Princess Ribs

Rib Date: November 22, 2013

Ribsters: Ryan and Laura Gregory, Barry Martin, Sean Wickersham and Julie Ross, Stults family and Eric Jorgensen as the Beaver.

I salute you Steven Raichlen, lord of the ribs and author of the bible thereto, "Ribs, Ribs, Ribs," for the last two ribs recipes have been nothing short of spectacular.

Following the "Bad to the Bone" ribs were the superbly delicious "Princess Ribs."

"Princess Ribs" are the brainchild of Kansas City's Dianna Royal, a.k.a "Princess," who must be of rib royalty in this porky Mecca, as she's often sporting a tiara. The Princess has garnered dozens of trophies and medals with her "Princess Ribs" recipe.

The recipe begins with a unique and flavorful rub featuring some sweetness and salt, chile powder, cumin, cinnamon and allspice, among other ingredients. A little sweet, spicy, salty but interesting layers of flavor with the cumin and cinnamon. Off to a good start.

The ribs received a good 2 1/2 hours of smoking on my Weber Bullet. The recipe calls for cherry wood, but I didn't have that handy so used an alternate hardwood.

While the ribs were smoking away, my sous chef/wife was creating the "Sweet and Seriously Hot BBQ Sauce" as the recipe stipulates. It's a from scratch BBQ sauce that's thick, rich, sweet on front, then sneaky spicy on the back. The spice comes from cayenne pepper, to taste. Ours wasn't too hot (because she made it; not me-- probably better that way.) This sauce was so good I found myself standing at the stove enjoying it by the spoonful, straight.

Ribs - before and after basting with the S&SH BBQ sauce

After the initial smokin', the ribs came off, got a good basting of "Sweet and (almost) Seriously Hot BBQ Sauce" then were wrapped tightly in foil and returned to the Bullet for another hour. Then...magic.

Beaujolais Nouveau is a fresh, light, dry, fruity red wine released on the third Thursday of each year-- the first wine of the current vintage-- meaning just a few short months ago it was a gamay grape on a vine in France. Turns out, Beaujolais Nouveau goes great with Princess Ribs. And if one bottle goes great, then six bottles must be even greater!

In addition to the wine and ribs, we had some doctored up baked beans, Laura Gregory's killer coleslaw (maybe best I've had- fresh and fragrant) and some oven baked fries. Delicious dinner.

"These are the best ribs I've had here," said aforementioned Coleslaw Queen Laura.

"There's a sweet fire in my mouth," stated Barry Martin, who also proclaimed they "Tasted like a Disney princess" and the flavors were "vagi-soft."  Hmmm...

The best backhand was from Julie Ross. "These were so good, they made me forget the last ribs," she said. (Couldn't agree more. The last time Sean and Julie were ribsters was when we did Grilled True Babyback Ribs, which were awful.). Julie added that the Princess Ribs "Didn't make her mouth Thor."(Inside joke; had to be there )

Eric Jorgensen said the ribs gave him a "wow-gasm."  Ding.

In sum- these Princess Ribs were indeed rib royalty- a recipe to repeat. Or, as said by Sean Wickersham, the "Princess Ribs are fit for a king."

Next: Porkosaurus Memphis in May Championship Ribs.

Bad to the Bone Ribs with Razor Bone Sauce

Rib Date: October 26, 2013

Ribsters: Knauer family, McDonald family, Perry family, Stults family
Is this another Steven Raichlen ribs recipe or the title of one of those late night Skinamax movies?

That silly question was soundly answered by the attending ribsters, several of who proclaimed the Bad to the Bone Ribs "best ribs ever."
Unsure if I concur, but they deserve at least to be in the conversation.

You can see why the Bad to the Bone Ribs rock. They are the competition ribs for an Arkansas-based husband and wife team that has won 27 regional championships. The main secret is a three-step cooking process, beginning with several hours of low and slow cooking on the smoker...with plenty of wood smoke. (I used Oak.).

