I Got Your Baby Back Ribs

I asked David what we should have over Memorial Day, and he said,

"How about those baby back ribs in the freezer?"

Excellent idea!

Now, I was up a bit late, and the lighting in my kitchen is not great at night, so I don't have pictures of the whole process, but here's where I was as of this morning. I'll post the pics I did take sometime this week...but in case you have a hankering for ribs today, I will tell you how I made mine.

Last night, the ribs were thawed, so I sprinkled them with smoked paprika, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder, salt, and freshly ground black pepper. I didn't measure how much, I just threw it on both sides.

Then I made some homemade barbecue sauce...you can use your favorite bottled sauce if you're pressed for time. I let the ribs sit in the fridge overnight with the dry rub. This morning, I got them out, brushed them with some of the barbecue sauce, and put them back in the fridge.

Make sure you pour your barbecue sauce in a separate bowl--don't use it straight from the bottle/container. This way, you won't contaminate your sauce because you're brushing it on raw meat, everyone got that :-) ?

Now, all we have to do is preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Wrap the ribs in a layer of heavy duty foil, making sure to crip the edges tightly...we don't want any juices or moisture to escape.

Bake the ribs for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, or until the meat is VERY tender. Remove the ribs from the oven and set aside while you heat up your outdoor grill to medium.

Grill the ribs for 5-6 minutes per side. The goal here is to simply get a little char on them...they're already fully cooked.

Serve with your favorite barbecue sides...I made Pea Salad and opened up a can of baked beans. I do make baked beans from scratch, but we'll save that for another post.

Oh, you'll want plenty of napkins to go with the ribs too...and be prepared to lick your fingers. David likes his ribs wet, with LOTS of barbecue sauce. In fact, I had to make a second batch of sauce so he would have plenty ;-). Although...halfway through dinner, he did say,

"You know, these ribs are so good, they don't even need any barbeque sauce."

WHAT??? Did my condiment loving husband REALLY say that? Wow...that's a miracle...let me tell you!

God Bless your table tonight!