4th of July Ribs

4th of July – come and gone.  I hope you had a delightful celebration however you chose to celebrate.   We kept it simple as earlier that morning I harvested my first batch of honey. (More on that in another post)  The heat on that day was much like it’s been for some time now, scorching!  At the request of my husband and Miss T,  I agreed to grill some baby back ribs regardless of the temperature soaring outdoors.

I follow a few blogs when I can find time and one that I take a gander at often is Rufus’ Food and Spirits Guide.  I had just seen a recipe for his special rib rub and it caught my attention.  I honestly prefer a rub on my ribs rather than dousing them in bbq sauce.  Apparently this recipe is a secret – well, it was a secret, until he posted it on the blog!  Hey Rufus, hopin’ you don’t mind I just spread your secret to a few other hungry readers.  I only changed one thing and that is in the mopping sauce, I used beer as opposed to water.  He states that he makes his own chili powder, I used store-bought.  I copied the rub recipe verbatim, slathered it on the ribs, chilled them for several hours, baked them in a slow oven for about an hour and a half and then drug myself out into the heat and threw them on the grill.  Perfecto!  They came out juicy, tender, spicy and were downright delicious with cold beer and a side of grilled taters.  (I made a few other minor changes in how I prepared the ribs – look for my changes at the bottom of the recipe.)

Be sure and check out http://rufusguide.wordpress.com/– it’s a blog for anyone who loves to eat and drink!  They post the most delicious food and cocktail recipes and they post new recipes often.  I’m suspicious they don’t have real jobs but are professional food bloggers.  Seriously, give them a look, you won’t be disappointed.

As I said earlier, I harvested my first batch of honey on July 4th.  I couldn’t think of a better way to spend my morning.  The honey was ready for harvesting and the yield proved to be phenomenal.  The pureness and freshness is proven in the clarity and delicate sweetness it offers.  A delicate sweetness that I can’t seem to get enough of, although, I’ve gotten plenty in the process of harvesting and bottling – I think I’ve licked at least a gallon off of my fingers.  It’s delectable, pure, wildflower honey, made by my bees.  I’m so proud of their hard work and just a little pleased with myself for having a successful first harvest.  More on the harvesting and bottling with an update on bees will come at a later time.  Stay tuned…

Meantime turn up the grill and rub some ribs.  Enjoy!

Dry Rub for Ribs by Rufus’ Food and Spirits Guide

Ingredients:
3 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp chili powder
1/2 whole nutmeg grated
2 tbsp rosemary
1 tsp. cayenne
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp. black pepper

Mix all ingredients in a bowl.  Set aside 2 tbsp of mix for mopping sauce.  Rub the rest over the ribs and let it sit refrigerated for at least two hours or overnight.

In a small pot combine remaining rub, 1 cup cider vinegar, 1/2 cup beer, 1 tbsp. oil, dash cayenne pepper and a couple of dashes of Worcestershire sauce.  Bring to a boil and set aside.  When ready to grill the ribs mop them with the prepared sauce and continue doing so frequently during the grilling process.

Changes I made:  *used beer instead of water in mop sauce
*baked ribs in oven 350* for about 1 1/2 hours
*grilled my ribs after oven baking instead of smoking ( I burned up three                        smokers and need a new one)
*I did not add bbq sauce at the end of grilling – but served some on the                                    side for those who wanted it.