1 lb Regular ribs -OR-
2/3 lb Country-style ribs;
- per person
Beer; enough to cover the
- ribs completely
Liquid smoke
1 Bay leaf
2 cl Garlic; crushed
1 Celery rib
1 sm Onion
1/2 ts Tabasco or other hot pepper
- sauce
6 Whole peppercorns
Here's a recipe for ribs that I got from an old Cajun I used to
work with, who used to work as a chef for the offshore oil rigs in
the Texas Gulf. He was a wonderful cook, and this is a recipe that
I use when I need to make ribs in advance and/or can't use the
barbecue.
Cut the ribs into serving size portions, and place in a Dutch oven,
along with the vegetables and spices. Add enough beer to cover them
well, and a generous amount of liquid smoke--up to half a bottle for
really smoke-flavored ribs.
Turn the heat to simmer, and cook, covered, until the ribs are tender,
maybe 1 to 1-1/2 hours. This may be done several days in advance,
if you like. Allow the ribs to cool in the cooking mixture, and
refrigerate until serving time.
About 45 minutes before serving, begin pre-heating your oven to
350°F. Fish the ribs out of the cooking liquid, and place in a
roasting pan, in a single layer. Coat the ribs generously with the
barbecue sauce of your (or your Dad's) choice, and bake for around
30 minutes, turning the ribs occasionally, and basting with more
barbecue sauce.
Doug would make the barbecue sauce to go with this by skimming the fat
off the cooking liquid, and simmering about 2 cups of the liquid with
2 cups of catsup, a little cider vinegar, and as much Tabasco and
black pepper as you can stand. This may be a little too Cajun for
your taste, however, so feel free to use a bottled sauce, especially
if you and Dad are used to sweet sauces on your ribs.
These ribs may be made weeks in advance, and frozen until you're ready
to sauce 'em and bake 'em, if that's more convenient. This method
also works well with beef short ribs, if you like.
I'd serve a green salad with this, along with corn on the cob, and a
baked potato with all the trimmings.
