I grew up in your typical male-dominated grill household, as probably most of us did. The difference being my Dad was/is also a rather accomplished self-made amateur chef and multi-BBQ/chili-cook off competition winner. Wheew, talk about some shoes to fill, good thing for such a tall man he's got rather small feet. Not yet having found the need to compete "professionally" I still compete internally challenging myself to master new techniques, new tools, and new foods.
Well with summer in full swing and a BBQ, seemingly every weekend, for some various celebration of sorts ribs always seem to be the holy grail of who has mastered the grill. Are they tough, are they rubbery, maybe they're too fatty for some, or flavorless for others? Were they purchased from an artisan butcher or were they the 1/2 price bargain of the day off the grocery store rack, and does it really make a difference?
Long story short I've agonized for years, yes really, about ribs. Never having really been a huge fan and always too afraid to screw 'em up and be told to never touch the grill again I had kind of written them off as a food that "others" cook. With all of my Food Network knowledge, billions of cookbooks (including a few BBQ books), and the right tools I decided what the hell just go for it! You know what the were FREAKING AWESOME! So awesome in fact my own daughter proclaimed at dinner they might just be better than her Dad's, SCORE! So to all the ladies out there pick up the tongs, fire up the grill, and grab your rack (come on, your rack of ribs). Let's get grillin' and show the good ole boys club just what the ladies can do!
Ribs for 6 (ok there'll probably be leftovers)
3 Racks of baby back ribs (doesn't matter where you get them from just make sure they're meaty and fresh)
1 cup apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup loose brown sugar
1/8 cup salt
1/2 cup orange juice
18 oz bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray's)
1 tsp of chili powder
Prep the ribs by removing the silver skin from the back of the racks, slide your knife under a corner of the silver skin making a whole big enough to get a fingertip or two between the silver skin and bone, then start pullin'. Once the silver skins are removed grab a large stock pot (you may need two) and add the cider vinegar, brown sugar, salt and enough water to cover the ribs. Cut the ribs into 3-4 bone sections (makes it easier to get everyone to the party and will give you more surface area for saucing later) and add them to the pot.
Preheat your grill. Depending on the number of burners you'll want them on low and preferably only the outside burners. (Charcoal you'll want to let the coals burn down and place them around the outside of the kettle.)
Boil the ribs for 15-20 minutes until they are no longer pink. Add the OJ, chili powder, and full bottle of BBQ sauce to a sauce pan and warm on low until the ribs are ready for the grill.
Once the grill is warmed up place your ribs, unsauced, on the grill for approximately 20 minutes, flipping after the first 10. Next start saucing, you'll want to apply the sauce to the ribs at this point too. Sauce one side then flip after 5 minutes, sauce the back side and flip after 5 minutes, give one final saucing to the meaty side and pull off the grill after the last 3-5 minutes. Allow the ribs to sit under foil for 5-10 minutes before cutting into individual segments and serve.
I prefer my ribs on the sweeter side and so do my kids. Add a dash of cayenne or hot sauce to the mix if you prefer a kick. And voila you've got some kick ass ribs and you did it all by your pretty lil' ole self!
Happy grillin'
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