Rick Day Ribs Recipe & Cooking Hints
By Peter Lenkefi, Fri Dec 9th

Pork ribs are purchased in SLABS, consisting of about 15 bonesin each slab. A RACK is a SLAB cut in half (6-8 bones). Ribscome in four categories, defined by the location on the hogs ribcage they are cut from: COUNTRY STYLE...these are more like porkchops and not considered a true rib...pork chop shaped bone. Atopposite end of loin backs. Sold in pieces. LOIN BACK....this isthe cut closest to the spine..where the tenderloin is located..Short and very curved bones. Sold in slabs or half-slabs (racks)and usually weigh 2 and down (1.75 - 2 pounds a slab). (The BABYBACK is simply a loin back off a baby hog..or hog under 85# whendressed Babyback slabs usually weigh 1 3/4 and down. Sold inslabs, it is a Gourmet cut of meat....) SPARE....more of themiddle and lower section of the ribcage. Spares have flat ovalbones. Largest of the rib categories..and usually have an extrapiece of meat on the underside of the rib, called the Brisket,or tip, which is trimmed off prior to cooking. Usually weighs 3and down. For BBQ'ing, spares are trimmed somewhat similar theshape of the State of Tennessee..flat on left, angled onright..and straight even on top and bottom, with brisket removed(and cooked separate, if desired, known as the 'trash ribs') ST.LOUIS CUT...this is a cut of ribs that is the border areabetween the loin and the spare...in essence..it is a flat ovalshaped bone slab, similar to the spare, but from the top itlooks like a loin back. Great for outdoor BBQ'ing for friends,and a must for Texas Style competitions. Which is best to cook?Well...I guess it depends on how much room you have on yourgrill, and what is the occasion. Spares are for feeding themasses..and the loin backs are better for small dinners orpicnics, on smaller grills. Figure on providing a full slab forheavy eaters and a rack for normal appetites. The best place tobuy Loin back Ribs now in small quantities is Sam's Club. Theycome 3 slabs to the cryrovac package. I know lots ofprofessional BBQ cookers who get their championship ribs fromSam's. You should never pay more than: $6-7 a slab for loins, $6for spares, and $6-7 a slab for St. Louis. RIBS The twomost critical points of any type of BBQ is....time andtemperature....both low and slow! This is how I prepare Ribs forCompetition: I choose Loin back's 2 and down...and keep themiced down (not Frozen) before time to cook. While I start myfire and get the grill up to a warm temp. of about 180 F, I takethe ribs out and set them on a table to come close room temp.(as you should with ALL meats you grill or BBQ). I take a slaband remove the back membrane by twisting and bending the slablike an accordion, and then placing the slab on a flat surfaceand running a small Phillips head screwdriver down a bone in theMIDDLE of the slab, CAREFULLY separating the bone from themembrane (also known as the tallow). Working the blade of thescrewdriver slowly sideways on one end of the slab, until aspace big enough for my index finger to enter the pocket createdbetween the bone and the membrane. I then CAREFULLY work to theopposite end of the slab..until two, then three fingers are tothe other side....then I lift STRAIGHT UP AND AWAY FROM THEmiddle of the slab...this pulls the membrane away from themiddle of the slab and slowly releases from the slab...until itis joined only at the tips....just lift this membrane off anddiscard it. REMEMBER to take your time for the first one..and itgets easier to do as you go along. Just work the membrane offslowly and try to remove it as one piece, if some of it tearsand stays on the slab, don't worry..just leave it. You do nothave to do this part..but it is worth the effort! REMOVEMEMBRANES ON LOIN BACK'S ONLY!!! Spares are darned nearimpossible to totally remove! Next..I trim the two end bones offeach tip...leaving a 12 bone slab. I do this because it looksbetter, cooks better, and sometimes there are bone fragments inthe tips, no fun for judges to bite into! Then...while the fireis still heating, I squirt some Italian Dressing on both sidesof the ribs. This adds a unique flavor and gives the dry rubsomething to stick to while the ribs are smoking. I thensprinkle a dry rub on both sides of the slab. Try OLD BAYseasoning, found in the seafood section of Kroger by the meatcase. All that Rendezvous Seasoning utilizes is Old bay withsome cracked white peppercorns!! You can make you own dry rubfrom scratch, make it spicy or mild. This is the fun part ofribs..the experimentation with the rub. You don't have to rubthe spice, just sprinkle over the top, bottom (if you get themembranes off) ends and sides of the slab. A good rule of thumbis to make sure there is no unspiced red meat exposed anywhere!WARNING: Stay away from large amounts of salt in your rub, itdraws moisture out of this delicate cut of meat, and will dry itout! SUGAR in the rub will caramelize during and willblacken your ribs unnecessarily. Leave the rub on about 10minutes before putting the slabs on the grill. NEVER put theribs on the cooker meat side down, always put the slab BONE SIDEto the fire, You should rotate your slabs if the fire is hotteron one side of the grill than

