Have Ribs, Will Travel

barbecued baby back ribs

I recently had the opportunity to cook up a mess of barbecued baby back ribs for some friends. The only kicker was that we were to bring them over to their place. No problem.

The ribs need to be almost fully cooked, travel for 30 minutes, and finish cooking in our friend’s oven. Since I wanted to make sure there were leftovers for everyone, I figured on one rack of baby backs per adult, so 5 racks total.

The first thing I did was rub the racks heavily with my General Purpose Rub v1.5. Then I set the Big Green Egg up for an indirect cook at 250°F

baby back ribs

When the Egg was up to temp, I added both a plate setter and a drip pan to diffuse the heat and keep the ends of the racks from burning. I added a little hickory wood for smoke and when it burned clean I loaded up the ribs.

This is more ribs than I’ve ever tried on the Egg, and an inverted roasting rack really came in handy to keep the ribs from crowding each other so they’d cook as evenly as possible.

barbecued baby back ribs

I let the ribs cook for an hour and then flipped the racks end for end. I let them go another hour and then rotated the whole roasting rack 180°. I let them go an hour and a half undisturbed, then moved them out of the rack and onto the grate and sauced them.

Honey Hog Barbecue Sauce v2.0
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
1/4 cup gluten-free Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons tamarind concentrate or  pomegranate molasses
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons General Purpose Rub v1.5

Combine all ingredients in a medium sauce pan. Stir to combine and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook until all the sugar has dissolved and the sauce starts to thicken a little bit (about five minutes).

barbecue sauce

I sauced the racks fairly heavily and let them cook for another 30 minutes. I then sauced them one more time and moved them to a large baking pan. I sealed the pan up with 2 layers of heavy-duty aluminum foil and we hit the road.

Once at our friend’s house, the ribs went into a 350°F oven for an hour.

The Verdict: ★★★★☆
I have to say that I am really liking General Purpose Rub v1.5. It’s got a lot of flavor, a bit of heat, some herbiness, and it all works well together. The Honey Hog Barbecue Sauce v2.0 is also a winner, with all the goodness of the rub plus a tangy, almost fruity, sweetness.

The ribs? They were tasty, but they were big baby backs (average 2 1/2 pounds per rack) and I overestimated how much they would cook in the foil while being transported. They ended up good, but chewier than I would have liked. On the plus side, a rack per adult was way too much food, so we all enjoyed leftovers.

The Nutrition
Ribs never will be diet food. A four bone serving is 600 calories and 10 Weight Watchers points with the rub and the sauce.

ONE YEAR AGO –  Corned Beef Hash

TWO YEARS AGO – Tri-tip Roast

 

4 thoughts on “Have Ribs, Will Travel”

  1. I’m loving the tip you left on my blog about the Cherry/Chipotle combination! You can bet I’ll try that one soon. Lost my hard drive last week, so just finding my way back to all the blogs I follow. Your BBQ sauce sounds really good. I’ve never bought tamarind, so can’t imagine exactly what it does to the flavor.

  2. Thanks! Tamarind is sweet and tart at the same time. It’s kind of like tart cherry jam or pomegranate molasses/juice. It puts a little fruity zip in the sauce.

  3. A rack per adult? Holy snap, that would be a lot. Two racks feed our family of four with leftovers, but I understand. You never want to be caught short handed.

    Did you like the Honey hog better than the sticky hog you did earlier last year?

    1. Yeah, I got that number from a Google search. You can’t always trust the internet.

      I’m liking the Honey Hog – not as sweet, but with more heat and fruity/floral notes.

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