Our ‘unofficial kick-off to summer’ was this past weekend and included Honey BBQ Pork Back Ribs.  Tender, finger-licking good, awe-mazing Honey BBQ Pork Back Ribs.  One of our favorite ‘grilling’ cookbooks is Championship Barbecue Sauces by Chef Paul Kirk.  We adapted his Kansas City Style Ribs recipe.

Before doing anything else, remove the silverskin from the underneath side of each rack of ribs.  This is no small task but so worth the effort.  Using a small pairing knife, start at one end of the rack, gently loosen the silverskin until you have enough to hold on to.  Grip the skin (using a paper towel will improve your grip), then slowly begin to pull it off, using the knife to loosen when necessary.  The idea is to pull off one continuous piece.  Best of luck.

To begin, assemble a dry spice rub made from a combination of sugar and other seasonings in a glass jar (so you can shake the heck out of it to combine).  Generously coat the ribs with the rub.  We used an oven method for cooking, although grilling over indirect heat or smoking is great as well.  For the oven method, place the ribs on a rack in a roasting pan.  Add 1-inch of water, beef bullion and Worcestershire sauce to the water, then cover with foil and slow roast for about three hours.

While ribs are cooking, prepare the Honey BBQ sauce.  I actually love this part of Chef Kirk’s recipe.  He calls for 1 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce with a 1/2 cup of honey.  What could be easier than that.  You know what you like in a BBQ sauce so go with it.  The honey gives these ribs a nice caramelized sticky finish.

After 3 hours of roasting check the ribs for doneness.  The meat should be very tender and pull away from the bones.  When done, brush the ribs with the BBQ sauce and put them under the broiler to finish.  If you like your ribs wet, you can add additional sauce after cooking.

Honey BBQ Pork Back Ribs with Parmesan Herb Roasted Potatoes and roasted corn on the cob.  Welcome summer thyme.  We’re officially ready.

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Honey BBQ Pork Back Ribs

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 3 hours hours

Total Time 3 hours hours 15 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author adapted from Chef Paul Kirk

Ingredients

• 2 slabs pork back ribs
• 3 Tbl. Worcestershire sauce
• 2 beef bullion cubes

For the Dry Spice Rub…

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup smoked paprika
• 3 Tbl. seasoned salt
• 2 Tbl. chili powder
• 2 Tbl. ground black pepper
• 1 Tbl. celery seed
• 1 Tbl. onion powder
• 1 Tbl. garlic powder
• 1 Tbl. ground sage
• 1 Tbl. ground thyme
• 1 Tbl. dry mustard
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

For the Honey BBQ Sauce…

• 1 cup your favorite BBQ sauce
• 1/2 cup honey

Instructions

• Using a small pairing knife, remove the silverskin from the underneath side of each rack of ribs. Starting at one end of the rack, gently loosen the silverskin until you have enough to hold on to. Grip the skin (using a paper towel will improve your grip), then slowly begin to pull it off, using the knife to loosen when necessary.
• Combine dry spice rub ingredients in a glass jar, then give a good shake to combine. Pat ribs dry with paper towels and season generously with spice rub, using about 4-6 Tbl. per rack.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place a rack inside a large roasting pan. Lay ribs meat side up on rack. Add about 1″ of water to the pan, the Worcestershire sauce and bullion cubes then cover tightly with heavy duty aluminum foil. Roast for 30 minutes, then reduce heat to 275 degrees for 1 hour, then 250 degrees for an additional 30 minutes or until done.
• While ribs are cooking, combine the BBQ sauce and honey in a small sauce pan. Simmer for 5 minutes on low, stirring occasionally. Set aside.
• Ribs are done when the meat is very tender and pulls away from the bones. Turn oven to broil and raise oven rack to give about a 2-inch clearance for the ribs. Generously coat the ribs with the Honey BBQ sauce. Place ribs under broiler until the sauce is bubbly and just begins to blacken. Allow to rest 5 minutes before cutting.
• Serve as individual ribs or as portions of 5-6 ribs per person.

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