Sticky Cherry Barbecue Ribs

We've got guests for Memorial Day! We had a lonely two days without out of town company, but now we are back in business. Thus begins our busy summer season. When you live somewhere gorgeous and warm, with the added benefit of my parent's resort style backyard just a couple of doors down, we soak more company than we do summer sun. And we absolutely love it. Would you like to come for a visit? Our door is always open. But call ahead since the rooms fill fast. So with all this company, I'm rolling up my sleeves and heading to my lovely kitchen. The Quiet Man bought a few nice racks or ribs and I thought I'd tinker around with a sweet cherry barbecue sauce. I'm mighty glad that I did, because we've got a new overwhelming favorite. Even the non-meat eaters lapped up the cherry barbecue sauce on homemade onion rings (onion ring recipe coming soon). The carnivores ruled the day with these sticky-sweet-smoky and slightly spicy ribs, so tender they could fall right off the bone. I made a variation on my homemade barbecue sauce with a bit of reduced cherry cola, ketchup, mustard, oh, and a bit of this and that. After boiling, I added in some cherry snow cone syrup to give it a fresh pop of cherry flavor. You could also use cherry grenadine, or some pureed cherry preserves. It's the perfect way to say hello to summer days. And if you've got Memorial Day company, they may never want to leave. So plan accordingly.

Cherry Barbecue Sauce (Makes about 3 cups)
Estimated Cost: $4.00
1 12 ounce can cherry cola
2 cups ketchup
1 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup mustard
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 cup chili powder
1/3 cup cherry snow cone syrup, cherry grenadine syrup, or pureed cherry preserves thinned with water
Boil cherry cola in medium saucepan to reduce by half, about 20 minutes. Add remaining ingredients EXCEPT the cherry snow cone syrup. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Boil sauce for twenty minutes. Add syrup and boil one minute.

For the Ribs (8 servings)
Estimated Cost: (You should be able to get ribs for about $3.00 a lb over the holiday weekend. Shop the sales! I got mine for $1.99/lb) $8.00 -$12.00 for 4 lbs.
4 lbs country style ribs
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons paprika
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
THE NIGHT BEFORE. Pat ribs dry and place ribs in large roasting pan. Rub ribs all over with garlic powder, chili powder, paprika, brown sugar, salt and pepper. Cover with foil and refrigerate over night. THE MORNING OF: Bake ribs at 300, covered in foil, for 3 hours, turning once. (Store in fridge if you aren't going to be eating right away.) 30 MINUTES BEFORE SERVING: Grill ribs on medium hot grill, basting with plenty of cherry barbecue sauce. The ribs are already cooked through, so you will only grill them to give them the smoky flavor and to allow the sauce to carmelize on the ribs.

Next Up:
Onion Rings with the same Cherry Barbecue Sauce

Honey and Ginger Father's Day Ribs

Howdy Doody and Howdy Daddys. Sadly, I had no Internet yesterday on Nantucket Island when I desperately wanted to post this rib recipe. Then you might have gone to the market, marinated your ribs, and been able to eat these succulent babies for dinner with dad tonight. But just because they're especially good for Father's Day, don't let that stop you from eating them on any other nothing special day. Maybe dad will like them even better when he's not expecting them. The Quiet Man was swooning over the juicy ribs on this month's Bon Appetit cover, the inspiration for this recipe. The ingredients are slightly different, but the technique is the same. The Bon Appetit ribs called for no pre cooking, just 16 minutes on an open grill followed by 16 more minutes with the grill closed. Easy enough and so so so fantastic.

On this Father's Day, I'm in upstate New York with the charges, visiting the Quiet Man's parents. The Quiet Man himself flew straight home from Nantucket to put his noble nose back to the grindstone. On Monday, the Quiet Man's sister and her children (plus me and mine) will pile into her minivan and drive out west. (Her husband just finished medical school in Vermont and is starting a residency in Tucson.) We plan to survive on sour cream and onion Pringles, bottled water, Oreos, read-alouds of Harriet the Spy, my rubic's cube, the cousin's Star Wars DVDs, and lots of meaningful conversation. I think we can make it.

Give your dads a big hug and kiss today, and I'll send this one virtually to my Quiet Man. Happy Father's Day.

Money Saving Tips: Buy and freeze ribs when you can find them on sale. Most stores have rib sales right before summer holidays. (Albertson's does two for ones.) You can use fresh garlic, but it can get bitter on the grill if charred.

