JOHN McCAIN BABY BACK RIBS

Yep, I watched Rachel Ray with my wife last week and Senator McCain and wife Cindy was there showing her how he does his ribs. He said he’s had up to 4 grills going at once and loves to cook that way. He said, “The longer you’re grilling, the longer you’re with friends!”

He explained how he does his baby back ribs:

Ingredients

• 1 rack baby back ribs
• Equal parts garlic powder, salt and pepper, combined in a shaker to make a rub
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges

So, I tried it, but unfortunately my grill will not reduce heat below 225 degrees. Therefore, after cooking them for about an hour and a half, bone down, they came out over done! My bad! I moistened them ever 20 minutes, with the lemon juice, and adding more of the rub mixture, and didn’t even turn them “meat down” until the last 10 minutes, but they still came out dry. Even adding my sauce didn’t save this meal. Luckily we had a great baked potato to fill us up.

I’m going back to my brother-in-law’s method, my method, or at lease cut the cook time on this one in half!

Sorry John!

BTW, while I was at it, I threw on a rump roast for a future meal! It did turn out well, because it was thicker perhaps!

RIBS FOR MEMORIAL DAY 2007

My brother-in-law Gary does a wonderful job with ribs and this Memorial Day he again treated to that wonderful taste, that only he can bring out of ribs! Last year, if you remember, he treated on his houseboat. Well, there is no houseboat this year…just some backyard fun!

Since there was ten of us to feed, he had two grills going in order to satisfy all the appetites that hungrily watched every move he made.

I have posted his process before HERE! I just wanted to share them with you one more time and make your mouth water!

Go to the link embedded above for the details, but basically you begin by boiling them and then finish up by grilling and glazing them!

QUICK AND TASTY RIBS

We were a little rushed for our evening meal tonight and there was little to be found in the pantry. However, I finally found a rack of frozen baby back ribs in the freezer, a packet of heat and eat rice pilaf, and enough lettuce, carrots, onion, and tomatoes for a small salad each.

The quickest way to get juicy tender ribs is to boil them for 45 minutes on low to medium heat.

I cut the rack in to so they would fit into my boiler, filled with water that just covered the meat, poured in a beer (not one of favorites – too precious to waste), added salt, garlic powder, and a little cayenne pepper for subtle flavor.

While the boiling was going on I opened a Blue Moon for myself and relaxed.

I then took the ribs out of the water and placed them on a slightly oiled Pampered Chef baking dish. I covered both sides of the ribs in sweet honey barbeque sauce and tomato catsup. I baked them for 1 hour, taking them out in 30 minutes to recover them in more sauce.

That left time for another Blue Moon!

Say hello to my little ribs! Delicious!

OVEN BAKED RIBS

Got no grill? No problem!

RIBS:
Rub the ribs (both sides) in garlic powder, salt, and black pepper – then pour on and rub in your favorite barbeque sauce as I did these. Pour a can of beer, some kind you don’t like, in for moisture. Bake in a throwaway aluminum pan for 3.5 hours on between 350 and 400 degrees.

Set the time for one hour each time, take the ribs out, and brush on more sauce, and maybe a little honey.

I you don’t want to bake that long, boil the ribs in enough beer to cover them for 1 hour, then bake for another hour or until the meat comes off the bone the way you like it.

Serve with potato salad, baked beans, and beer rolls!

POTATO SALAD:
Boil 4 or 5 medium sized potatoes until a fork will easily slip into them through the skin. Let the potatoes cool, peel them, and cut them into bite size chunks.

Boil two egg to well done – about 5 to 6 minutes. Let them cool, or run cold water over them, peel, and cut into small pieces (whites and yellows).

Dice up 2 or 3 carrots.

Now, mix all the ingredients into a large bowl. Dab in 2 or 3 tablespoons of Miracle Whip or Mayonnaise as needed for moisture and taste. Plop in 1 or 2 tablespoons of sweet pickle relish. Add salt and black pepper to taste. MIX! Then put it into the refrigerator to cool until ready to be eaten.

BAKED BEANS:
Pour a large can of baked beans (I used Bush’s Country Style) into an oven safe glass bowl. On top of th beans add one diced onion, 2 or 3e tablespoons of ketchup, and 1 or 2 tablespoons of mustard, and about 3 heaping tablespoons of brown sugar – MIX!

Bake in the oven at 400 degrees only long enough for the onions to cook completely.

BEER MUFFINS:
In a medium bowl, fill about halfway with Bisquick Pancake Mix and add 2 tablespoons of sugar, and then add beer until the mixture is just moist enough to pour out of a spoon but is still thick. Spray cooking oil or baker’s spray in a muffin pan that has about 12 slots. Fill the holes about half way.

Place the muffin pan in an oven heated to about 350 degrees and cook for 12 to 15 minutes. The muffins will be brown on the bottom before the top shows, so test the muffins by flipping on over after the time expires. Cook longer if needed.

Put all this on the table and get out of the way!

A nice pink Chablis went well with these, but most anything will!