We are calling these exploding ribs because we actually almost blew up the back yard while cooking these. We're still hoping the Landlord does not realize what we did. Apparently if concrete gets too hot it explodes. Halfway through cooking these we heard a huge explosion and a boy down the street yell "fireworks!". We ran back and saw that there were chunks of charcoal everywhere. Thankfully the ribs were fine. Oh yeah and the house too. Note to self- don't overheat concrete. We came up with this recipe from two small idea's the first being dehydrating lemon zest in our food dehydrator and the second being a red wine cured sausage we had. Realizing these ideas would be perfect for some slow cooked ribs. These took around 4 and a half hours. They were so moist on the inside and crisp on the outside that I think they were our best ribs yet.

Exploding Ribs

  • 2 tablespoons kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon coarse cracked black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon dried lemon zest
  • 1/2 tablespoon dried sage
  • 1/2 tablespoon fennel seed
  • 1 tablespoon red pepper flake
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
  • 2 racks of ribs
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/4 cup parsley
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • olive oil for basting
  • 2 cloves garlic 1 bay leaf
  • 1 bottle chianti wine
  • hickory wood chips

Mix together the salt, pepper, dried lemon zest, oregano, fennel seeds, sage, sugar and hot pepper flakes. This will be your rub.

 

 

Put the ribs in red wine overnight. We chose Chianti because it's our favorite wine and has a great flavor. Add in the garlic and bay leaf when you let this sit overnight. In the morning sprinkle the rub over the ribs and let sit for at least two hours.

Let the wood chips soak for an hour before cooking. Heat a small amount of coals (not on concrete) to get a very low heat for the first hour. Once you are ready place the ribs indirectly over the heat with a drip pan under the ribs. Don't use the chips until after the first hour of cooking.

 

 

Once you open the grill up again the ribs will look a little glazed. Take the grate off and add more coals and the wood chips. We continuously basted the ribs with Negev Nectar olive oil to give it an earthy flavor. Close the grill again and wait another hour or so and repeat these steps again.

 

 

During your last hour create a finishing sauce for the ribs with the olive oil, parsley, lemon juice, and a few pinches of the rub.

 

 

When twenty minutes is left put the tomatoes directly over the heat on the grill. This will be a good compliment to the Mediterranean flavored in the rub.

 

 

Take the ribs off after four and a half hours and cover in tin foil for ten minutes.

 

 

Once the tomatoes skin is tender and slightly brown take off the grill and brush with the finishing oil.

 

 

Unwrap the foil and brush the ribs with the finishing sauce. Cut them so they are easier to eat. They should be so easy to cut into pieces because they will be tender. Once cut brush down with the sauce again.

 

 

The rub flavor should blend with the smokey hickory taste on the ribs. The finishing sauce gives the perfect freshness to the rib.

 

 

Enjoy!!!

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