I have come to the point where I physically and mentally cannot keep up the pace I set for myself during the primary season. This triathalon of political junkiism went from reading the entirety of the Huff Post, TPM, Politico, CrooksandLiars, Kos, and then looking for updates by the time I had finished all of that. I was even reading stuff put out by Alec Baldwin.
I have officially reached the saturation point, and need to take a breather until McCain does something to piss me off enough to get back in the saddle. I believe this will be the calm before the storm. Thus, I thought I would give you something really important that I never get tired of - BBQ! Here is my rib recipe that I have won some cook-offs with. For my vegetarian brothers and sisters on the left, please accept my humble apologies. I'm addicted.
First off, buy you some ribs. I usually get spare ribs or St. Louis cut ribs, b/c they have more meat on them, but this recipe works with baby backs too.
Wash the ribs off, and cut the ribs down the sides and ends until you have a long rectangular slab with nothing but the horizontal ribs and the meat covering them. You can also get your butcher to cut them this way. Flip them over (bone side), and remove the flap of pork that is found on the back as close to the slab as you can. Then look at the bones themselves. There is a grey membrane that covers part of the back of the ribs, and it needs to come off. Take a pointed knife and work it between the membrane and the bone, and pry up the membrane. Becareful, b/c there is a layer of tissue which keeps the bones from falling out of the meat, don't remove that. YOu know you have removed too much if you can see bare bone. You don't wan't to make a McRib (if that is even pork). Once you have pried a little bit of the membrane up, get a paper towel to grip it, and pull it off the back of the ribs. Now that the ribs are ready, you need a rub.
I go for a Memphis style rub, set here below:
3 tbs paprika
1 tbs onion powder
1 tbs garlic powder
1 tbs ground basil
1 1/2 tbs dry mustard
1 tbs red pepper
1/2 tbs black pepper
Rub it over the entirety of the meat the night before you cook (or at the very least, an hour before)
Put the ribs on a smoker or grill, and set it up for indirect cooking by putting the heat source to the side so that it is not directly under the ribs. With great BBQ, the rule for tender and juicy results is slow and low. Over all, you're going to cook the ribs about 3 1/2 hours (about 45 minutes less if they are babybacks) at 225 degrees. The first hour, let them sit and soak up the smoke. Soak some wood chips in water for about an hour before putting them on the coals for some smoke flavor. All woods do really well, but the best seem to be Hickory, Pecan or Applewood (although I have had some good ones with Mesquite too) Use only hardwood chips, b/c regular wood has resins and saps which are not going to make your food taste very good.
Get a bowl and mix some apple jelly (clear gelatin like jelly, I use either Smuckers or Bama) and honey (3 to 1 ratio) After the first hour, take the ribs and wrap them in foil. Pour a little beer on the ribs to keep them moist. Let them cook another hour and a half wrapped. Then remove and slather them with the jelly/honey mixture. Be careful to not cook them more than an hour or at a higher temprature once this mixture is on, b/c it has lots of sugar and will burn) Cook the last hour, and the last 30 minutes pull them out of the foil and let the cook bare on the rack. It firms them up after the beer and foil wrap and the jelly/honey mixture becomes a nice sweet glaze.
Let cool, cut and serve. Potato salad, pinto beans, cole slaw, or bake sweet potato with a little butter and brown sugar are all great sides. Serve at your next press function.
Hope you enjoy, more politics in a week or so.