The sticky, tender rib recipe that started it all...
My idea for Sailor Wife came after I had amassed quite the collection of recipes Chase had sent me during his time offshore. Chase has met some characters who cook for him while he's offshore, and their recipes are so good. But the very first recipe was a special one; we've used it at almost all of our big gatherings and it's always a big hit. The funniest thing about this recipe was it was during the time Chase was the cook!
During college, Chase was working as a deckhand moving cargo between Washington State and Alaska. On larger vessels with more crew, there will be a chef and a steward staff. But on smaller tug boats, the deckhand is normally responsible for cooking for the entire crew. It's not like I didn't think Chase could cook, but Chase is a workaholic and he rarely takes enough time to stop to eat. When it comes to eating while he's working, it's primarily about efficiency. So I was a little worried, only because I didn't know how a bunch of crew from Washington would like Chase's 30 second microwaved bean burritos! #eatquickandgetbacktowork Also, planning meals for a whole crew you just met is totally different than making something for yourself to eat. Luckily for Chase, he found a company cookbook in the galley on the tug and started making meals from it. This recipe was one of the first things he made and everyone loved it! Boiling the ribs for three hours makes the meat fall off the bone and finishing them on the BBQ gives them that charred, tangy BBQ taste.
This recipe can be scaled up or scaled down depending on how many people you are feeding. I made this last night for myself with less than a pound of meat and I've made this for close to 20 with nearly 10 pounds of ribs! You should figure about a 1/2 of pound of spare ribs per person when deciding how much pork to buy (if you go with baby back ribs you need to go with more like 1 to 1 1/2 pounds per person because of the large proportion of bones).
On Friday, I'll be talking BBQ sauces so check back then to see a complete list of all the different kinds. This recipe can be coated with any of your favorite BBQ sauces, but I've included a recipe Chase sent me from one of his chefs on the Stuyvey!
Ingredients
Pork Spare Ribs
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Sweet Mesquite Seasoning (the one from Costco is the best!)
Garlic Salt
Lawry's Seasoned Salt
Pepper
Your favorite BBQ Sauce (see the Stuyvey recipe below!)
Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Remove spare ribs from package. Rinse with cold water and pat dry. Place spare ribs meat side down in pan for cooking (I usually use pyrex glass pans, but I've also used throw-away aluminum pans when cooking for a big crowd). Coat each side with olive oil. Generously rub (very generously, don't be afraid of some seasoning!) sweet mesquite seasoning, garlic salt, seasoned salt and pepper. Flip ribs and repeat on the meat side.
Fill each pan with enough water to almost completely cover ribs. Cover with tightly wrapped aluminum foil. (Don't forget this step! Not only is it critical to make the ribs tender but it keeps your oven from being coated in pork juice... I might know this from personal experience...)
Bake in oven for 2 1/2 - 3 hours or until meat falls off bone.
Drain liquid from pan and slather each rack with your favorite BBQ sauce (don't forget the other side!)
Grill ribs for 10-15 minutes on barbeque until the outside is charred. Coat with more BBQ sauce and serve immediately.
ribs dry rubbed with seasoning...
ribs submerged in water and ready to be cover with foil and baked...
Stuyvey Mustard BBQ Sauce
Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a low simmer and whisk occasionally for 20-30 minutes. Let cool before serving.