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Culinary Chronicles: Road through Culinary school, foods I like, recipes and more!

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Barbecue Pork Country Ribs a "labor" of love....

     Hello and happy Labor Day to all!  So much has happened since my last post: we had hurricane "Isaac" pass through Florida, I had a birthday at the beginning of the week and lastly Labor Day weekend is here.   I have to say I've seen things I never imagined I'd see, like kids riding in a canoe on a river that just the day before was a road to home.   This phenomena was provided by the flooding due to hurricane Isaac of course and also turned out to be a blessing for me as you will read below..   And I experienced a "hurricane day" as opposed to a "snow day", there was no work on August 27th due to flooding and I was glad to have the day off, not only for rest but because it was my birthday.  

     That monday I wanted to have a birthday dinner consisting of Chinese food, but the trick was I had to find a Chinese restaurant that was open and that would deliver my food among the flooding.  I did manage to find one on the internet and believed the transaction would go without a hitch, I was wrong.   An hour later the delivery person called me to let me know she was having difficulty getting into my area due to extreme flooding "it's a river on this side and it's deep" she said.  I didn't want to cancel the order so I decided to walk to where she was, but found I couldn't or wouldn't make the complete trip to her due to the newly formed "river" and the thought that it may be unsanitary to wade in.  "So close yet so far" I thought and just when I was going to give up the delivery woman suggests I ask these kids rowing around in a canoe to pick it up for me.   Yes, I had the audacity to do it and without hesitation they went to her end and got it for me. I offered them money, but they refused, now that's cool.   One of the items I ordered was barbecue spare ribs, so I decided to dedicate this post to barbecue ribs and that's a good thing because it's Labor Day weekend and everybody barbecues for Labor Day weekend.

      While visiting with  my brother who threw me a small belated birthday celebration yesterday and grilled some "Pork Country Ribs" (bone-in), upon my request.   I took some pictures with the idea I'd share with you the basics from grilling them to creating a barbecue sauce of your own.   Now I'd love to give you my "secret" recipe for barbecue sauce but... it's a secret......So right here, right now I'm going to help you build your own secret barbecue sauce.   Below find some photos of barbecue country ribs prepared by my brother (I taught him).  Take care and enjoy!!


      The base for creating a barbecue sauce is ketchup and worcestershire sauce (spelling that is always painful) after that go crazy!  Think how you'd like your sauce to taste, what flavors you enjoy.  Perhaps a sweet ingredient or some heat or both.  Then build up a "dry rub" you think will enhance the sauce a little.  Chili powder gives it a nice "kick" at the end, which is surprising and enjoyable, garlic powder, onion powder or anything you like.
      I suggest that once you have your sauce ingredients together, you simmer it in a saucepan a bit to really incorporate the flavors.  You can do this while the ribs are on the grill, for a one inch thick country rib I believe six minutes on each side is sufficient, rub some oil on the grill itself before placing the ribs on it.   And please make sure the grill is hot before grilling, this will enable you to get the crosshatching (grill marks) on the ribs, if that's important to you that is. 
      Once you have the crosshatching on them, slather on the barbecue sauce, here you can place them back on the grill if you wish or just let them sit in the freshly simmered sauce until they are served.   One little trick I will share with you is to rub a little vinegar onto your ribs before grilling, this will make them a little more tender.    Don't be afraid to let the sauce run off you chin or get a "sauce mustache" while eating, this is part of the fun of eating barbecue.  Good luck creating your awesome barbecue sauce and again happy Labor Day!!!


 






1 comment:

virunthu unna vaanga said...

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VIRUNTHU UNNA VAANGA