Best Baby Backs this side of the Mesa Verde, maybe even this side of Paradise.

I hate to brag.  And really, I’m not. I tweaked a recipe I found in Lund’s and Byerly’s Summer magazine.  All food. All recipes, cover to cover.  Thanks Mark for giving it to me because it yielded a meal I didn’t think I could make! I’m not sure I’ve ever made baby back ribs and if I have, they were not memorable.  It’s uncanny what you can do when you follow directions!

CAUTION.  Five of these ribs adds up to almost 800 calories.  My only meal today.  I guess I’m supposed to weigh-in tomorrow and after that get off my plateau… this week is the official, Beth-get-your-butt-back-in-gear-week.  That was, like, four weeks of vacation.  Enough already.

I’ve never peeled the meniscus off ribs but, look, it’s easy.  The membrane shouldn’t give too much trouble once you get an edge and use a paper towel for grip.  I did remember the rabbit I skinned when I was peeling this back.  Not much different except for the beautiful fat pulling away from the rib bones as the membrane comes up.  No worries.  That’s going to drip away as it roasts, leaving plenty of flavorful fat on top anyway.  Then it’s the marinade.  For 5 pounds of ribs, about twenty-seven ingredients:  2 tsp lime zest, 1/4 c chopped cilantro, 2 Serrano peppers, minced,(jalapeno or other if you want it hotter) 1/4 can orange juice concentrate, 3 T lime juice, 1/4 soy sauce, 2 T fresh oregano, 1 T chili powder, 1 tsp ground cumin, 1/2 ground coriander seeds, 1-2 T chopped canned chipotle chiles in adobo, 1/2 cup vegetable oil, 2 tsp kosher salt, 1 tsp coarse ground pepper, 1/2 cup h2O.  Okay, only fifteen.  But twenty-seven is close.

Reserve 1/2 cup for a dipping sauce. (which gets thickened at serving time.)

I bagged these yesterday and put them in the fridge for about thirty hours of flavor mixing.

The grill is a full tower, moved to one side when it’s ready.  See how it fits on our Weber?  This is in-direct grilling at about 300 degrees if you’re using a gas grill.  For 5 pounds of ribs, 1.5- 2 hours.  After one hour, I’m starting to get a little excited.

Look at how the flavor just bubbles up, sitting on the top. I picked and–dang, they taste good already.

While they finished I worked on the rest of the meal.  An easy bean dip.  You’ve probably made it.  A thin layer of sour cream on the bottom of a baking pan, (I like using glass) followed by a thin layer of canned refried beans, topped with cheddar.  When that all melts in a 350 oven, shredded lettuce and diced fresh tomatoes top it. Great as an appetizer or with the meal.  Mmmmmmmm.  Again, I picked.

Back to those beautiful baby-backs.  After an hour and forty, they were ready to rest under foil while we set the table, boiled up fresh sweet corn Mom brought from her brother, Jim.  His corn is famous for its tender, small kernels and consistent sweet honey-suckle flavor.  It did not disappoint.

I almost completely forgot the Mexican flavored potato and veggie salad.  Red and gold potato chunks boiled to tender.  Green beans, zucchini, yellow squash blanched.  Fresh herbs: cilantro, oregano, garlic, chives, serrano peppers. The dressing is 1 T dijon mustard, 1 T white wine vinegar, 1/2 cup olive oil, 2 T lemon juice, 1 tsp cumin, pinch of kosher salt and pepper.  Chilled at least two hours.I bet this will taste even better tomorrow.

But oh my gosh, back to the main attraction:

These are so tender, so juicy.

falling off the bone at just the right pressure

thoroughly seasoned, not slogged with sweet barbecue– although, believe me, I’m not knockin sweet sauce.  We had some bottled Famous Dave’s on the table.

The dipping sauce (from the 1/2 cup marinade reserved) gets another cup of orange juice and a tsp of corn starch mixed separately then added to the sauce, simmered over medium until thickened (about five minutes.)  It has some heat, some sweet, a great replay of the flavors.

I’m so glad Mom was over for Sunday dinner.  Garret, aka Boy Wonder (who gained ten pounds while I lost nothing) starts two-a-days for football tomorrow morning.  Technically his last day of summer, he stacked up a few naked bones on his plate.  Heath-cat and his girl, Megan licked the bones clean. “So much better than Rib -Fest!”  she said.  Heath leaves for BASIC training in nine days; ribs are one of his favorites.  Mom’s do that, you know.  Well, moms and good cooks always cook for the audience.  Good writers do the same.

So, once more for good measure:At Famous Dave’s we could have spent $75 ; we’d be hard pressed to eat in town for less than $50, all five of us.  Instead, we got the whole enchilada for half the cost grilling these babies out back and I-yi-yi, it was worth it! It’s a costly meal, calorie-wise, but absolutely delectable for a celebration fiesta!  Bon fire tonight at our house!  We’re eating Garbage Cookies, roasting marshmallows, staring into the fire, telling memories for Megan’s(and everyone’s benefit) and recounting one-liners from stupid movies!  Then my guys are off to manly adventures….  well fed, at least for today.

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