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Sunday, January 17, 2010

Spareribs - Ribs 101 - Christmas '09 follow up

Is it the return of RIBS 101??? And what on earth does a plate of ribs have to do with that long series of posts from the Christmas Eve dinner???

All will be detailed...

Well, first, let's get the Christmas '09 thing out of the way. I did not make these for Christmas. But, it took almost a full week to eat all the leftovers we had from Christmas. I worked very hard on that meal, 12 menu items, made over 12 hours, all having to do with restaurant recreations. Drinks, appetizers, salads, main courses and much more, and everything worked VERY well! If you've forgotten already, click HERE and read over the dozen posts and recipes. But, even though it was not made within a week of Christmas, this does have a connection...

After our very romantic day long meal, and after a week of leftovers, I asked Jackie what she wanted me to make next time I cooked something new. Her answer, "RIBS"! What a woman! If that isn't the most romantic four letter word, I don't know what is.

Just last month, I did a very detailed look at how to make a great rack of spareribs IN THE OVEN, instead of in a smoker (as I would normally do it). You can check the extensive details of how to do that by clicking HERE. I am not going to redo that tutorial, just reinforce a few of the items covered...

When I buy spareribs, I get them 2 to a cryovac package. So, I always make 2 different combinations of a wet and dry rub. For these two, I made a Cajun Barbecue/mustard rub combination, and a Peanut sauce/Chinese 5 spice combination. All are commercially available items, except I had a bag of black/white/sea salt (equal parts) sesame seed rub that I added to the peanut sauce.

What to do with those rubs is very extensively covered in my original spareribs post...
Ribs 101 - Class, we are making SPARERIBS !!!.

The only thing I really want to reinforce is the need to remove that tough nasty skin or membrane that is on ribs. When cooked, this membrane gets tough, chewy and just nasty. It takes a little effort, and is covered in the tutorial, but it really does need to get removed. There is a wonderful step by step photo post for removing the skin already on the net. Click HERE for that lesson.

Here's a picture inside my oven. If you double click the image, the magic of the Internet will make the photo bigger. You will see two racks of ribs, curled and held together with wooden skewers, as well as the two slabs of "flap meat" that I will be using in Ribs 101 leftover posts shortly. The whys and hows of this setup have already been covered in Ribs 101 - Class, we are making SPARERIBS !!!.

Low and Slow.... 225 degree oven for 6 hours. At the 5 hour point, I added a bit of BBQ sauce, and another layer of peanut sauce to the 2 racks
.

And here's your first use of leftovers posting that RIBS 101 has become famous for. Take the drippings from all 4 dishes. Deglaze these pans with a little wine. Move all the drippings to a sauce pan. Add a cup of milk and stir over medium simmering heat. Keep stirring til you get a gravy thickness that you like. If you prefer, you can speed the process up by adding 1/4 teaspoon of corn starch.

I worked hard on getting that romantic dinner together for my wife... But really ladies, guys will be nodding their heads in agreement, Ribs, taters and gravy ...

When a woman asks you to make her RIBS...

Now, That's ROMANCE!

19 comments:

  1. My wife is a fellow rib lover. I will have to give these a whirl!

    Thanks!

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  2. Pork ribs, mashed taters and gravy, creamed corn - you sure you don't live in the South? Looks good.

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  3. You guys really feast in your household! Low and slow is my favorite way to prep ribs too.

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  4. This, obviously, was a match made in heaven :-). I speak now of you and Jackie. The ribs sound great, too.

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  5. I'm craving ribs...soon, very soon..

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  6. My husband would have thought he died and went to heaven with your rib post. Ribs is one of our favorite dishes. He loves to make ribs...I will definitely have to share this post with him.

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  7. I'm licking my lips.... yum

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  8. No surprise. Those women have been after our ribs ever since Adam and Eve! (ha ha ha ha ha, just kidding)

    What were your thoughts on the two different flavor profiles? One better than the other? Either better than your normal BBQ ribs? Inquiring minds want to know;)

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  9. If my husband made ribs, I don't know what I'd do. Seriously. Swoon.

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  10. i'm suggesting these to my husband!

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  11. Ribs are a calorie fest. I'm being a wet blanket; I know. Man, I love ribs...

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  12. That is romance! I am surprised that your wife and so many female bloggers love ribs so much. I certainly would love these ribs, but it wouldn't be me requesting them. This will come in handy when I need to impress my husband. I don't want to set the bar too high too soon though. We are just beginning. LOL!

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  13. I'm going to make hubby read this post and we are going to have ribs the right way! I can almost smell and taste these...YUM!

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  14. Your ribs look absolutely fantastic!!!!
    Had to laugh at the comment you left on my chili post. I lived in Chicago for 33 years, so I shoveled plenty of "rain."

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  15. I'm a huge rib lover! I actually turned my husband on to them over the last few years. I love the flavors, gettin' all greasy and messy...gnawing on the bone. I could eat ribs all day long! These look and sound delicious. : )

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  16. Oh wow, your ribs look fantastic!! I'm going to show my hubby this post right now since he usually cooks them for us :)

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  17. I can smell them from here! Wow, you are some cook. My husband needs to visit your blog. He's the baker in our little combo, but cook most dinners. He does breakfast, however, or we would never eat it.

    I like how your ingredients are easily obtained and your step by step instructions. Very helpful.

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  18. Dave, I would ask for these as well. They look out of this world.

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