After hours on the smoker.  Before basting in apple juice, butter, sugar & honey 

After step one the ribs are tender and smokey. They then get basted with a combo of apple juice, butter, brown sugar and honey. Smothered in that combo of sweet goodness, the ribs, wrapped in foil, return to the smoker for another 45 minutes.

The last step requires sparking up the Weber grill. The ribs get coated in a sticky sweet BBQ sauce-- the Razor Bone Sauce-- before being finished for a few minutes per side over direct heat, allowing the BBQ sauce to caramelize.

Finished product!

Voila. Razor Bone badness! Smoky. Sweet. Tender. Nothing fancy. Old school.

Rookie ribster Shelly Knauer came strong, comparing the Bad to the Bone Ribs to Rutherford Grill's and saying she dug the fall-off-the-bone tenderness. Her husband Nathan said they "happen to go great with beer." (Don't all ribs?)

Paul Perry said they were the "best BBQ meal of the year" and were tasty with the nice Pinot Noir he supplied, while his wife Corrinne thought they were "pretty fabulous" and had nice "layers of flavors."

Speaking on behalf of the roughly 27 children present, Aiden McDonald said, "OMG they're so good.". Pressed for more, he said the three words to describe the Razor Bone ribs were "delicious, sweet and delicate."

My wife/sous chef Gillian said they were her favorite so far on the porky journey.

Next up: Princess Ribs.

Sauerkraut-Braised Ribs with Smoked Beer Barbecue Sauce

Rib Date: October 12, 2013

Ribsters: Crispy and Stacey Pomeranian, Kim and Barry Wiss and the Stults family.

 
Since we are progressing through Steven Raichlen's "Ribs, Ribs, Ribs" book one recipe at a time, in succession, it was purely coincidental that we'd be doing the very Oktoberfest-friendly Sauerkraut-braised ribs with smoked beer barbecue sauce in October.

Coincidence aside, the best thing about this ribs was the amazing assortment of wine we enjoyed with them.  We started in theme with a Madrigal Gewürztraminer, but switched over to reds with a Walt Anderson Valley Pinot Noir and killer Napa cabs from Krupp Bros., Ladera, Nickel and Nickel and Patel. 

Onto the ribs.

Of all the ribs recipes done on this journey, this was definitely a unique preparation in that the ribs were braised in tin foil. 

It started, after the usual preparation, with laying the ribs in foil and slathering both sides with sauerkraut.  Then they were cooked slow and low for three hours on my Weber bullet.  I probably could have gotten away with a half hour less, but the ribs were fall off the bone tender at that point.

My sous chef/wife prepped the smoked beer barbecue sauce, which is your typical homemade barbecue sauce with some beer and liquid smoke in it.

The ribs get basted in the barbecue sauce and grilled over direct heat for a few minutes per side.  Voila!  Sauerkraut-braised ribs with smoked beer barbecue sauce.

Ribster comments

Chef Kim said they were "finger lickin' good," and added that they were perfect ribs for Oktoberfest.

Mr. and Mrs. Pomeranian both appreciated the fall-off-the bone tenderness. 

The ribs got approval from both my kids.  Riain said he liked how tender they were and he liked to homemade barbecue sauce as well.

My sous chef/wife summarized these ribs perfectly, saying "I liked the fact they were fall off the bone, but other than that they were kind of bland."

I concur.

Next up: Bad to the Bone Ribs with Razor Bone Sauce.

Brazilian Coconut Rotisserie Ribs with Piri Piri Relish

Rib Date: April 20, 2013

Ribsters: Kim & Barry Wiss, Eric Jorgensen, my mother-in-law Maureen visiting from Scotland and Stults family.


Brazilians seem to get a few things better than most: Giant statues of religious figures, flesh eating fish, waxing, and cooking meat.  I've never been to Brazil, but would like to visit.  That's a pretty good list, but for the man eating fish.  I did have pet piranhas in college.  Watching those things devour an ugly bubbly eyed goldfish was a fun Friday in Pullman.

