It is intriguing to consider how much effort most of us will go through to experience the perfect barbecue. A significant quantity of books have been written on the subject, and it is a multi-million dollar industry. Products on the market range from the food, to the utensils, to the paraphernalia (i.e., aprons, hats, corn-on-the-cob holders, etc.), and $1,000+ grills.
This Fourth of July weekend, we relaxed with friends and grilled on their brand new gas Weber grille. But first, we made an early run to a highly unique store, which has apparently been featured on Ripley’s Believe It…Or Not! Called Stew Leonard's, it was kitchy in the extreme, involving animated animals, barnyard songs, and an entire dairy-bottling operation, backed up by live video pictures of their dairy herd. There we picked up two racks of pork ribs, several ears of bi-color corn, and some cherries.
For once I was not the one cooking up a storm. Our friends marinated the ribs in Penzey’s BBQ 3000 rub, then slow-baked them at 250-degrees Fahrenheit for 6 hours. They cooked up a homemade honey barbeque sauce with a little bourbon (Bulleit Bourbon to be specific), then threw the ribs on the grille for another 30 minutes, glazing with the sauce and turning them four or five times. At the same time, the corn was cooking in its husks for a while, before being peeled and thrown directly on the grille. The result was a beautiful spread for the four of us. Yes…we did eat ½ a rack of ribs a person…but how could you not when they look like this:
The ribs were so tender that they fell off the bone, and some of the bones were even disintegrating, while the outside of the ribs were sticky and happily crusty. A little BBQ Sauce on the side, and a 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, and it was a perfect evening with friends.
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