Barbecued ribs: Am I doing them wrong?

It's Labor Day, and that means barbecued ribs at our house. One of the cool things about holidays is that we've always either followed or established traditions for what we eat. That saves a lot of thinking going into what are usually pretty busy days.

Today started busy: We were out putting up flags on the boulevards of Brookings. It's a marching band activity—probably raises some funds for the band (maybe I should pay closer attention at the parents' meetings!)—but more than that, it was kind of fun. We got up a zero-dark-thirty, rendezvoused with other band parents at a storage shed to pick up the flags, then hit the streets. The whole thing took a little more than an hour, after which we had a leisurely breakfast at Perkins. We go out again at around 6:30 to take them down and back to the shed. So it's good to know dinner is already planned.

However, this year I'm approaching the ribs with a little trepidation: Apparently I've been doing them wrong for the last 15 or 20 years! I recently posted something on Facebook about how I parboil them first, and I caught heck from one of my old friends who told me in no uncertain terms you DO NOT parboil (or boil) ribs. Yikes!

Here's what I've been doing since my earliest days as Mr. Mom back in Texas. I got away with it there for a couple of years, but that was before Facebook, so all anyone ever knew about was the result, not how I got us there.

Parboil a rack or two of pork ribs (either short ribs or baby back ribs, depending on what I find on sale) for about 45 minutes in a stock pot with a few big glurps of white vinegar in the water. I don't know how big a "glurp" is, but that's the sound the vinegar jug makes when I pour it in. I'm guessing that altogether it's about a cup, maybe two. If I don't smell vinegar while they're cooking, I didn't use enough. Sometimes the ribs go in frozen, sometimes I cut them into smaller sections, sometimes they just go into the boiling water/vinegar.

Anyway, after about 45 minutes a lot of the connective tissue has been broken down and they're ready for the oven. I fish them out of the water, set them on a cutting board and season them. I always do one of two things: season salt and Tony Chachere's Creole seasoning; or my homemade Cuban rub. (I'll post the recipe for that below.)

Then onto a rack (sprayed with olive oil) in a covered pan with a little water underneath, and into a 375° oven for another 45 minutes.

When that's done you can finish them however you like. Sometimes I serve them as dry ribs—especially if I used the Cuban rub—which means jacking up the heat to 450° for another 15 minutes uncovered. Most of the time I brush them with barbecue sauce—I tend to use the cheap stuff, Kansas City style or original Kraft, sometimes Jack Daniel's brand, occasionally even homemade— and back into the 450° oven for 15 minutes. And sometimes they get the sauce then go on the grill—over mesquite charcoal in the Weber, or with some mesquite or hickory chips in the smoker box if they go on the gas grill.

And that's pretty much it.

But today I'm going to try something a little different. I'm not willing to let go of the parboiling just yet—I think it makes the ribs more tender—but I'm going to move them from there directly to the gas grill, indirect heat (as low as I can get it) with a pan of water over the flames on both sides and hickory chips in the smoker. I have no idea how long they'll need to cook, but I can tell when they're done by how easily I can pull the meat off the bone. (The beans and rice, corn and Texas toast all go pretty fast and can wait until the ribs are finished.)

I'll get back to you on how they turn out. Who knows, maybe next time I'll get all traditional and try low heat and smoke them all day!

Meanwhile, here's the recipe for the Cuban rub (for me, each "part" is a teaspoon, but if you want to make a larger quantity and store it, you can substitute some other measurement, then do the math for the bay leaves):

6 parts Montreal Steak Seasoning (yeah, that's kind of cheating, but it works)
2 parts anise seed
2 parts ground coriander
3 parts ground cumin
1 part dried lemon peel
4 bay leaves, chopped very fine

If you'd rather do this as a marinade and use fresh ingredients, here's how that could work, with this caveat: I haven't done this one specifically, but these are roughly the proportions I use for liquids, spices and solids in other marinades:

1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 medium onion, chopped fine
Fresh rosemary, chopped
Fresh cilantro, chopped
2 tsp. anise seed
3 tsp.  cumin
1 tsp. Kosher or sea salt
1/2 Tbsp. fresh ground black pepper
1/2 Tbsp. paprika
4 bay leaves, chopped very fine

It occurs to me that I ought to be posting pictures, so maybe after I make them today, I'll do that. Assuming, of course, they come out okay!