These ribs marinate in a sauce consisting of puréed peppers, onions, garlic, ginger, salt, pepper, lime juice, coconut milk and cilantro.  Yummy mixture.  Build a fire.  Thread the marinated ribs on a spit and watch them rotate for an hour and a half while enjoying an adult beverage.  Baste and top with slightly spicy yet very favorable Piri Piri relish and you have a tasty dinner. 

I was battling a very strong wind that had the flames dancing like it was Carnival, but I persevered.

The Brazilian Coconut Rotiserrie Ribs were enjoyed with a fragrant rice and good local wine.

Ribster comments:

"First bite was rib perfection; amazing texture.". Me

"Goes great with rice.". Son Riain, who may be part Asian.

"Best low oxalate ribs ever.". chef Kim Wiss. "Delicious, tender, cool over the open fire, where the juices rotated evenly over the meat."

"Zesty; not overpowering," Eric Jorgensen.

"They were lovely.".  Maureen.

Bottom line:  Really good ribs, but the Huli Huli ribs on the rotisserie were better, quicker and easier.  So much so that we've already repeated that recipe a couple times.

Next up: Sauerkraut-Braised Ribs with Smoked Beer BBQ Sauce. 

(All recipes from Steven Raichlen's book "Ribs, Ribs, Ribs.")

Huli Huli Ribs

Rib Date: March 2013

Ribsters: Stults family and Eric Jorgensen

Disclaimer: I grew up in Hawaii.  I see the words "huli huli" I my mouth begins to salivate.

"Huli" means turn.  So, it doesn't take a genius to figure out huli huli means turn turn.  Or, rotisserie.

About a year ago I got an Australian Spit Roaster as a gift from the family.  The "Auspit" is a battery operated rotisserie that you can pretty much use anywhere.  Make a fire.  Pound the Auspit into the ground.  Put on meat.  Switch on Auspit.  Drink beer while meats turns.  Eat meat.  Life is good.  A bacon-wrapped pork loin on the Auspit is food porn.

The Huli Huli ribs fall into the food porn category as well. 

The ribs get covered in a rub comprised of salt, pepper, garlic and ginger.  Thread 'em on rotisserie, let 'em spin over flames and occasionally baste 'em with a teriyaki glaze and about an hour and half later you have food magic.  Simple but amazing.

We ate the Huli Huli ribs with rice, of course, and had a nice bottle of Pinot Noir because light red wines go great with teriyaki.  Duh.

Ribster comments:

"I LOVED 'em." My daughter Eilidh

"I loved the sugary soy sweetness and how the sauce caramelized over the flames." Wife Gillian.

"I liked them.  They weren't spicy and the sauce was good on the rice." Son Riain, aka Mr. Teriyaki.

"Really good ribs.  I liked them.  They were tastier than Kuipo with far less fat.". Eric Jorgensen making a funny yet gross comparison to his chubby former Hawaiian girlfriend.


Mahalo for the ono ribs recipe Steven Raichlen.  These ribs will return to my rotisserie often.

Grilled "True" Baby Back Ribs with St. Barts Seasoning

And we're back.  Miss me?  Didn't think so.  I didn't miss you either, my dozen followers.

I have actually grilled, smoked, and rotisseried ribs since my last post a half year ago.  (A half year?  I'm a little behind).  Some highlights therein include a forthcoming Huli Huli Ribs recipe done over open fire (awesome), McGiver ribs done with inferior equipment on a butt cold day for my brother-in-law's birthday in Scotland this summer (rocked 'em) and breaking in my Mom and step-father's new Weber with baby backs in West Virginia, following a red-eye no less.  So yes, I've been busy in general (hence a six month absence) and been rib-busy as well.

Picking up where we left off...

One of the many things that keeps me busy is coaching my kids basketball teams the first half of each year.  After a game this past winter, I'm guessing late February, we had the coach and kids from the opposing team over for ribs.

