BBQ Ribs

There are few better ways to show off our summer wines than by pairing them with barbecue. Our new winemaker Dave Hendrickson shares his favorite BBQ ribs recipe, with a sauce he borrowed from Ina Garten* with just a few tweaks. The secret is pre-cooking the ribs at low heat and then a final turn on the grill before serving.

THE SAUCE
1 ½ cups chopped yellow onions (1 large onion)
3 – 4 cloves of smashed minced garlic
½ cup olive oil
1 cup tomato paste (10 ounces)
1 cup cider vinegar
1 cup honey
½ cup Worcestershire sauce
1 cup Dijon mustard
½ cup soy sauce
1 cup hoisin sauce
2 Tbsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp. ground cumin
½ Tbsp. crushed red pepper flakes

In a large saucepan on low heat, sauté the onions and garlic with the olive oil until the onions are translucent but not browned. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer, uncovered, on low heat for 30 minutes.

THE RIBS The first step can be done the day before. Take a rack or two of baby back ribs and remove the membranes from the underside. Place the ribs on a baking pan and slather both sides with sauce, letting the meat marinate while you heat your oven to 300°. Cook under slow heat for about 90 minutes (meat side up) until the meat is tender. Remove from oven and slather them with more of the sauce. Now, either heat up the grill or cover the ribs and refrigerate overnight.

Heat grill to about 250°, use the indirect heat method. While the grill is firing up, take ribs out ot the refridgerator and bring to room temperature. Place the meat away from the coals and cook covered at low temperature to get that smoky flavor (from 10 – 30 minutes). Remove from grill and add some additional sauce. Enjoy!

*Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa Foolproof: Recipes You Can Trust (2012).