Foil-Wrapped Baby Back Ribs

Photo Courtesy of Brad Lovejoy

My dad's birthday was this past week and we were fortunate enough to get a visit from him over the weekend. We felt an even stronger desire than usual to celebrate this year because he just cleared his one year check-up after having a stem cell transplant. We are so very proud of how hard he has fought over the past few years and we were thrilled to celebrate both his birthday and his health.

It is no secret that I have very little interest in eating any type of meat on the bone. I guess I have always thought of it as animalistic and messy. I must take this opportunity to admit how much I have missed out on due to my lack of interest. After preparing and eating one of my dad's favorite foods for his birthday, barbecued ribs, I am officially converted. I am now able to eat meat on the bone as long as it tastes as good as these ribs tasted. This recipe for Foil-Wrapped Baby Back Ribs was so delicious, that it has officially made it into my top ten favorite recipes featured on this blog. The ribs melted in our mouths and the flavor was amazing. I can't say enough about using this foil method to tenderize the meat before grilling the ribs over an open flame. For those of you that boil your ribs before grilling, I urge you to try this method. You will be wowed by the result.

Ingredients:

Rub:

1 Tbsp kosher salt

2 tsp paprika

2 tsp granulated garlic

2 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

2 racks baby back ribs, each 2 to 2 1/2 lbs

1 cup hickory wood chips, soaked in water for at least 30 minutes (we used mesquite chips)

1 cup prepared barbecue sauce

Prepare grill for direct cooking over medium heat; 350 to 450 degrees. Mix rub ingredients in small bowl. Remove membrane from back of each rack of ribs. Cut each rack crosswise in middle to create two smaller racks. Season each half rack evenly with rub. Using eight 18" by 24" sheets of heavy-duty aluminum foil, double wrap each half rack in its own packet.

Brush cooking grates clean. Place ribs on grill over direct medium heat and cook for one hour, with lid closed, occasionally turning packets over for even cooking, http://http://swinerymeats.com/.com/ sure not to pierce foil. Remove packets from grill and let rest for 10 minutes. Carefully open foil packets, remove ribs and discard rendered fat and foil.

Drain and add wood chips directly onto burning coals or to smoker box of gas grill (we have a Weber gas grill with built-in smoker box), following manufacturer's instructions. When wood begins to smoke, return ribs to grill, bone side down. Grill over direct medium heat, with lid closed as much as possible, until they are sizzling and slightly charred, 10 to 12 minutes, turning and basting once or twice with sauce. Remove from grill and let rest for 5 minutes. Cut into individual ribs and serve warm with any remaining sauce.

Brad did a wonderful job executing the barbecue process for this recipe. He also chose to purchase the baby back rib racks from a local West Seattle butcher shop called The Swinery that offers exquisite cuts of meat. The quality of meat had a big bearing on how good the ribs tasted. He also purchased their signature barbecue sauce, which was delicious. The Swinery is the first and only sustainable butcher in Seattle. Pretty cool, right? Finally, we prepared two racks of beef ribs from Metropolitan Market that we seasoned with salt and pepper only. These ribs were also delicious but the Baby Back ribs stole the show! 

Recipe Source:

weber.com