A New York State of Barbecue

Remember - No Smoking Allowed 

This is my interpretation of my mother's recipe.  Why an interpretation?  Because getting a recipe from my mother was harder than getting an audience with the Pope.  She did not own a cookbook nor a set of measuring spoons.  She never wrote anything down.  She really didn't like me hanging out in her kitchen, except to dry dishes after dinner.  She explained that she had learned to cook from her mother, my sainted Great Grandmother, Chasie Sarif Albert, for whom I am named, and that Grandma Albert never measured ingredients either.  She would scheiss a pinch or handful, and that word means exactly what you think it does.  On this recipe, she was able to convey some basic proportions, so I've worked with those and managed to replicate the sauce. 

Mom's Barbecue Sauce

2/3 cup Log Cabin Original maple flavored syrup
3 to 4 tablespoons Heinz ketchup
2 tablepoons French's yellow mustard
2 scant tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic or garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
a few drops of Tabasco sauce, optional
kosher salt and coarse black pepper, to taste

Place all the ingredients into a screw top container.  Shake well to combine.  Refrigerate for several hours before using.  Always shake the container before using the sauce.  This is a good sauce for dipping as well as cooking.  I have never used it as a marinade, because of the high sugar content that will cause the food under the heat to burn too quickly.  Having said that, Ina Garten does marinate her chicken in her awesome barbecue sauce, which contains honey, hoisin sauce and other high sugar ingredients, and it does work.  Hmm.

Resist the temptation to put the ingredients in a blender or food processor.  You do NOT want to emulsify this sauce, and that's what will happen because of the mustard.  Don't even use a whisk - the sauce will become too thick, and will not pour properly.  When I make a large amount to go into several containers, I use a fork and lightly "scramble" the ingredients together, just to combine them before pouring into screw top containers for a good shake.

Don't have a screw top container?  Use an emptied bottle from the Log Cabin syrup!

Mom's Barbecue Spareribs

2 racks of meaty pork spareribs

1 recipe of Mom's Barbecue Sauce

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Season ribs with salt and pepper.  Place the racks of ribs, meat side up, in a large roasting pan.  Cover with aluminum foil, and roast ribs for 30 minutes.  Remove from oven and carefully discard all fat and liquid in the pan.  Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees.  Place the partially cooked ribs back in the pan, meat side up, and pour on a generous amount of sauce.  Return the uncovered pan to the oven and roast another 45 minutes, basting the ribs occasionally.  The finished ribs should be tender but not falling off the bone, and the sauce should form a nice glaze.

I think I'm going to let the sauce sit overnight so the flavors marry, and then prepare the ribs tomorrow.  How better to spend a Sunday eating barbecue ribs and watching the Magic get destroyed by the Chicago Bulls?  How can I predict this, you ask?  Well, Dwight is on suspension after his 18th technical foul, and so is Q-Rich after getting saddled with a two game suspension after taking a swing at Gerald Henderson of the Charlotte Bobcats.  I think he should have hit him a little harder, but that's me.  J.J. Redick is still out on medical leave.  J-Rich has a sore knee, hope he can play.  Rashard Lewis, where are you when we need you?

You may have noticed that the ribs I am using are already cut apart.  As it happens, these were on sale last week, and I grabbed them.  Very cheap, very meaty.  Anyway, you cook these pretty much the same way you cook the rib racks, except you place the ribs, meaty side up, on a metal cooling rack fitted into your roasting pan.  Cook as indicated, although based on the size of the ribs, you will probably need more time.  After the first roasting, you should not be able to see any more pink in the meat.  As for the second roasting, check after 45 minutes, and then add more time until the ribs are tender to your liking.

Cook like there's nobody watching, and eat like it's heaven on earth.