You do not have to be a great cook, to cook pork ribs that fall off the bone. You can even have a meal like this on a work night. With a little planning, it is easy. First of all, ribs are not just a summer thing, and ribs don't always have to be cooked on a grill. After reading this blog, you may never cook ribs any other way.
A Northeaster, moved in last night, and yesterday. The drop in temperature caused the smoke alarm to go off. This happen last year and scared the you know what out of us. Five years ago, our house burned the eve of Christmas Eve at 1 o'clock in the morning. The old heater never did it, but well, this is not the other house either. Enough of that.
As I always tell the young one, " Back in the cowboy days, when I was young we............". We were able to buy pork ribs cheap. Thanks to the Blacks in the South, we have slow cooked ribs that fall off the bone. Guess first we need to catch ribs on sale, because they are not cheap any more. Someone went and let the secret out. The thing is, I have gone to so many cookouts where they ruined the ribs. I could just cry, it is a sin to ruin the ribs. Bar-B-Q is not about the sauce.
Now, buying ribs in the store is easy. People ask me how to pick ribs, because theirs are tough, and I say I pick by price. They are ribs, you are buying a bunch of bones with a little meat on them. Try to get as much meat as you can, but they are really all the same. The whole thing in a nut shell is, they just was never told the right way to cook them. While you are at the store to look at spices. Don't freak out their are 100's to pick from, just like sauces. I always hear that in the south they use a mustard Bar-B-Q sauce. I never have, not that they are not good too. It is all up to taste, and I like to change it up. Bar-B-Q, and Bar-B-Q sauce, are two different things. Bar-B-Q, is the cooking of meat, slow. Grilling is what you do cooking hamburgers in the back yard. Bar-B-Q, can be done on a grill, or in the oven in your house. A Gas Grill is the same as cooking in the house except no flies. Charcoal Grilling, or better yet,Oak, or Hickory, wood make good Bar-B-Q.
We are going to cook our ribs in the oven. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees, and take the ribs out of the package, and place in baking pan. Your ribs will be great if all you do is this, and cover with tin foil. In the spice department in your grocery store, they have all kinds of rubs. I have three different ones in my cabinet. One for chicken, one pork, and one called Sweet and Smoky, for ribs. Do Not put sauce on it yet, but you can put rub. Place the covered pan in the oven, and close the door. Now, what next? In about 15 or 20 minutes come back and turn the oven down to 200 degrees, then it is up to you.
We are cooking slow, I mean take the kids to the park slow. If you want to be gone all day, turn it down to 125-150. We are going to keep ours at 200, and put some collards on, to put in the freezer. Right now I going to tell you how to make the best bake potato ever. Take that scrubber thing like you use on pots, and pans, hopefully a new one. Under running water scrub the outside of the potato vigorously. Then take a fork and poke forty, eleven, million, holes into the potatoes. Place each potato in a square of aluminum with a 1/4 stick of margarine on each side. Seal, margarine and potato, and place in oven with ribs. Do this before turning the temperature down, and cook together. Yum mm.
While you go read a good book, and enjoy this beautiful day. I'm going outside in this crisp-Autumn air, and wash greens. I have been putting them in the freeze all week. Today is a mixture, of greens. Spinach, and Mustard Greens, to go with the mushrooms and cherry tomatoes I bought, and make a salad. I find washing them in 5 gal. buckets is best, and keeps the mess outside. Washing, back and forth 4 to 6 times, gets all the dirt off, and ready to cook.
After removing stems, leaves from the trees, and anything else that doesn't belong, they are ready to cook. This takes a long time so, now still with time on my hands, I'm going to crack pecans. Every year at this time I crack nuts, well pecans, for cooking. Received a bag of pecans from some local trees, and that makes it even better. Local grocery stores have them already cracked, and quite often we buy them. The first one I cracked was rotten, as were others, but I did get this bag full. Plus, the best part is I got to eat some.
One nice thing is, hopefully, something good is on TV. This being Halloween weekend every thing is zombies. I'm not much on gore, but what shah-gonna-do. One thing is, I bought a pack of brownie mix for a dollar, at the Dollar Store. They don't make that many, but they had packs of; peanut butter, sugar, chocolate chip cookie, and brownie mix. I bought one of each. Put a hand full of pecans in the chopper, and added it to the brownie mix. Sorry no picture, with ever thing we are cooking I thought it would be to much for you.
OK, let us speed this up 3, or 4 hours, and check on those ribs. We have the greens on top of the stove smelling up the house, with wonderful flavors. Open the oven door, and you have pleasure written all over your face. Use pot holders, and set it on top of the stove. Now is the time to put on the sauce. Once again it is all a matter of taste, and you don't have to add sauce. The true taste of that slow cooking, is great all by it self. Now that is Bar-B-Q!
We, are going to use KC Masterpiece, on this masterpiece. I should get paid for plugging them, but I don't. That is just what I like. Like I said before, it is not sauce that makes good Bar-B-Q, it is slow cooking. Now, pour off some of the juice, and spread generous amount of sauce. Put the tinfoil back on, and turn the oven up to 350 degree for about 30 minutes. Every one in the house is saying when are we going to eat? Just tell um, it il-be ready, when I say it's ready, and not before. Then go back to reading your book knowing you are the master of the universe.
After 30 minutes or so, take the ribs back out. Re-move the tin foil, spread some more sauce, and place back in oven without the foil. Turn the oven to 450 for about 20 minutes. Watch inside the oven, for the sauce to dry up some. Add butter toast or french bread, and take out potatoes. I hope at some point you made the salad, because I forgot to add it to the blog.
If you have never had Bar-B-Q, that falls off the bone before, do not try to remove the ribs from pan to serve. Serve it right from the pan on the stove. Trust me, no one will mind. Just tell them to get in line, behind you. Notice when you open the foil off of your potato, the moist yellow color from the butter. Eat it skin and all, it is much better for you that way. The ribs I bought, were not on sale, and just $13.00. This is a meal for two days at my house. I bought a Corn beef, that same day for $9.00. Guess what my next blog is?
Finger Lick-en
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