Summertime Ribs

For those who don’t know, Dave and I recently bought a condo right outside of the downtown area. Originally, living in this type of space was not something we had even considered doing because we love being outdoors and grilling, gardening, and entertaining. The more we looked at the pros and cons, we realized a lot of our stress originated from trying to maintain a yard, garden, and house while keeping an appropriate amount of balance in our lives. Not to mention the amount of driving we were both doing daily to get into the city was horrendous! Now we’re in a much smaller place with less stress but not as much outdoor space. Since it’s only our first year here, we’re still figuring out how to make the best use of the balcony and decided to give it a shot this past weekend. With some work, we converted our concrete balcony into a little garden paradise in the middle of the city.

Unfortunately, one of the things we weren’t able to keep in our outdoor space was our beloved grill. As I mentioned before, grilling is a favorite summer pastime in our household, so saying goodbye to our monster of a grill was a pretty hard thing to do. However, it opened up some much needed space on our balcony and allowed us the room to plant a great variety of veggies and herbs. But, as I looked out onto our empty balcony last week after carting our grill away, I wondered how I would still be able to cook delicious summer time favorites sans grill.

Amidst my musing, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that beef back ribs would be on sale over Memorial Day weekend at the farmer’s market! Ribs were the perfect answer to my question as they definitely evoke that summertime feel and can also be made deliciously (without a grill) by slow cooking in the oven. As an added bonus, ribs are one of my husband’s favorite foods, along with chicken wings, so I indulge him every now and then :).

How I Learned to Make Ribs

As one would expect, I’ve certainly had my fair share of comfort foods and BBQ growing up in Missouri. But it wasn’t until I was in college in southwest Missouri that I learned the secrets to making the perfect oven cooked ribs. No, I didn’t learn this while working in a restaurant; I actually learned how to cook ribs in my entrepreneurship class! I worked with a team of students assisting a curmudgeonly old man who planned on using his entire life savings to open a BBQ restaurant. This guy may not have been cut out for the business world, but he wasn’t lying when he said he knew how to cook southern style eats. His food was delicious and while he did share a few secrets to making great ribs, he wouldn’t give everything away. Funny thing is, I didn’t even make use of his advice until several years later when I met Dave and found out about his rib obsession. My technique is a combination of what I learned from the BBQ guy and what I’ve discovered in the past couple of years making ribs at home.

A Few Words of Advice

Making the perfect ribs is really all about having enough time to go through all of the steps listed below. If you plan to throw some ribs on the grill and think they will come out moist and tender, think again. Slow and low is the best piece of advice I can give anyone who wants to prepare ribs that everyone will love. Keep in mind that most of rib-making is an art, not a science. Tailor the recipe to your liking and don’t worry too much about exact measurements. While you can follow the instructions below for virtually any type of ribs, I find my dry rub recipe tastes best on pork ribs.

A quick note to those who are a little oven-shy: Yes, this recipe requires using an oven in the middle of summer, but keep in mind we’re cooking at a pretty low temperature. In any case, I understand this will heat up the house, but trust me it will be well worth it! Turn on a fan, crank up the AC, or better yet sit outside in your own garden oasis while you wait for these bad boys to cook.

The Perfect Oven Baked Ribs

Step 1: Create a brine to soak your ribs in for a couple of hours. The ribs are going to sit in the oven for quite some time and we don’t want them to dry out. Brining the ribs will help them retain some moisture while cooking. The most basic brine is water mixed with salt. A gallon of water and ¾ cup of salt is a good reference point. Some people use more salt, some less. You could omit the salt completely, but keep in mind that the less salt you use, the longer it will take your meat to absorb the moisture. Cover the ribs with the brine and soak in the refrigerator for one to two hours, depending on the thickness of the ribs. Don’t over soak the ribs or they will become too salty. If you like, add a couple teaspoons of your favorite spices to the brine.

Step 2: Now we are going to dry rub these suckers. Before applying any of the dry rub seasoning, dry off the ribs completely. Rub in the spices until the ribs are covered, using the seasoning liberally. My favorite dry rub recipe is at the bottom of this post, but feel free to use any of your favorite commercial rubs or better yet, make your own. Wrap the ribs in plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours.

