Sweet Cherry Baby Back Ribs - 52 Sauces and Rubs for BBQ

There is just nothing in the world that screams BBQ like a big old plate O' RIBS!

But I was a bit conflicted... If you look close at the photo above you will see a shiny glazed set of ruby red ribs separated by a row of ranch dressing flavored Mac and Cheese (come back in a couple days for that post).  The ribs in the back ground are my "standard" slightly spicy ribs.  Now me, I love the spice and bite of my usual.  BUT, this was part of a big family and friends Whoop de Doo where I knew I was going to be hosting friends who prefer something sweeter.  The old battle cry of, "I hope those aren't spicey".  Sigh, but I do prefer to give the people what they want.

There are plenty of commercial rubs you can find at any well stocked BBQ Specialty store or order online.  But I always prefer to make my own.  I read up and couldn't really find anything that consistently worked.  So I started pondering... Here's what I came up with...

Unsweetened Black Cherry Kool Aid.  Yeap, really.

OK... Here;s what I did...

 2 Packages of Unsweetened Black Cherry Kool Aid (one package per rack of ribs).
1/4 Cup Paprika.
2 TBS Salt

1. Mix well.
2. Rub this into the ribs generously, top, sides and (once you remove the siverskin) bottom.
3. Wrap each rubbed rack of ribs with plastic wrap, sealing the edges.
4. Refrigerate and allow the rub to penetrate the meat for 24 hours.

By the time you have finished with the dry marinade time, the ribs will will be naturally wet and when you unwrap there will be a strong cherry smell that will linger after you cook them.

I did add another layer of rub, this time, no more koolaid, simply the "usual rub suspects"...

4 TBS Brown Sugar

2 TBS Onion Powder

2 TBS Garlic powder

2 TBS Mustard Powder

2 TBS Chili Powder (I just couldn't help myself).

1. Mix this well.
2. Sprinkle over the top sides and bottom of each rack of ribs
3. Allow ribs to rest and come to room temperature, for about 30 minutes.  DUring that time this second level of spices will be absorbed into the wet kool aid rub.

And now cook as you like... Oven, Smoker or grill.  Me, I smoked these in my handy dandy Weber Charcoal grill.  Click THIS POST to see those simple how to instructions.

Despite my initial reservations about sweet over heat rubs, these were fantastic.  The Kool Aid flavor was only hinted at and not over powering.  The little bit of Chili Powder added a bit of heat but no one had anything bad to say about them.  My friends that do not care for overly spiced BBQ were thrilled and many of them went back for seconds.

And besides... I had a nice bowl of SPICY Jack Daniel's Whiskey BBQ Sauce I had made up that added plenty of heat to the sweet!

These were served up as the crown of my Whoop de Doo BBQ for more than a dozen of my family and friends to celebrate a visit from my blogging buddy Larry, the Big Dude of the Big Dude's Eclectic Ramblings Blog.  

Larry has been RVing around the country and stopped by our little corner of the Universe.  I used this occasion to throw a Bobby Flay style BBQ Addiction Whoop de Doo with...

Fish, Fowl, Hoof, Larry, Snout and Fish!  

First up, the Fowl, that's a BBQ Turkey, brined and injected with Cajun Butter and Glazed with that Jack Daniel's Whiskey BBQ Sauce.

Second is the Hoof, a 30 Garlic Peppercorn Beef Roast.

Third is Larry hisself!

These Sweet Cherry Baby Back Ribs are second from the right 

And last but not least... the Fish is an absolutely amazing Cranberry Walnut sauce Sugar Cured Whole Salmon Filet.

But even Larry does not travel 4,000 miles in a rolling Studio Apartment on Meat alone... Come back all this next week for my side dishes, desserts and even a special Jell-o!

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So,  I am pleased to list this as one of my Growing list of  "52 Grilling Time Secret Extras" or "52 Ways to Cook BBQ and Grilling Recipes"!!!

Well over 52 recipes actually as I just can't stop... Over 100 in one grilling season (I love to grill!). But not just leat... Drinks, Condiments (LOTS of different BBQ sauces), Drinks, Desserts... even specialty items like GRILLED Pizza, and fun shaped Watermelons.  Easy and these ideas will make you the MASTER of your Backyard Domain!

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