Grilled "True" Baby Back Ribs with St. Barts Seasoning

Rib Date: February 2013

Ribsters: Stults family, Frommelt family, Wickersham family and Francis Davin

Even though Sean Wickersham's undefeated basketball team beat us that day, we invited him and Julie and his good guard daughter Devon over for dinner.  We're cool like that.  We were joined by my assistant coach extraordinaire Paul Frommelt and his brood, as well as Francis Davin, who's helped me coach both our sons' and daughters' teams for many years.  Good peeps all.

Unfortunately those fine folks got bad ribs.

Most of the recipes in Steven Raichlen's book, "Ribs, Ribs, Ribs" have been winners.  But, like my basketball team that day, "Grilled True Baby Back Ribs" were losers.

These Caribbean-inspired ribs were kinda tough and chewy.  They are grilled like the name implies.  Before hitting the grill, they marinade for a few hours in a mixture of tomatoes, Ginger and garlic, with added spices.  Then grill over direct heat for about 40 minutes, flipped halfway, and, voila! you have tough, chewy ribs.

We served these icky ribs with red beans and rice to keep the Caribbean theme going.  We drank wine because that's how we roll here in Napa. 

Comments from the ribsters:

"The rice and beans were nice." - Sean Wickersham

"Not exactly fall-off-the-bone tender." my wife Gill.

Then, after more wine, "I must be getting buzzed.  I like these; Simple flavors.- more Sean W.

"I liked everything about them, except the ribs." - Leslie Frommelt.

"I've had better; these could be worse.  Rustic." - me.

That about sums it up. 

Cousin Dave's Chocolate Chipotle Ribs

Rib Date: Saturday, November 17, 2012 (yes 3 months ago)
Ribsters: Frommelt Family, Pomeranian Family, Perry Family, Gregory Family, Stults Family, including father-in-law Douglas visiting from Scotland, and Jerry Mathers as the Beaver

Even though I haven't updated the blog in nearly five months, it doesn't mean I haven't been cooking and eating ribs.  Err...yes it does.  Except for this one time-- the Saturday before Thanksgiving-- when we did Cousin Dave's Chocolate Chipotle Ribs.

These ribs were pretty damn good-- think mole' flavor-- kind of a Mexican chile smokiness with a sneaky chocolatey sweetness sweeping up at the end.  Nothing overpowering.  Just layers of subtle deliciousness.

Apparently the recipe comes from rib guru Steven Raichlen's cousin Dave, who is a university professor by day and grilling enthusiast by night.  Cuz lives in Texas, hence the Tex- Mex characteristics of this rib recipe.

For as tasty as they were, these ribs were not that tough to make.  Essentially the ribs get slathered in a homemade chipotle paste for about half a day, go on the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker for a few hours, get a dusting of grated chocolate and last but not least, get devoured.

Evidently, the comments and quotes extracted that night came after copious amounts of red wine.  That could be Paul Frommelt's fault.  I think he brought over a case of wine and doubt he took any of it home. 

Even though he himself is a Texan, Crispy Pommeranian said the ribs were on the spicy side.  "These ribs are hotter than a whorehouse on nickel night.".

A wannabe vegetarian, Leslie Frommelt gave the ribs a test drive and proclaimed, "I love these ribs.  Except for the meat."

Her daughter Henley, a star point guard on our girls' basketball team, said the ribs were "spicy, but not super, super spicy."

Her teammate, my daughter Eilidh, agreed.  "The ribs are perfect for people who like spice, but also perfect for those who don't.  They're balanced."

My wife Gill also liked the ribs.  "The grated chocolate over the top was delicious."

Last but certainly not least was my father-in-law Douglas.  Being from Scotland, good food may not be ingrained in his DNA, but good whisky is!  He complimented the ribs (even had seconds) then led the team on a single malt whisky tasting to conclude the evening.

Cousin Dave's Chocolate Chipotle Ribs recipe can be found on page 110 of Raichlen's book, "Ribs, Ribs, Ribs."