Step 3: It’s time to make the braising liquid. The braising liquid, along with the heat in the oven, will break down the tough connective tissue of the ribs but keep them tender at the same time. I make my braising liquid by mixing the approximate measurements of the following ingredients: 2 cups chicken or beef stock OR beer, 2 tbsp. maple syrup or honey, ¼ cup white or apple cider vinegar. Heat the braising liquid on the stove until it simmers for several minutes. Remove from heat and, while cooling, lay the ribs on pieces of foil. Once the braising liquid is cool, spoon it over the ribs but make sure the liquid stays inside of the foil with the ribs. Close the foil packets and seal them tightly, place the ribs in glass baking dishes, and cook in a 250 degree oven for 2-4 hours, until cooked through.

Step 4: Glaze with BBQ sauce and enjoy! I usually make my own BBQ sauce, and for this recipe I think it’s especially important. You don’t want to spend all this time making the perfect ribs and then throw a bunch of KC Masterpiece all over it, do you? My favorite BBQ sauce recipe is at the bottom of this post, but if you must use a commercial sauce I won’t hold it against you. At least you made it this far :). Once the ribs are cooked to your liking, open up the foil packet and spread some BBQ sauce on top of the ribs. Broil on high in the oven uncovered for 2-5 minutes or just long enough for the BBQ sauce to glaze over the ribs. Be careful not to overcook them or you’ll ruin all of the hard work you just did. Your ribs are ready to eat now, enjoy!

Have a Little FunI’ll admit ribs aren’t the healthiest option out there. Yes, they can be salty and fatty but making them yourself every once in a while can be pretty rewarding. One of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned in life is to enjoy things without feeling guilty! I have a special diet, as do many people reading this blog, but I am not a slave to my eating habits. Obviously, if you are allergic to something or have a severe reaction to certain foods, then you shouldn’t include it in your diet, even as a treat. As I’ve heard several primal/paleo enthusiasts say recently, it’s vitally important to find pleasure in life and allow imperfection every once in a while. Mark Sisson has a great take on this and calls it the “80/20 Principle.” The basic concept is to aim for your goals 100% of the time, but allow yourself some wiggle room in there. In the end, if you meet your goals (dietary, fitness, etc.) 80% of the time then you have probably done a good job finding balance. Certainly, for people following a paleo diet (or any diet) this is very important to understand. It’s so easy to get caught up in what’s paleo and what’s not paleo but there’s really more to it than that. There is also an element of changing your mentality to NOT take things as seriously and calm down! By that I don’t mean it’s ok to binge on candy and soda, but if you do eat something you shouldn’t have, please don’t stress about it. I’m still learning how to do that myself, but I know how much progress I’ve made and what a difference changing my mindset has made in my life. Along with self-discipline, I think stress-elimination is a foundation of primal living in particular, and a great lifestyle goal in general.

Altering Recipes
Please keep in mind that most recipes can be altered to fit your lifestyle or taste preferences, especially if you’re cooking with a whole foods mentality and avoiding most processed foods. If you’re not cooking or eating with a whole foods mentality, try to get there. If you don’t know what the heck something was made out of or don’t think you could make it yourself, then don’t eat it! As you can see, I’ve omitted most of the sugar that usually shows up in rib recipes. I don’t want to eat that stuff, so I try to avoid it at all costs. Although a certain amount of salt is necessary for optimal health, if you’re concerned about the salt content of this recipe try making your own dry rub with very little or no salt. Do the same with the ketchup for your BBQ sauce, and soak your ribs in water only instead of the brine. Give it a try this summer, especially if you’re looking for a grill-free tasty meal!

Simple Dry Rub Recipe:

4 tbsp paprika
4 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cayenne
4 tbsp sea salt
4 tbsp oregano
4 tbsp garlic powder
4 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp black pepper

This is a recipe I came across a few years ago and tweaked to my liking. Originally, the recipe called for one cup of brown sugar, but I’ve completely omitted that in my version. If you are looking for more of a balance of sweet and salty, adding a bit of brown sugar to the rub will do the trick.

BBQ Sauce Recipe:2 cups ketchup (preferably homemade, or commercially made without HFCS)
1 cup water
½ cup apple cider vinegar
4 tbsp honey
½ tbsp black pepper
½ tbsp onion powder
½ tbsp ground mustard
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Mix all ingredients together in a saucepan and heat to a boil, then turn down to simmer. Cook for one hour, stirring occasionally.

This recipe is originally from Down Home Cooking With the Neelys on the Food Network website and it was so good that I only made one adjustment…substituting honey for the sugar. It’s absolutely delicious!