I’m BACK….baby

So, naturally its time to talk about baby back ribs! I know its another terrible pun, but I honestly did plan to blog on baby back ribs.

Anyway, I really can’t take full credit for this meal because its my mom’s famous, amazing recipe and we made them while we were on vacation in Michigan. And they were awesome!

I know people tend to have really strong opinions about barbecue and probably ribs in particular (baby back or spare? pork or beef? smoke or grill? dry rub or sauce) so I understand some people are probably skeptical about trying a new recipe….but I guarantee that these are super good (not to mention very, very easy to make).

My guess is that all the protectiveness about barbecue recipes come from the fact that its such an American tradition and a really nostalgic food for most. I think everyone can relate to warm summer nights with barbecue smeared on their cheeks while Mom or Dad manned the grill. We’re certainly just as opinionated — we made these on July 4th and everyone at the table (all 9 of us) had been giddy with anticipation for days! And they were worth every messy, delicious, sweet, falling-off-the-bone bite!

The key to this recipe is cooking the ribs in the oven on very, very low heat for several hours. The kind the my mother buys (I think she usually gets them from Sam’s Club) come wrapped in cellophane and she doesn’t even take them out of the wrapping before she cooks them. If the kind you buy don’t come that way, wrap them in a few layers of aluminium foil before throwing them in the oven.

Before serving, we unwrap them (carefully…they really are falling off the bone at that point) and toss them on the grill over medium-high flames for a few minutes on each side….just long enough to get some good char marks. Then a nice bath of sauce and onto the table.

About the sauce….true connoseurs make their own sauce, but as you can clearly spot from the picture…we don’t. We tend to really like a mixture of Sweet Baby Rays regular and spicy sauces As it says on the label, “The sauce is boss,” although if you have a special homemade recipe or even another favorite brand I’m not going to argue with you. Barbecue is a personal thing afterall!

Speaking of personal things…and before I get the recipe…I want to thank my friend Rachel for giving me an award last week (so much happening while I was out!). Thank you Rachel…I’m glad I’ve inspired your newfound cooking skills and I’m excited for more updates on your adventures in ovulation (with JiT’s and my wedding less than 9 months away now, your posts continue to enlighten me about married life).

In keeping with the “rules” for this award, and in honor of paying it forward, I shall pass this award on to a few of my favorite bloggers:

First off: Mandy — for your bravery and mad skills in the kitchen. The fact that you tackled homemade bread as your first project still facinates me. Way to go girl! For anyone not familiar with Many yet — her blog is a great look at life in a small town. Just reading it makes my pulse slow down and has me craving a glass of lemonade!

Bayjb: Because you crack me up every single day.

Foodmomiac and Simplified Mom: Each of you gives me a glimpse at the unique day-to-day challenges and rewards of being a mom….a job thats obviously exponentially harder than most of the world gives you credit for!

Sweet Paul: Congratulations on your engagement and also because you are amazingly talented, your photos are gorgeous and all of your meals and projects are ridiculously creative!

There are some rules to this award so here they go:

If you already have the award just accept and that’s all you have to do.

1. You have to pick 5 blogs that you consider deserving of this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and also contribute to the blogging community, no matter what language.
2. Each award has to have the name of the author and a link to his/her blog to be visited by everyone.
3. Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that presented her/him with the award.
4. The award winner and one who has given the prize have to show the link “Arte y Pico” blog so everyone will know the origin of this award.
5. Show these rules.

Okay…now that we’ve got business out of the way, on to the ribs!!

Momma Bear’s Baby Back Ribs
Serves 4 (if you’re lucky)

2 slabs pork baby back ribs (again, we get ours from the meat counter at Sam’s Club)
3 cups of your favorite barbecue sauce

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. If your ribs came wrapped in cellophane (check at the meat counter of your store to make sure its oven-safe to 200 degrees), just leave them in the cellophane. Otherwise, wrap each slab tightly in a few layers of aluminium foil and place evenly on a large jelly roll pan. Put the ribs in the oven and cook for 2-3 hours.

Remove ribs from the oven, and when cool enough to touch remove the cellophane or foil. Heat your grill to a medium high-flame and place each slab of ribs over heat just long enough to get a nice char on each side (5-10 minutes per side at most). Turn them carefully or they may fall apart on you!! During the last few minutes of cooking, brush with barbecue sauce to coat.

Transfer to a clean platter and serve immediately with additional barbecue sauce and plenty of napkins.

P.S. In case you’re wondering about “Momma Bear” that’s JiTs nickname for my mother. Isn’t he cute?