Dinosaur Baby Backs

Rib Date: July 18, 2012
Ribsters: Connor Best, Susan Duke and her husband Joe, Anne Steinhauer, Gillian and Rex Stults

No, the ribs weren't really from a dinosaur. They were from a pig. Dinosaur BBQ is a legendary joint in Syracuse, NY. I've never had the pleasure of visiting, but have heard it's destination dining. And I do own their BBQ cook book. Hope to visit one day.

The Dinosaur Baby Backs have a "Mojo Marinade" and Pineapple BBQ sauce.

This recipe originates from Cuba and definitely has a tropical, fruity and slightly spicy thing going on.

I smoked these babies for several hours on my Weber Smokey Mountain cooker, using oak wine barrel heads as the wood source.

After an hour, the ribs received a regular basting of the Mojo sauce, which had OJ, lime juice, olive oil, garlic, salt n pepper. The last half hour or so, I slathered them with the pineapple BBQ sauce, so it had some time to caramelize.

All in all, these ribs were pretty good, but nothing to write home about, or, apparently, even write blog about, as it took me a month and a half to do so.

We had them with a nice rose' from Boyd Family Vineyards here in Napa, which, being dry and slightly fruity paired nicely with the tropical flavors in the BBQ sauce.

Another good recipe by Steven Raichlen in his book, "Ribs, Ribs, Ribs."