Barbecued Pork Ribs - a Texas recipe

Forty years ago, my Texas cousins gave me The Texas Cookbook by Mary Faulk Koock, as a gift that also reminded me of them.   

ISBN 0-316-50182-4

Its organization is interesting:  the chapters are regions of Texas, such as Amarillo, Houston, Corpus Christi, and The LBJ Ranch.  The recipes are from people the author knew in those regions, so there are often stories that go with the recipes to put them in context.  Some of the stories are funny, like the one about a Welshman who had never tried Fritos dipped in guacamole.  It did not go well - he spat out the one bite he took.  But the dinner was saved because he loved the buffet of rib eye, roast turkey, potatoes, rice pilaf, eggplant casserole, green tomato relish, whole wheat biscuits, and two types of cake.

The author name-drops like crazy, and why not?  If you've had a meal with President Lyndon B. Johnson and his wife, Lady Bird Johnson, you should talk about it!  

The recipes often are accompanied with menus, showing how the meal planners offered luncheons, buffets, wedding and anniversary parties, and more.  Those Texans knew how to party!

I had a slab of pork ribs that I wanted to cook, and my Texas cousins came to mind.  On page 215 I found a straight-forward recipe that I could try on my grill.  It came from the Brownsville chapter.

Barbecued Pork Ribs

10 pounds small pork ribs

Brown sugar

Salt

Java cracked pepper

Small bottle of soy sauce and/or lime juice or red wine vinegar

2 cloves garlic

Just one of those garlic cloves, please!

Rub ribs lightly with brown sugar and sprinkle with salt and cracked pepper.  Marinate in small bottle of soy sauce and/or fresh lime juice or red wine vinegar and sprinkle with cut cloves of garlic.  Cook and smoke slowly in covered barbecue for at least 1 1/2 hours, basting frequently with marinade.

My Notes    

I had 2 3/4 pounds pork loin back ribs, so I used as much sugar, salt, and pepper as I thought I needed, and one clove of garlic.  I also used 1/2 bottle (about 3 ounces) of low-sodium soy sauce.

So I rubbed the meat on all sides with brown sugar, about 1/2 cup.  Then I sprinkled about 1/2 teaspoon of salt and about 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper - that was probably not Java, and it was ground, not just cracked.

I poured the soy sauce over the meat slowly so as not to wash off the sugar and spices.  I put garlic on the meaty side only.

This mixture went into the refrigerator to marinate for one hour.  

I preheated my barbecue grill to between 300 and 350 degrees F.  Then I left on two burners on low on the left side of the grill and put the meat on the right side for indirect heat cooking.  That kept the temperature about the same.

The marinade measured about 1/3 cup, and I basted the meat every 15 minutes until the marinade ran out.  I stored the marinade in the refrigerator between bastings.  I left the barbecue's lid down when I wasn't basting the meat.

After one hour of cooking, I added a foil cup of mesquite chips to smoke the ribs. At this point the marinade was used up, so I just left the lid down so the meat could capture the smoke flavor.

Now here's the twist in the story.  After 1 1/2 hours, the ribs were not close to being done, and I had to prepare to leave for an hour or two.  I really didn't want to leave the barbecue cooking without me there to monitor it, so I removed the ribs from the grill.

Then I wrapped them in foil and put them in the oven at 300 degrees F.  When I got back from my appointment, the ribs were tender and smelled fabulous.

Rubbed with brown sugar and sprinkled with salt and pepper on all sides.

Garlic and soy sauce on the meaty side only.

Off the grill and almost ready for the oven.

The Verdict

They were GOOD.  

Sweet, salty, peppery, and an added burst of umami from the soy sauce.  Not overwhelmingly strong for any of the flavors, which is good because we wanted to taste the pork meat, too.  A nice enhancement for already good meat.

The garlic flavor was very subtle.  I could not taste the smoke, so I think I should have put the foil cup in earlier. 

As I mentioned, they were tender, to the point where they were falling off the bone, but not overcooked.  We ate half of them at one meal; the leftovers reheated were just as good.

Out of the oven.  So tender, it is easy to slice for serving.

Success!  Recommended!  My guest taster has asked to have a repeat performance.

Well done, Texas! 

(I haven't seen my cousins in years, and I miss them.)