Ribs 66

“Spare or baby?” said she (that’s me!)
“Happy to get anything,” said he.
“Sauce or rub?” said she.
“Happy to get anything,” said he.  

“He” is hubby. My husband is a Chicagoan, aka Mr. Chi-town. Mr. Chi-town used to narrate meat stories. Like how he used to dine with his family at a steak house overlooking the cattle in the Chicago stockyards. And if there’s one thing that makes Mr. Chi-town mighty happy all year in the Plains is grilling meats. Before the 4th of July, Mr. Chi-town had a one track mind: Ribs. This time, a special homemade rub awaited the grill master.

Guess what is the star in this rub recipe?
Cloves.
Yep. Believe it or not. Cloves.

The cloves make the ribs exotic-tasting. I used fresh whole cloves though-  about a dozen of ’em dry-toasted and then ground fine using my mortar and pestle. Of course you may use readily ground cloves. I like toasting the cloves just brings out the lovely oils which impart a warm, spicy, fruity flavor. Plus, a little bit of this goes a long way.

Pat dry the baby back ribs using a paper towel. That way, the rub will adhere well.

Dark Muscovado sugar from Mauritius was used in this recipe. It’s brilliant caramel-y, browned buttery, slight burnt sugar flavor adds a totally addictive taste and flavor to the ribs. Feel free to use any brown sugar. 

Here’s the recipe. It serves 2-3 rib lovers, but if you are a rib fanatic like Mr. Chi-town, you probably might want this baby back all to yourself.

Ribs 66
A rack of baby back ribs
1/4 teaspoonful  ground cloves (or 12 cloves — lightly toasted for 2-3 minutes in low medium pan and finely ground)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
1/2 tablespoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder
4 tablespoons dark Muscovado sugar or dark brown sugar (add more if you like your ribs sweeter)
1 tablespoon sweet paprika

Method
First, get the Weber going.

1. 1. 1. Place ribs on a tin foil. Clean and pat dry ribs with a paper towel.
      2. Using a spice blender, blend the ground cloves, ground cinnamon, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne powder, sugar,and sweet paprika until the mixture is fine.
      3. Divide the blended rub mixture into two parts. Use one half part of the rub mixture to sprinkle on the top part of the rib. Gently press the rub onto the ribs.
      4. Sprinkle the remaining second half of the rub mixture on the bottom part of the ribs. Gently press the rub onto the ribs.
      5. Make sure the rub is evenly distributed all over the ribs. Get some rub mixture on the sides as well.
      6. Grill the ribs until well-done.

Mr. Chi-town is dreaming of a chilled Tiger Beer. I’m dreaming of a slushy BahamaRita. (Bahama Breeze, where are you?)

So what’s your rib story?

Happy summer grilling, America! Love ya!

Tee