Rhubarb Barbecue Sauced Country Ribs-Secret Recipe Club

 I really wanted to call this post "The Best Darn Country Ribs Ever.  The recipes and cooking method came from Julie at A Little Bit of Everything, my assigned blog for this month's Secret Recipe Club.  Julie is from Nebraska (drove through her state on our trip last year).  She has been blogging since 2009 so there is a wealth of goodies on her blog.

I was glad to see that, like me, she has a sweet tooth, so there are wonderful recipes for sweets.  I can’t wait to try Butterfinger Cheesecake, Snickerdoodle Bars and many more.  There are also some great veggie recipes, especially for Brussels Sprouts.  I will be back to grab some of those when sprouts are in season again.  I also want to try the recipes for 60 Minute Rolls and Throwed Rolls.

 Many of the recipes that caught my eye were from several years ago so I was very glad that I had the time to delve deeply into her blog.  Sometimes great recipes are buried deep in blogs so it is worth it to go back in time if you can.

Several things “came into play” when I made my final decision about what to make and post today.  Rhubarb is in season, and I have been all about rhubarb lately.  I had to work an extra day this week so hubby was going to eat leftovers an extra day.  I wanted to make something that I knew he would enjoy eating four days in a row.  Since I was a bit tired of roasts, I thought a big batch of oven-barbecued country ribs might do the trick.  When I happened upon the recipe for Rhubarb Barbecue Sauce, I knew I was in business.

I had also seen the post for Baby Back Ribs and was intrigued by the method Julie used in making them.  I  decided to use the rub and method of cooking the ribs from that post.  I am so glad I did, as I said these just may be "The Best Darn Country Rib Ever."  The pork was "fall-apart" done but very moist, the sauce was so good I wanted to stand at the stove and eat it with a spoon.  I will be coming back to this method again and again.  I am so glad that, because of Secret Recipe Club, I found this blog.

It takes 3 recipes to make these ribs:  the rub, the braising liquid, and the Rhubarb Barbecue Sauce.  I will post the recipes for each of these and then the method to make the ribs.  Because I am always trying new rub recipes, I halved the ingredients for the rub and still had nearly half left over to use another time.  My ribs are usually frozen, and I like to put the rub on them as soon as I can pry them apart, then let the ribs finish thawing in the refrigerator.  This time the rub was on the ribs for about 3 hours.

Barbecue Rub-courtesy of Julie at Little Bit of Everything and Steven Raichlen
1/4 c. brown sugar, firmly packed
1/4 c. sweet paprika
3 T. black pepper (I used coarse ground)
3 T. kosher salt
1 T. hickory smoked salt (I did not have) or more kosher salt
2 t. garlic powder
2 t. onion powder
2 t. celery seeds (I used my homemade dried celery leaves)
1 t. cayenne pepper

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and mix well, breaking up any lumps of brown sugar.  Store in an airtight container or zip-top bag away from heat or light.  Keeps at least 6 months.

Braising Liquid-courtesy of  Julie at Little Bit of Everything and Alton Brown
1 c. white wine
2 T. white wine vinegar
2 T. Worcestershire sauce
1 T. honey
2 cloves garlic, minced

Measure white wine into a 2-cup glass measure.  Add remaining ingredients.  Stir and microwave on high for 1 minute.

Rhubarb Barbecue Sauce-courtesy of Julie at Little Bit of Everything and Taste of Home
1 c. chopped fresh or frozen rhubarb
2/3 c. water
1 t. vegetable oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 c. ketchup
2/3 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. dark corn syrup of molasses (I used molasses)
2 T. cider vinegar
2 T. Worcestershire sauce
1 T. Dijon mustard
1 1/2 t. hot pepper sauce ( I am wimpy and did not use this much and used a Thai sweet chili sauce)
1/4 t. salt

In a small saucepan, bring rhubarb and water to a boil.  Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered for 5 or 6 minutes or until tender.  Remove from heat and let cool slightly.  In the same saucepan, heat oil and sauté onion until tender.  Add garlic; sauté 1 minute.  Remove from heat.  Place rhubarb, onion and garlic in a blender or food processor and process until smooth.  (Note:  Julie does not process the onion.  I did because I wanted a smooth sauce.)  Return rhubarb/onion mixture to saucepan.  Add remaining ingredients except hot sauce.  Whisk until well blended.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, simmer, uncovered 5 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Store in hot sauce to taste.  Store in refrigerator.  Makes about 2 1/3 cups.

Before I get to the method, I want to mention that I used the oven.  Julie does these in a roaster on a grill also.  Because of the low oven heat, I think that these could be done in a slow cooker, but I would want the cooker big enough so that there is only one layer of meat.  I would also cover the meat with foil, and use a clean tea towel under the lid to catch some of the moisture.  I will probably be giving this a try.

Oven Barbecue Country Ribs
5 lbs. boneless country style pork ribs
Barbecue Rub from above recipe
Braising Liquid from above recipe
vegetable oil
Rhubarb Barbecue Sauce or barbecue sauce of choice

Sprinkle Barbecue Rub on all sides of ribs and rub in well with your fingers.  Allow to sit at least 30 minutes.  (I like much longer-see comment above).  About 4 hours before dinner time, gently pat ribs dry with paper towel, removing as little rub as possible.  Pour a film of vegetable oil into a frying pan and heat.  Brown ribs on all side in batches and adding additional oil as necessary.  Remove browned ribs to a roasting pan with at least 1-inch sides and large enough so the ribs do not touch.  Heat oven to 250 degrees.  Place roasting pan in the oven and add braising liquid.  Cover tightly with aluminum foil.  Roast slowly for about 3 1/2 hours (mine were almost fall-apart done at that point).  Remove ribs and put in another roasting pan or broiler pan if you have one.  Carefully remove pan with liquid from oven and set aside.  Pour about 1 cup of the barbecue sauce into a small bowl to use as a basting sauce.  Increase oven heat to 350.  Brush ribs with barbecue sauce and place in oven for 15 minutes.  Turn ribs and baste again with sauce.  Bake another 15 minutes.  Remove from oven, cover with the foil you used earlier and let stand 10 minutes before serving.  Serve ribs with rest of the barbecue sauce.  Easily makes 10 servings.  Note:  I poured the Braising Liquid into a container, refrigerated it, froze it in several small batches, and will use it as a flavoring for gravy for pork roasts.

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