, Liquid Smoke, lemon juice and black pepper.
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil, and place a rack on the backing sheet (a low profile cookie cooking rack works well). Place rib slabs side by side on rack. Coat ribs with BBQ sauce. Once the ribs are coated with the sauce, tent with foil and place in oven on middle rack.
- Every 30 minutes remove ribs from oven and baste with more BBQ sauce. Repeat every thirty minutes for the first 2 1/2 or 3 hours. Once the meat starts to pull away from the bone, remove the foil and place back in the oven for the final 30 minutes. Remove and cut into individual ribs. Dig in... these won't last long!
[wpurp-searchable-recipe]Ribs Fit for a Family Feast (and Super Bowl) – When you really want to impress a crowd, try these awesome savory, sticky, sweet, spicy fall-off-the-bone ribs! Worth every minute of the wait! – Baby Back Ribs, Brown Sugar (Tightly Packed), coarse salt, Chili Powder, black pepper, Cayenne Pepper, New Orleans Seasoning (Old Bay, or similar), Dried Thyme, Garlic Powder, Sugar, salt, Celery Seed, Cumin, Ground Red Pepper, Garlic Powder, Tabasco, ketchup, Apple Cider Vinegar, Liquid Smoke, Lemon Juice, black pepper, , Turn on oven to 300 degrees. ; In a small bowl, mix together Brown Sugar, coarse salt, chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, cayenne pepper, New Orleans Seasoning, thyme, and garlic powder until well combined. Pat this dry rub all over the two slabs of ribs, using all of the rub. Wrap in plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for at least 2 hours. ; To make BBQ sauce, in a medium bowl, mix sugar, salt, celery seed, cumin, ground red pepper, garlic powder, Tabasco, ketchup, apple cider vinegar, Liquid Smoke, lemon juice and black pepper. ; Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil, and place a rack on the backing sheet (a low profile cookie cooking rack works well). Place rib slabs side by side on rack. Coat ribs with BBQ sauce. Once the ribs are coated with the sauce, tent with foil and place in oven on middle rack. ; Every 30 minutes remove ribs from oven and baste with more BBQ sauce. Repeat every thirty minutes for the first 2 1/2 or 3 hours. Once the meat starts to pull away from the bone, remove the foil and place back in the oven for the final 30 minutes. Remove and cut into individual ribs. Dig in… these won't last long! ; ; – – Appetizer – Main Course – Main Dish – American – Appetizer – Cooking for a Crowd – Main Dish – Pork – Summer – oven ribs – ribs – sweet and savory ribs[/wpurp-searchable-recipe]
