What’s for Dinner?! Fall-off-the-Bone Baby Back Ribs…

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I don’t know what it is about Memorial Day weekend that gets me in the mood to grill, but yesterday when I made my trip to Sam’s Club and saw Smithfield baby back ribs for $2.99/lb, I couldn’t resist.  It’s been a little while since I’ve given you a recipe anyhow, and I promise that this one won’t disappoint.  It’s from none other than one of my most favorite cookbooks, Fresh Everyday, by Sara Foster.  The woman just knows how to make good food!

I took a bunch of step by step pictures to demystify it all for you.  The whole process takes a few hours but it’s easy peasy!  I doubled it to take half to some friends who moved into a new house today, so just know that you won’t have the same size pile that I did if you follow this exactly.

The ribs can be baked (through step 3) up to a day in advance, but you’ll need to leave them on the grill a few minutes longer to make sure they heat all the way through.
 
Serves 4 to 6
2 slabs baby back ribs (about 3 1/2 pounds)
1 large onion, sliced
1 12-ounce bottle of beer
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 cups homemade barbecue sauce or your favorite bottled sauce

 1. Preheat the oven to 325ºF.

2. To remove the membrane from the back of the ribs take a small dull knife, like an oyster or table knife, and pry the tip of the knife between the membrane and bone at the edge of the ribs in the center of the slab. Lift to separate the membrane from the bone, then grab the membrane with your fingers and pull it off and discard.

3. Spread the onion slices evenly on a baking sheet with sides and place the ribs, bone-side down, on top.

Pour the beer over the ribs, season with salt and pepper, and cover tightly with foil. Bake undisturbed for 2 hours.

4. Prepare a fire in a charcoal grill and let the coals burn to a gray ash with a faint red glow, or until you can hold your hand 3 to 4 inches above the fire for no more than 6 seconds. (I have a gas grill and heated it to about 375-400 degrees to grill them.)

5. Brush both sides of the ribs with the barbecue sauce and place them, meat side down, over the coals. Grill the ribs for 10 to 15 minutes, or until charred, basting several times. Turn the ribs and baste the cooked side liberally. Close the lid of the grill and cook the ribs 10 to 15 minutes longer, basting often. Cut the slabs into individual ribs, pile them onto a large platter, and serve warm.  (I didn’t take pictures of this part…I figured it’s pretty easy to brush sauce on, put them on the grill, and then cut them apart.)  I did mine for about 13 minutes on each side, and here’s how they turned out!  They were SOO good.  Even Little Bit ate them til the bones were completely clean!

So Happy Memorial Day weekend!  Fire up your grills and get cooking!  If you’re not a ribs person, but more in the mood for burgers, then hop back over to the post I did awhile back for some mouthwatering Andouille Sausage Burgers that will knock your socks off!!!