After an erroneous selection from the freezer this morning, the label was blurred - i thought I was getting a section of pork belly. As the frost disappeared from the package, it began to look as much like spareribs as pork belly. When mostly thawed, the package was definitely spareribs. So I prepared to do my first ever BBQ’d Spareribs. From Cheryl & Bill Jamison’s “Smoke & Spice”, I got the basic cooking instructions. I gave the ribs a dry rub of chipotle, mesquite, granulated garlic, salt. and pepper. This was only on about an hour before it had hit the BBQ. I put hickory chips in the smoke box and pre-heated our Weber Summit to just under 300F. I placed the ribs in the BBQ and reduced the heat. After a couple hours at just over 250F, i mopped the ribs with some Jim Beam BBQ sauce (this had been way too vinegary for the brisket we got it with). But, I thought the slightly sweet, vinegary sauce might work on the ribs. After four hours i removed the ribs and cut them up. The ribs were served with frites with three sauces - curry mayonnaise, Tabasco mayonnaise, and for both the ribs and the frites - Red Mud BBQ Sauce (from Texas).
Next time I’ll leave the ribs in the BBQ for at least a half hour longer; the flavor was quite good, the ribs were very meaty, but the meat was a little chewy.
Dinner was out on our patio on another warm Spring evening, watching hummingbirds at our feeder, ravens circling in the sky, and doves, finches. robins, and some other birds flitting about. All was very enjoyable with a 2001 Ridge Zinfandel Pagani Ranch - fill less than a cm below the capsule; rich dark ruby garnet in color; rich spicy, peppery berries in nose and flavors; good acidity with little tannins in the mid-palate; and a long earthy, spicy berry finish. The 15.4% alcohol was hardly noticible. Some of the complexity of the nose and flavors was a result of the field blend of nearly 100-year old zinfandel (88%), alicante bouschet (8%), and petite sirah (4%) fruit.