the other...or rotate the slabs180 degrees, but don't move them from their starting spots, etc.Point is, don't expose meats to a hot spot on the grill for verylong, but keep them rotated, so that all the pieces get some ofthe hot spot! If you are on a gas grill, it isimperative you do the following: Cook at as low a temp. as youcan without your burner flaming out. Cook as far away from theflame as you can, if a double burner, put meat over the unlitside, for example. AVOID FLAIRUPS!! Remember..time andtemperatureYou MUST introduce smoke to the meat, or it will notbe BBQ. Period. Use some hardwood pellets or moistened Chips ofhickory or mesquite combo applied to your lava rocks. Oak isfine. NEVER USE RESINOUS WOOD, such as cedar or pine..the resincan impart toxins to the meat and make everyone sick. Smokeflavor is imparted to meats only within the first 2 hours and atbelow temps of 200F. Excessive smoking can only serve to blackenthe meat, or overpower the flavor with smoke. After two hoursthe meat 'seals' and nothing else can penetrate the meat...thatis why the low temps are so critical to imparting the BBQ spicesand smoke deeper into the meat early on in the process. If youcan not impart smoke to the meat, there is one otheralternative...marinate the ribs in large ziplock freezer bagswith each two slabs getting one cup of Worcestershire Sauce, onehalf cup of Wicker's marinade, and one tablespoon of LiquidSmoke, which is a product found in the same section as theWicker's. Marinade overnight..or for at least 8 hours beforeapplying dry rub. It gives a false flavor, but it is better thanno smoke flavor at all. TIME: It should take about 6hours at 200 degrees (get an oven thermometer and place it onthe grill close to the meat...this is the thermometer to payattention to!), or 5 hours at 225, or 4 hours at 250. NEVER COOKHIGHER THAN 250F!! All you are doing at that temp. is grilling,and you cannot successfully grill any cut of rib, except forCountry Style Ribs. Apply Smoke for first 2 hours. After onehour, baste ribs with anything! Beer, wine, Wickers, Gramma'sfavorite pork baste, whatever...just don't let the ribs tryout!After two hours of smoking, wrap EACH SLAB in HEAVY DUTYaluminum foil. Be careful not to punch holes in foil. This isthe STEAMING process, which is the secret part that makes theribs so tender. To further tenderize the meat, pour a 1/3 cup ofmarinade, or Citric liquid (OJ or pineapple juice works best)into the foil over the meat, before carefully sealing the top ofthe foil. Wrap tight BUT WATCH FOR HOLES IN THE FOIL. Double ortriple wrap, if necessary! That is why the extra heavy-duty foilis so important. Cook in foil another 2 hours, at the lowertemps and 1.5 hours if at 250. NOTE: at the end of thefoil process, when you open the foil of one slab to inspect,look for bones shining at you...this means they are steaming toofast and remove from grill immediately! If there is still mostlymeat over the top of the slab, you are ok. After 1.5 to 2 hoursin the foil, take one slab off the grill and open the foil.Watch for hot steam! When you see this small amount of BLACKLIQUID (rendered fat) at the bottom of the foil, that is thesignal to remove the slabs from the foil. This Black stuff isthe so called "pig taste" that good rib cooks replace with pureBBQ flavoring. If you are not careful, the black liquid willliterally be reabsorbed into the meat, making them a little more'porky' in flavor. I sometimes stack my slabs on theirside...like dominos to allow the Fat to slow off the slabs intothe bottom of the foil. Again, watch out for pinholes in thefoil! At the appropriate time, remove the foil and place theslabs back on the grill....this will finish the and firmup the ribs if they have gotten too tender. About 30 minutesbefore serving...paintbrush on a mixture of: 8 parts BBQ Sauce(Cattleman's, Kraft or your own recipe will do) 2 parts honeysome rub (to your taste) NOT TOO MUCH if you prefer a dryrib...SWAB IT ON if you want a wet rib. When the ribs are done,take off grill and let cool for about 10 minutes (as again, youshould do with ALL grilled foods) before serving. Just beforeserving, lightly dust the slabs with your dry rub. Cut into 3 or4 bone sections, and ENJOY! Make sure you have plenty of MoistTowlettes or warm strips of cloth soaked in lemon juice, to fixup the sticky fingers. Serve with French Bread or Texas Toast,BBQ Beans and Potato Salad, with the sauce on the side for thosewho prefer. Ribs can be frozen after cooking. Wrap in clear filmor foil and place in the freezer. Leave in foil off the grill ifyou plan on freezing and later. That required last hourof grilling/finishing will be achieved in the warming oven at alater date. To cook frozen ribs, remove from freezer and letthaw for two hours. Wrapped foil, and put in an oven at 220 for45 minutes, they are almost as good as hot off the grill! Don'tforget the sauce!

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