need kick butt spice rub for ribs

[Leslie w]

I plan on impressing a few friends with slow braised baby back ribs this weekend. I'm going to make them the Alton Brown way that he demonstrated on Good Eats recently. His rub looked good but I was wondering if any rib connisoeurs (sp?) had a favorite rub recipe they'd like to share. I plan on sticking with either the glaze he suggested or using KC Masterpiece (an old standby) for the final brushing. Unless of course someone else has a better idea.:D

[venus]

I LOVE this rib recipe. It's from Epicurious.com and I have made it zillions of times, with bottled sauce and with the one it. I use some nutmeg instead of the cardomom and double the chili powder. I also use apple juice instead of bourbon in the sauce. I never cut the ribs apart either--I simply throw them on the BBQ in big slabs.

GRILLED BABY BACK PORK RIBS WITH
MUSTARD-BOURBON SAUCE

Sometimes baby back ribs are sold in sections of four to six ribs rather than as whole
racks; those will also work here. Begin preparing the ribs a day before serving so that they
can chill overnight after the spice rub has been applied.

For sauce
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 bunches green onions, chopped
2 cups chopped white onions
8 large garlic cloves, chopped
2 cups (packed) golden brown sugar
1 cup ketchup
1 cup tomato paste (about 9 ounces)
1 cup whole grain Dijon mustard
1 cup water
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup apple juice
1 large dried ancho chili, stemmed, seeded, cut into small pieces
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 1/2 cups bourbon

For spice rub and ribs
2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon dry mustard
1 tablespoon coarse salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
6 pounds baby back pork ribs (about 3 whole racks)

Make sauce
Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-low heat. Add green onions, white onions and garlic and sauté until tender, about 15 minutes. Mix in all remaining ingredients, adding bourbon last. Simmer sauce until thick and reduced to 7 cups, stirring
occasionally, about 1 hour. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Sauce can be prepared 2 weeks ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Make spice rub and ribs
Mix first 7 ingredients in medium bowl. Rub spice mixture over both sides of rib racks. Arrange ribs on large baking sheet. Cover
and refrigerate overnight.

Prepare barbecue (medium heat). Cut rib racks into 4- to 6-rib sections. Arrange ribs on barbecue. Grill until meat is tender,occasionally turning ribs with tongs, about 40 minutes. Using tongs, transfer ribs to work surface.

Cut rib sections between bones into individual ribs. Arrange on clean baking sheet. Transfer 3 cups sauce to small bowl; place
remaining sauce in small saucepan and reserve. Brush ribs with sauce from bowl.

Return ribs to barbecue. Place pan of reserved sauce at edge of barbecue to rewarm. Grill ribs until brown and crisp on edges, brushing with more sauce from bowl and turning occasionally, about 10 minutes. Serve ribs with warm sauce.

P.S. Hey! We have the same avatar :)

[Beth Y]

It may be too late, but go to the Weber.com website and look under recipes. We use the classic rib recipe, which has a rub and a sauce you add at the end. Do not listen to other people and boil them first. It is not hard to do the slow cook way. Boiling ribs is an abomination. Just one man's opinion.

[Leslie w]

Thanks for the recipe and advice. I made them the Alton Brown way. Used his rub and braised them in the oven. Then before serving I cooked them on the grill and basted them with Stew Leonards BBQ sauce. They were awesome! My friend Chris said they were better than any restaurants. I bought the baby back ribs at Costco. Definitely a repeat. His recipe is on the Food Network site. I'll also try the recipe venus suggested but I will slow cook them first because I too think that's the secret to a tender rib.

[Jeanne G]

Leslie,
Would you mind sharing Alton Brown's recipe? I just had some ribs the other night and want to try to make them myself. I specifically looked on Food TV for "pork ribs" under the "Good Eats" and it didn't pull anything up. I figured Alton would do me right! ;) Please share when you have time, and THANK YOU!!
Jeanne

[Dewey]

I'm not Leslie, but here's the link to the AB Rib recipe:
Who Loves Ya Baby-Back Ribs (http://www.foodtv.com/foodtv/recipe/0,6255,11840,00.html)

I've never made them, but I do know that some people at the Good Eats Yahoo Group said they were on the salty side. Of course, others said they were great. I think the secret is to use kosher salt. If you use regular salt, I would only use about 2/3 the amount called for.

Laurie

[Jeanne G]

Laurie,
Thank you!! Funny that you are able to locate it on Food TV when I search it and NOTHING! I really appreciate your help! And, as I've converted to almost always kosher (or sea) salt, hopefully it won't be too salty!!!!
Thanks again,
Jeanne

[Dewey]

Jeanne, the FoodTV.com recipe search is very picky. The only reason I was able to find it was that I remembered the name, so I searched for "loves ya baby". Alton often gives his recipes cute, but difficult to search for names, so finding them on the foodtv.com site is a challenge. If you ever are looking for another of his recipes, you might also try The Good Eats Fan Page (http://www.goodeatsfanpage.com) which has all of the episodes and links to the recipes in an easier format.

Let us know how the ribs turn out. I trust the opinions of the people here much more than the opinions of the people at the Good Eats Yahoo Group.:p

Laurie

[Jeanne G]

Laurie,
Thanks again! I look forward to checking out the fan page too! :) I will be making these within the next few weeks(since we just ate them Sunday!). Maybe for my Mother's Day dinner, which will be celebrated a week late since mom will be out of town.
Yum!
Jeanne

[JennieL]

Originally posted by venus
I LOVE this rib recipe. It's from Epicurious.com and I have made it zillions of times, with bottled sauce and with the one it. I use some nutmeg instead of the cardomom and double the chili powder. I also use apple juice instead of bourbon in the sauce. I never cut the ribs apart either--I simply throw them on the BBQ in big slabs.


I was going to post the same recipie! It is great!

[Leslie w]

Suprised to see my old thread back! When I made these (and I made them several times last summer) I also cut the salt in half because I didn't have kosher salt, but now that I do I'll follow the recipe. I also didn't use his BBQ sauce, which as I recall was really his braising liquid boiled down and then brushed on the ribs before serving. Instead I used a commercial BBQ sauce. I think what made them so wonderful was that I got the baby back ribs from COSTCO, and his braising technique kept them from drying out. OF course I liked his rub but I think any homemade rub would work well. Just stick to his ratios. Good luck!