Mmmm Mmmm Ribs!

I have often called hubby the King of Ribs. He got his formal training years ago when he worked at St. Hubert, which is Quebec's biggest chicken restaurant chain (to me very similar to Swiss Chalet, but that would be heresy to any self-respecting lover of St. Hubert's BBQ chicken). As one of the cooks, he barbecued chicken and ribs by the hundreds each day. His method involved pre-cooking (more steaming) the pre-rubbed meat prior to putting on the BBQ. It results in very tender meat, but I suspect it was more about quantity. If all you have to so is throw some pre-cooked meat on the grill and slap on some sauce, it's a great way for mass ribbing.

Well, Weber has changed all of that. For his birthday, I bought hubby "Weber's Way to Grill: the Step-by-Step Guide to Expert Grilling" by Jamie Purviance. It's an amazing book and we'd highly recommend it for those who enjoy barbecuing and like to mix it up a little. There is everything from the typical meats and fish to pizza and desserts. You can do it all on a BBQ!

I am amazingly queasy about any kind of fat on my meat, so I would highly recommend using back ribs, which are more expensive, but MUCH leaner.

This recipe involves pre-marinating, and then sloooooowww cooking for about 4 or 5 hours on indirect heat of the BBQ. I'm way too lazy to re-type this recipe, but for your convenience, I did find it on the Weber website. It even has a video about "The Texas Crutch" method, which means cooking for 2 hours, then brushing with sauce and wrapping each rack individually in tin foil so they steam and get super tender. I'm here to tell you that it works.

These ribs were tender, juicy, super garlicky and the soy and ginger was really nice. I served them with garlic and cheese mashed potatoes (boil garlic cloves with the potatoes, mash and prepare how you like, then add sharp cheddar and chives) and yellow beans we'd bought from the farmer's market that weekend. Oh, and no I didn't eat all of this (this is actually only a half-rack). I ate this baby for two days.

Although these were truly delicious, I'm afraid when it comes to ribs I'm a traditional tomato-based BBQ sauce kinda gal. I don't eat ribs often enough to want to try other kinds. There are other recipes on the website, but for the total picture and the ins and outs of barbecuing, go for the book. It will have you salivating, I guarantee it.

Happy summer!
Kathy