Tuesday, June 14, 2011

The Perfect Rack

The other day we were at a restaurant and I could not help but notice that half a rack of baby back ribs will run you about $18. For that price, you could get 2 full racks and roast those babies at home! The trick to perfect ribs at home is to start with a dry rub, then to cook them nice and slow.

The night before cooking I rub my ribs down with my custom dry rub mixture, then wrap them up to marinate. The dry rub helps to lock in moisture while the spices penetrate the meat, making it nice and tender. You can use a packaged rub, but I prefer to make my own.

Nikee's Dry Rub: (enough for one rack)

1/4 cup chili powder
1 Tbsp black pepper
1 Tbsp. garlic salt
1 Tbsp. cumin
1 Tbsp. chipotle chili powder
1 Tbsp. smoked paprika
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp. onion powder

You can always customize your rub to fit your tastes. Mine is spicy and smokey. A little ground mustard, some old bay seasoning, basil and oregano all make good additions.

When it comes time to cook your ribs, line your large roasting pan with foil. This will make clean up super easy.
I throw my ribs in the pan and cook at 250 for about 2 1/2 hours. Make sure you place them meat side up, bone side down. The last 30 minutes or so you can swipe on a traditional BBQ sauce just don't over-do it. There is a lot of flavor already packed into those ribs from the dry rub. If all goes well your finished product should look like this:

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