Stick To Your Ribs

When my husband and I migrated back out west to Seattle in 2007 we were lucky enough to have a built in social system of other student's from his grad school that had also moved here. I love the diverse backgrounds and cultures of the student's that Dan went to school with and I have had the opportunity to try many new types of cuisine because of it. In particular, our friend Vlad was a foodie kindred spirit for me. While Vlad lived here we had many excellent home cooked meals - an invitation to dinner at his house was not to be passed up - and I truly miss his company now that he has moved to Los Angeles to pursue a new career opportunity. I have recounted to many people the night Vlad and his lovely wife invited us over for a beef taste test. They had purchased three different types of steak - organic, grass fed and just a regular cut from the grocery store and we each tasted the steaks to compare texture and flavor. It was eye opening to say the least and made me think of beef in a whole new way (I believe we all agreed the grass fed tasted best....we had a lot of wine that night so it's a bit hazy). But, the meal that really stands out in my head is when Vlad cooked us his baby back ribs.

About a year ago Vlad invited us over for a weekend dinner. Little did we know we were about to eat the best ribs we ever had. Since then I have made the ribs three times. I even made them for Vlad one time to make sure I had them right. In truth, the recipe is very simple - but the end result will please even the most discerning rib eater. I made the ribs again last weekend for my husband's family and they were a hit, so I decided to ask Vlad if I could share his recipe with you. Thankfully, he agreed. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. This recipe will serve 6-10 people depending on how hungry you are.

Vlad's Amazing Ribs

Ingredients:

2-3 racks baby back ribs, Costco and Trader Joe's sell pretty good ones

1/4 - 1/2 cup dry rub (I like Grill Mates Sweet & Smoky Rub)

1 - 2 cups BBQ Sauce, just choose what you like

Instructions:

Remove ribs from packaging and pat dry. Rub with dry rub until all sides of each rack are covered. Let sit for 12-24 hours, covered, in the fridge. I usually put one rack each on cookie sheets.

When you are ready to cook the ribs, remove them from the refrigerator and let them sit on the counter while you preheat your oven to the broiler setting. Once the oven is at broiling temp, cook the ribs for five minutes on each side. If you are using two pans, do them one at a time - you want to get a good crust on them at this point. Lower oven temperature to 200 degrees F and cook ribs, covered in foil, for 4-8 hours. At this point you can have both cookie sheets in the oven at the same time. Just try to get them as close the the center as possible for even heating. Four hours is minimum, anything more than 8 is a bit much - but they will be delicious anywhere between 4 and 8 hours.

Slather ribs in BBQ sauce just before serving. If you put the sauce on earlier it will scorch.