Sunday, May 27, 2012

Baby Back Barbeque Ribs - Recipe


My dad loves ribs.  Unfortunately my dad was never successful at grilling ribs.  (Sorry, Dad.)  He attempted them once a year or so and would burn them to a crisp every.single.time.  My husband also loves ribs, but growing up with crispy char-ribs, I had no interest in cooking them at home.

About 10 years ago, when we lived in another state, we found parboiled pre-seasoned ribs in our grocery store.  We gave those a shot during one of my parents' visits once and everyone loved them.  Once we moved to our current city and state, we couldn't find the parboiled ribs anymore.  So a couple years ago we found some ribs on sale for a Really Good Deal at The Fresh Market and I told my husband if he wanted some, I'd find a recipe to make them.

As we learned with the pre-cooked ribs we had been buying, the trick is to parboil them before trying to cook them through on the grill.  By parboiling the ribs for about an hour on the stove or about 3 hours in the crockpot, we ended up with moist, perfectly grilled, flavorful ribs that would make my dad weep.

On sale at $3.99 a pound and needing two to three pounds to satisfy even our small family, this is not every day food for us, but it does make an affordable special occasion meal.

Along with instructions on how to grill the ribs, I also found a homemade barbeque sauce recipe I fiddled with to make it to our liking.  My son LOVES this stuff, and he won't touch anything he thinks had anything to do with a tomato.  If he ever finds out the base is good ol' ketchup, I'll be in trouble.

Among the ingredients that were always in my mother's pantry was a bottle of apple cider vinegar.  Over the years, I've decided I prefer white wine vinegar in most recipes where she used apple cider vinegar.  However, this is one recipe I think she and I can agree white wine vinegar just wouldn't work.  Where hot sauce is called for in this recipe I always, always use Tabasco Sauce.  I'm very brand loyal when it comes to my hot sauce, but use your favorite kind. (They did not pay or otherwise compensate me for saying that, although I wish they would.)

Baby Back Barbeque Ribs

3 pounds pork back ribs
1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon liquid smoke
5-6 drops hot sauce

To parboil ribs:
Place ribs in large stock pot or crock pot and cover with water.  If using stock pot, bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium and simmer until tender - about one hour.

If using a crock pot, cook on low until tender - 3 to 4 hours.

To make sauce:
Stir next 6 ingredients together in saucepan.  Bring to simmer over medium high heat.  Reduce heat to medium low and simmer, stirring frequently until thickened, about 30 minutes.

To grill ribs:
Drain ribs and place meaty side up on platter.  Brush lightly with sauce.

Grill over hot coals about seven to ten minutes on each side.  Brush ribs with sauce and grill three more minutes.  Serve with extra sauce.

22 comments:

  1. Mmmmmm. That looks so good. Thanks for sharing at Serendipity and Spice

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    1. They certainly have changed my mind about ribs!

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  2. These look delicious! I love ribs, I wish they were cheaper as I would make them more often. Thanks for sharing at Terrific Tuesday.
    Rachel
    adventuresofadiymom.blogspot.com

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    1. I wish they were cheaper too. We usually only eat them on Memorial Day and Labor Day when I can find them on sale. If I had a big freezer, I'd stock up so we can have them more often, but I guess then they wouldn't feel special.

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  3. Yummy this looks great.

    Check out my food blog
    www.thedailysmash101.blogspot.com

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  4. We have ribs from our 1/2 pig that we haven't made since we had never made them before. This looks like it will be perfect. I would love it if you would share this on my linky party
    http://www.claimingourspace.com/2012/05/tout-it-tuesday-8.html

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  5. Thanks for this post. Am always trying to do better ribs.

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  6. Yum. These look fantastic. Thanks for sharing at this week's BFF Open House.

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  7. Hi Laura,
    These are melt in your mouth ribs, they look delicious. I can almost taste them and can't wait to try your recipe. Hope you are having a great week end and thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday.
    Come Back Soon!
    Miz Helen

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  8. One of my favorite summer time treats thanks for the recipe. Hope to see you back next week on foodie friday.

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  9. Tricky! Very Tricky! And very clever! I bet your ribs are tender and yummy:) That's a great idea and keeps one away from the hot grill and inside where it's cool:) (I live in the southwest) Thank you so very much for supporting and sharing at Freedom Fridays. Hope you week is amazing:)

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  10. These look delicious! I love ribs and try to cook them often in the summer :) Thanks so much for linking up to Creative Thursday this week. I can’t wait to see what you link up next week. Have a great weekend.

    Michelle

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  11. My husband loves ribs, but I'm always so afraid of messing them up. This looks like a great recipe. Thanks so much for sharing at Whimsy Wednesdays.

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  12. These ribs look so delicious!! Perfect summer dish!! We are so glad you joined our "Strut Your Stuff Saturday". We love to see all of the great recipes and ideas!! Thanks and we hope to see you again next week! -The Sisters

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  13. I'm anxious to try these. I've NEVER made ribs but my husband loves them. These look wonderful. Thanks for linking up to my party at doodles and stitches :) I hope you'll continue to link up each week!

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  14. These ribs look good! Thanks for the great tips on grilling ribs. We have never tried it before, but I would like to. Thanks for sharing at Showcase Your Talent Thursday. I hope to see you at the next party!

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  15. We just had ribs this weekend! I'm so glad it's BBQ season :) Yours look delicious! Thanks so much for sharing at Mom On Timeout!

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  16. Oooo ... Father's Day is coming up and my hubby loves ribs! I love that I have everything for the sauce already, too! Thanks for sharing this at the {what's shakin' link party}!!

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  17. Thank you for linking up last week to my Unveil Your Genius link party! I featured you! :) I hope you'll link up again soon!

    http://taylornorris.blogspot.com/2012/06/unveil-your-genius-link-party-14.html

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  18. Your ribs look delicious! I'm featuring this week week for Friday Favorites. Come by and grab my featured button if you'd like one.

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