My Mom's Ribs- our favorite

Another Cookbook Addition

There is one dish that my sister, brother-in-law, my dad and I always ask for a special occasion at home- My Mom’s Ribs. This is a day long process that starts early in the morning. This of course makes for fall-off-the-bone ribs. These are the ribs my sister and I grew up on. I have no idea what style they would be considered, I’d like to think California style because thats where I grew up eating them. 

She found the recipe in “the Complete Family Cookbook” printed in 1970. This is what you would envision an old family cookbook to look like (okay, it may not be that old, but it looks like it)- it no longer has the cover, falling apart from years of use in the kitchen and is kept in a giant zip lock bag. It has food stains, torn and missing pages. Its seen its fair share of cooking successes and of course culinary disasters.  

But the ribs have been the favorite of everything she has made from the cookbook. The following recipe is form the cookbook with some changes. Of course there has been experiments and variations over the years. So feel free to add other herbs, lavender or chili flakes for example.

Basic BBQ Spareribs

Serves 6

5 lb pork spareribs

1 cup or more of brown sugar

1 1/2 tbls of dry mustard

2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 tsp dry ginger

1 8-ounce can tomato sauce

1 cup orange juice

2 tbls minced onion

2 garlic cloves, minced

4 tbls fresh chopped parsley

2 tbls Worcestershire Sauce 

Trim some fat from the ribs, you want to keep some for flavor and moisture. Boil ribs in a large pot with salted water that covers the ribs. You may have to cut the rack in half to fit. Then simmer them covered for 45 to 60 minutes or until a grey color. Flip the ribs occasionally to ensure even cooking. 

While the ribs boil, mix all the sauce ingredients. Let stand for at least 15 minutes. Place boiled ribs in a large deep dish or zip lock bags. Place the sauce all over the ribs. Place ribs in fridge for one and half hours, turning occasionally to ensure even coverage. Remove ribs from fridge and bring to room temperature, about a 30 minutes. This will help grill the ribs evenly.

Remove ribs and pour sauce in a bowl. Reserve 1 cup of the sauce. Cook ribs on a heated outdoor grill. Cook until ribs are heated and have a nice caramelization or slightly crunchy. Baste frequently with the rib marinade. When finished remove and let rest for 10 minutes then slice into individual ribs. 

While ribs are cooking heat the reserved cup of sauce until it is evaporated to about 3/4 cup. Serve with ribs as extra sauce.