babyback rib recipe

Need something awesome for your superbowl party? Want to make your honey jump up and kiss you? This recipe is finger lickin' good, but beware! If you serve it to your friends, there won't be any leftovers!

There are several easy steps to making good babyback or baby back ribs, and if you follow this one, your friends and family will come back for seconds and thirds, and...well, you get it.

Never underestimate the benefits of the right equipment. Who was it that said, "The right tool for the job?" The same thing goes for the kitchen.

First decide where you are going to make your ribs: inside or outside? Inside, you'll use a broiler, so make sure your smoke detector and your kitchen have adequate ventilation and that your oven is clean. This recipe will work in electric ovens as well as gas ovens, but I prefer gas ovens as you can fine tune the flames that will be affecting your ribs.

Inside, you'll need a pan in which to broil the ribs; outside you'll need whatever protection you use on your grill. Outside I prefer charcoal to gas for the reason that it gives the ribs a nice smoky flavor.

Other than that, you will need a container in which to make the sauce, a basting brush, a fork to use for turning and a big pot in which to marinate the ribs. Of course, you also need the food ingredients, but that comes next. 

This will treat two racks of babyback ribs (or one large rack of spare ribs)

1/2 cup of catsup

1/4 cup of triple sec

1tablespoon of brown sugar

1/4 cup of soy sauce

1tablespoon of vineagar

1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes

1 clove of garlic, crushed

mix all ingredients and allow to stand for at least half an hour.

(if you don't want to use triple sec, mix 3 tablespoons of honey with 1 tablespoon of pulpless orange juicea and add about 1/4 tsp grated orange rind. allow this mixture to blend overnight. it should make a little over 1/4 cup) 

Marinate the ribs by placing then in a pot with

1 medium onion, sliced

4 cloves of garlic,

6 bay leaves,

2 teaspoons thyme,

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons vineagar.

Use enough water to cover the ribs: curl them around inside a stockpot if you don't want to cut them up. Divide the marinade recipe if you need to use two pots. 

Add marinade ingredients, bring to a boil and simmer for exactly 45 minutes. 

Broil the ribs on the grill or in the oven. Turn the ribs every 60 seconds or so and baste each time with the basting sauce. After about 5 minutes the ribs will be coated and you can either remove them from the heat or continue basting until the ribs are thickly coated. The sugar in the sauce will make it stick to the ribs.

Next, hide some of the ribs (this is an important step!)

Finally, arrange the ribs on a tray and serve them with your favorite drinks. During the stampede, retreat to the kitchen and enjoy your stash. Look confused and shrug when asked for thirds.

The sauce recipe is good for two medium size racks of babyback ribs.

The entire preparation process is going to take about an hour.

This recipe will serve 10 - 12 people and it can be halved.

There is alcohol in the recipe but I will provide a non-alcoholic alternative.