Baby Back Ribs

Again, this recipe from Alton Brown has proven to be awesome.  This is an easy meal to prepare for and will be enjoyed by everyone at the table.

In Alton’s recipe, he calls for

I opted to use ancho chile for cayenne and calabrian chili for the jalapeno seasoning.  I purposely left out the “Old Bay Seasoning”.  I’m not a fan of this particular seasoning, so I don’t use it.  Anyhow, the rest of the recipe was followed.

Using a bowl, I mixed all the seasonings; generously putting the mixture all over the ribs.  Make sure that you close the tinfoil tightly on top and each side.  Let sit in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

With the oven preheated, I opened one end of the tin foil packs and poured the liquid in.  After resealing, I tiled the ribs side to side to help distribute the liquid.  Off to the oven.

Once in the oven, you can go about doing other things.  Cooking in tinfoil traps the moisture inside and helps to cook and keep the ribs moist.

When you look at the top of the recipe, it states: total 4 hr 35 min, Prep:1 hr 10 min, Cook:3 hr 25 min.  However, in the body of the recipe, it states “Braise the ribs in the oven for 2 1/2 hours”.  Having experience with tinfoil cooking, I knew that the ribs would be done in the 2 1/2 hr time frame.

Like the recipe, I transferred the braising liquid to a sauce pan and started the reduction.  The ribs were fine staying in the tinfoil.  After the reduction was complete, I started cutting the ribs for everyone.  With the moistness of the ribs and the flavor that was cooked in, the braising reduction wasn’t needed.

The braising liquid can be brushed on the ribs or used as a dipping sauce.  Just make sure that you have plenty of napkins on hand.

From the ease of the recipe to the tenderness of the ribs to enjoying them with friends, I have another staple in my arsenal of recipes.

Click here for the recipe