Ribs!

Last night Tyler made his first foray into barbequing ribs. They cooked away, low and slow, for over 3 hours, and they were worth every second. They were smoky, spicy, salty and just slightly sweet from their rub, and moist, tender and falling-off-bone delicious from the long, indirect grilling.

Recipe:

2 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar

1 tablespoon mustard powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons paprika
1 1/2 cayane pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon Chinese 5 spice powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

enough mustard to barely coat the ribs
1 rack of baby back ribs

1/2 - 1 cup apple juice

Rinse and pat the ribs dry. Wisk together the dry spices. Spread a very thin layer of mustard over the ribs, then rub in your spices. Wrap in foil and allow to marrinate, refrigerated, for about 2 hours.

Once the meat has had adequate time to marrinate, arrange coals on one side of a charcoal grill. While the grill gets ready, remove the ribs from the refrigerator. When the grill is ready, place the ribs on the opposite side of the grill, not directly over the heat, bone side down. Allow to cook slowly, rotating occasionally, until the internal temperature reaches 170. You will need to add fuel to keep the coals going, and keep and eye on the heat (you don't want it getting too hot or going out). Once the ribs are finished cooking cut them into individual rib sections and you can either add sauce or eat them as is, as they will have a lot of flavor from the rub.

To accompany the ribs we had tomatoes stuffed with bread crumbs, aged cheddar and basil (from the garden), and a mixed salad with the leftover marinated artichoke hearts and croutons made from the end of Saturday's baguette.

(Photos by Tyler)