We love to grill, but don't have a smoker. Jacqueline has become especially fond of ribs, which are a generally in-expensive protein at the store. She isn't alone. But how do we cook them without a smoker? Alton Brown can provide inspiration for just about anything. Last Saturday was the day inspiration become reality.
While gazing up and down the meat counter at the store last week, I got a hankering for ribs. Andrea looked at me like I was crazy, but agreed to go along with the project since it didn't require turning on the oven in the house. I'm thinking back to a previous experiment where Jacqueline and I cooked ribs on the grill. I had the heat too high and they were a bit tough. I vowed to cook them lower and slower. And off we went. I started with Alton's dry rub concoction, but had to tweak it a little. I didn't have the jalapeno or Old Bay seasonings in the house and wasn't going back to the store. I substituted Hatch Green Chili Powder for the jalapeno and dried Bay Leaves for the Old Bay. They both have Bay in the name, so I took a chance. Here are the proportions.
Dry Rub:
* 8 tablespoons light brown sugar, tightly packed
* 3 tablespoons kosher salt
* 1 tablespoon chili powder
* 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
* 1/2 teaspoon hatch green chili powder
* 1/2 teaspoon dried crunched up bay leaves
* 1/2 teaspoon rubbed thyme
* 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
We rubbed the powder into the ribs and let them sit in the fridge for a few hours before firing up the grill. The grill has three burners, I only used one to get the desired temperature. We held 225 for the entire time. I started the rack over the heat directly to get a bit of a crust on them, and then slid them over to other part of the grill to let them cook over indirect heat at 225 for 2 1/2 hours. Towards the end, I moved them back over the direct fire to get a bit more crust and char.
The verdict from the family and dinner guest was that they were a big hit. I now have the go ahead to do them again. Yeah!
