Car Tipping Ribs

Barbecue ribs, as delicious as they are, force eaters to make too many decisions: short ends, long ends, baby back, spareribs, St. Louis style, half slab, full slab, McRib. Really, the choices are endless. We are big rib eaters here and normally order out. Sadly, our favorite rib joint went out of business after a fatal shooting in their parking lot. It's kind of hard to recover from that, apparently. Anyway, searching for alternatives, I decided to try Bon Appetit's recipe for "The Best Barbecue Ribs Ever" - they don't mess around and honestly, I think they are little full of themselves. Turns out, good ribs take at least two days to make. First you dry rub and bake, then cool in the fridge for a day or two to let the flavor develop. Then you grill and baste. Fairly simple given the time needed. Unfortunately, they were just okay. This is one of those things that you probably need a smoker (the good kind) to have perfect results.

Flinstones, meet the Flinstones, they're a modern stone age family. Think about that for a minute....both modern and stone age. Anyway, Fred, Wilma, Pebbles, Dino and of course the neighbors, Barney, Betty and Bam-Bam. Stellar cast for a show from the town of Bedrock, they really are a page right out of history. And, wouldn't it be great if we could ride with the family down the street, courtesy of Fred's two feet? It truly is a yabba-doo time, a dabba-doo time. If only the cat would stay out for the night, we'd have a gay old time.

The Recipe:

2 1/2 tbsp kosher salt
1 tbsp dry mustard
1 tbsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
8 lb baby back pork ribs (8 racks, not to be confused with 8-tracks) or St. Louis Style spareribs
low salt chicken broth (optional)
1 1/2 cups barbecue sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine first 5 ingredients in a small bowl. Place each rack of ribs on a double layer of foil; sprinkle rub all over ribs. Wrap racks individually and divide between two baking sheets.

Bake ribs until very tender, but not falling apart, about 2 hours for baby backs and 3 for spareribs. Carefully unwrap ribs; pour juices from foil into a heatproof 4-cup measuring cup; reserve juices. Let the ribs cool completely.Rewrap ribs in foil and chill for up to three days (the longer the better). Cover and chill the juices.

Build a medium-hot charcoal fire or heat a gas grill to high. Add broth (or water) to rib juices if needed to to measure 1 1 /2 cups. Whisk in barbecue sauce to blend. Grill ribs, basting with sauce mixture and turning  frequently, until lacquered and charred in places and heated through, 7-10 minutes (mine needed a bit longer). Transfer to a cutting board; cut between ribs to separate. Serve with additional sauce. Serves 8.