Country ribs are usually more than a foot long. We recommend slicing
them in half before cooking, as they'll be easier to handle. Coat the
ribs in oil and then salt them well. Use a little more salt than you
think you should, especially over the fatty parts of the ribs. Much of
the fat will render away in cooking, leaving a crispy-salty-fatty bit
you will be fighting over with your friends.
To cook the ribs, you have several choices. You can bake them in a
250°F oven (line a baking pan with foil first). You can slow-roast
them in a gas grill (covered) with half the burners turned off (put
them on the side that is not over direct flame). You can set up a
large charcoal grill like a smoker and cook the country ribs on the
cool side (again covered). But best of all would be to build a wood
fire on one side of the grill and slowly barbecue these ribs over
woodsmoke.
No matter what you do, let the ribs cook untouched for 90 minutes. At
the 90-minute mark, turn them and paint them with your barbecue sauce
– we like the sweet-spicy Dr. Pepper BBQ sauce for this, but you could
also use a South Carolina mustard-based barbecue sauce, a Bourbon BBQ
sauce, or a traditional Kansas City-style sauce.
Every 30 minutes or so, turn your ribs and paint them again with the
sauce. How long to cook? Depends on how hot your fire is. At least 3
hours. Maybe as many as 5 hours. You really, really want to slow-cook
these ribs because they are pretty fatty. The slower you cook them,
the more fat renders out and the smoother your ribs will be. Take your
time.
When the meat begins to fall apart – you’ll notice this when you turn
the rib – you’re ready for the final step. Paint the ribs one more
time and then move them to the hot side of the grill. If you are using
the oven method, move the ribs to the broiler. Let the ribs cook a
minute or two so the sauce can caramelize. Pay attention, and do not
let the ribs get too blackened. A little char is good, but you don’t
want a briquette.
Serve with coleslaw, potato salad, deviled eggs or whatever you’d
like. Oh, and napkins. Lots of napkins.
Originally Submitted
8/12/2011
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