Honey and Ginger Ribs:

Estimated Cost: $8.00

Notes: Watch the grill closely in the last few minutes, or they might get a little too done, like one of ours.

1 rack baby back pork ribs, cut into 2 inch sections

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon ground ginger

2 teaspoons garlic powder

juice of one lime

Cut the slippery silver fat from the ribs carefully. In a small bowl, combine honey, sugar, salt and pepper, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, ginger, and garlic. Rub onto ribs and place in zip top bag to marinate for at least one hour and up to overnight. Preheat grill for medium hot cooking. Grill ribs for 8 minutes per side with the grill open. Close grill and grill ribs for an additional 8 minutes per side (32 minutes total). Squeeze lime over ribs before serving.

Next Up:

Those Best Ever Lemon-Blueberry Muffins

Baby Back Ribs with Tangy Root Beer Barbecue Sauce

Oh, baby....

Pardon me. I meant to say Oh, baby...back ribs with Root Beer Barbecue Sauce

Sloppy, tangy, meaty indulgence. Ribs aren't your typical Monday night dinner. But you can't very well serve bowls of cereal for Memorial Day, can you? Like most special meats, these ribs are a bit pricey. To lure holiday shoppers, my grocery store had them going for $3.99/lb. I'm hopeful you can find a similar deal, or my name isn't Prudence Pennywise. (Well, actually, it isn't, but I still say you can find a good deal.)

As sinfully delicious as these are, you won't want leftovers as they don't reheat too well. Make only enought to eat in one sitting. Oh don't cry-you can make some again soon. For my family of four, I made 3 lbs. Increase the quantity significantly if you invite my littlest (in age and possibly in jean size) sister Mary Kate. She won't stand for less than half a rack to herself and at 28 she still gets cranky if underfed.

You're going to need at least 24 hours of some easy advance preparation. First, you'll mop the ribs with Dijon mustard, then coat them with a savory spice rub, cut them into sections and marinate them in a fizzy can of root beer for 12-36 hours. Still with me?

Ribs should be precooked before heading out to the grill. Some people boil them, others stick them in the crock pot; I simply bake them wrapped tightly in foil for an hour. You can do that a day ahead, too. Flexible, huh? All they require from there, is a simple high heat fizzle on the grill. If you don't have a grill, they'll do fabulously well under a broiler.

Now, what sends these ribs from everybody's yummy to holiday superlative, is the Root Beer Barbecue Sauce. When you taste it, you won't think "Snoopy's soda pop," but you might glow golden from your fingertips and break out in hymns of praise. You'll need to boil down a couple of cans of root beer until thick and syrupy, and then simply stir it up with smoky barbecue sauce and Dijon.

I'm warning you now-make extra. You'll want extra to dip your ribs in, some on BBQ chicken next week, some to spread on a roast beef sandwich, and some to dip your onion rings in after that. You'll also need to save some plain root beer syrup for the most sensational Root Beer Freeze possible (coming tomorrow). Don't say I didn't warn you.

Baby Back Ribs with Tangy Root Beer Barbecue Sauce

Estimated Cost: $15.00 and worth every penny

For the Syrup:

3 cans root beer

For the Sauce:

about 1/2 cup Dijon Mustard

about 1/2 cup purchased smoky barbecue sauce

For the Ribs:

3 lbs. baby back ribs

1/4 cup dijon mustard

2 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon pepper

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon paprika

1 can root beer

In a large saucepan over high heat, bring root beer to a boil. Boil until reduced by half and syrupy, about 30 minutes. Cool to room temperature. (You'll have lots extra-plenty for root beer freezes.) In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup each dijon, barbecue sauce, and root beer syrup. Whisk until smooth and set aside.

For the ribs, cut ribs into sections-about 3-4 bones per person. Rub generously with Dijon and sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic, powder, and paprika. Please don't measure-just eyeball it. Let sit for 15 minutes. Place in large zip top bag and pour rootbeer over the top, zip top and refrigerate. Let marinate for 12-36 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheet with foil. Discard marinade. Wrap ribs tightly in foil and bake on cookie sheet for 60 minutes. (At this point you can refrigerate ribs again, or head directly to the grill.) Brush ribs generously with Root Beer sauce and place on preheated grill. Grill for 10-20 minutes, turning once, and basting with sauce often until ribs are nicely carmelized. (They are already fully cooked, so you are just going for that great crispy, burnt sugar coating.)

Coming Tomorrow: Root Beer Freezes with Root Beer Syrup