So, people have asked for this. No surprise. For those who are brave enough to attempt this recipe (I promise you that it’s worth it!), please make sure that you give yourself plenty of time. This is not a recipe that can be rushed.
Ingredients:
3 thawed racks of (baby-) back ribs†
For the roasting glaze:
2 C. Stubbs Original BBQ Sauce
2 C. Bullseye BBQ Sauce
2 C. Catalina dressing
For the grilling glaze:
¼ C. pineapple juice
¼ C. whiskey or brandy‡
1 Tbsp. coarse-ground black pepper
1 tsp. ground red pepper
† I picked mine up at Costco for $23 and they turned out great.
‡ Yes, you can omit this if you prefer not to cook with alcohol.
Instructions:
1. Determine the lowest temperature at which your oven can operate. To fully cook, pork needs to reach 165°F, but to keep the meat tender, we want to first heat it for an extended time at a low temperature rather than merely trying to get the meat to reach that cooking point. For more detail, please read this great article on the subject: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/30/dining/30curious.html
2. Preheat the oven to the desired temperature. The lowest my oven can go is 170ºF, which left my ribs a little drier than I would have preferred, but a lot of people may not even notice the difference.
3. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place the ribs on the foil and baste them thoroughly with the roasting glaze. Turn and do the same for the other side.
4. Cover the baking sheet and ribs with foil, making sure to seal the edges. This reduce the amount of moisture that is lost. Place the covered sheet on the middle rack of the oven. If you’re really concerned about moisture retention, you can also put a 9″×13″ pan filled with water on the bottom rack. Just realize that this will add even more time to the tenderizing process.
5. Flip and re-baste the ribs every 2-3 hours or as needed, re-sealing the foil each time.
6. After the ribs have reached the desired tenderness (or your guests are just too hungry to wait any more), remove the ribs from oven and start preheating your grill at low flame.
7. Add the ingredients for the grilling glaze to what remains of the basting glaze.
8. Place the ribs on a grilling pan and place on the grill at low flame (or just line the grill with foil and mist the foil with olive oil.) Coat the ribs with the glaze mixture and close the grill.
9. Rotate, flip, and re-coat the ribs frequently until done, using up the remainder of the glaze mixture. (Ribs are done when they begin to fall apart when you try to flip them.)
10. Grab a roll of paper towels and enjoy!
