A few years back I tasted the best ribs I’d ever eaten.  They had the perfect blend of salt, heat and sweet and they fell right off the bone!  These tasty morsels were made by our friend and one of the owners of Local Happenings Magazine, Robert Briseno.  And so, as we kick off grillin’ season, I knew exactly who I was going to call for his 20 plus years of rib making experience – Robert!

As luck would have it, Robert also happens to have one of the most bitchin’ barbeques I’ve ever seen.  Check this bad boy out!  He had it custom made by a metal worker friend some years ago.  It’s big enough to feed an army!  This barbeque features two separate drawers that pull out to load more coal without disturbing your food, a large flat sloping metal plate that helps to maintain and distribute heat as well having a slight slant which helps deliver any grease out of the barbeque without dripping on the coals.

How do you light a barbeque this size?  With a flame thrower, of course!  Just kidding – it’s not really a flame thrower.  It’s a weed burner used for clearing brush but it’s still really cool and the easiest way to light the hardwood lump mesquite charcoal Robert was using to cook the ribs.  Oh yeah, the ribs!  Sorry, I was distracted by the barbeque.

Robert’s Baby Back Ribs (or RBBR – it’s a palindrome too!)

Baby back ribs, defrosted and brought to room temperature
Olive oil
Kosher salt (for our pork – ha!)
Garlic Powder
Cayenne pepper
Black pepper
Crushed red chili flake
Barbeque sauce (we used Kinder’s today)

Preheat barbeque or grill.  The ribs will cook for 3 hours total at around 200 degrees so make sure you have enough fuel.

On the meat side of the ribs only, rub olive oil then sprinkle with kosher salt, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, black pepper and crushed red chili flake.  Place ribs on the grill, bone side down.

After one hour, flip the ribs and sprinkle the bone side with a little salt and garlic powder.  Cook ribs one hour longer.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan on low heat, stir together barbeque sauce and a little each of kosher salt, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, black pepper and crushed red chili flake.  Flip the ribs a final time and baste the meat side with the barbeque sauce.  Cook ribs for one hour longer.  Remove from heat and let ribs rest around 10 minutes before cutting.  Delish!

A very special thanks to Robert for sharing with me all of the secrets to his awesome ribs!  And thanks to the whole Briseno family for opening up their home (and their barbeque) to me for a day of sun, fun and food!

Looking for something fun to do in the sunshine this weekend?  Check out Robert and his crew at Local Happenings Magazine.  With thousands of events to browse on their on-line calendar, there is always something fun for everyone!

Eat Well!

~Trish