For the past 10 years or so, my family has been taking a summer vacation to Lake Lanier (about an hour or so north of Atlanta, GA). We rent a house on the lake, bring our boat and all converge for a week of sun, relaxation and always lots of food!
Instead of eating out or one person being responsible for all the meals for a whole week, we came up with a pretty creative and healthier way of dealing with meals. Each day, one “couple” is responsible for all the meals for that day: breakfast, lunch and dinner. When I say “couple” it is really a pair. For a long time, I was the single one of the group and so I usually got paired up with dog, Joey, and he is all paws in the kitchen (I couldn’t resist). Joey can’t really help, but since I do like to cook, it was fine with me. It is the couple’s choice on what they do on their day. Some days, breakfast will be bagels and muffins and others it is eggs, biscuits, grits, sausage, etc. Lunch can be sandwiches to BBQ. Dinner can range from ordering pizza to cooking ribs with all the trimmings.
This year my boyfriend joined us with this son for a few days on the lake. He too likes to cook so we worked together. This is really his recipe and he doesn’t tend to make recipes healthier but this one is really tasty! And I say all things in moderation, right? I will share all the recipes that we made on our day over the next couple of days. I will say that we were on vacation and so I was a bit lax with making all the recipes healthier.
Adapted from Cook’s County, The Best of America’s Test Kitchen. I had the magazine but the recipe can also be found on their website. You do have to be a paid subscriber to the site to view the whole recipe (in full disclosure I am a member as well) but you can have my version for free;)
Ribs- 2 tbsp instant espresso powder
- 2 tbsp liquid smoke
- 1 tbsp salt
- 2 (2½- to 3-pound) racks pork baby back ribs
- Barbecue Sauce
- 10 second mist of extra virgin olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped fine
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1½ cups low-sodium chicken broth
- ¾ cup cider vinegar
- ¾ cup light corn syrup
- ¼ cup ketchup
- ½ cup molasses
- 2 tbsp brown mustard
- 2 tbsp hot sauce
- 1 tbsp instant espresso powder
- ½ tsp liquid smoke
- FOR THE RIBS: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Bring 3 cups water, espresso powder, liquid smoke, and salt to boil in small saucepan. Pour mixture into large roasting pan. Place ribs, meat side down, in liquid. Cover pan tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 1½ hours.
- FOR THE BARBECUE SAUCE: Meanwhile, heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and ¼ teaspoon salt and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in paprika and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add broth, vinegar, corn syrup, ketchup, molasses, mustard, hot sauce, and espresso powder and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened and reduced to 2 cups, 50 to 60 minutes. Stir in liquid smoke and season with salt and pepper to taste. Let cool for 20 minutes. (Sauce can be refrigerated for up to 1 week.)
- Reserve ½ cup sauce for serving. Remove ribs from roasting pan and transfer, meat side up, to wire rack set in foil-lined rimmed baking sheet; discard braising liquid. Brush both sides of ribs with sauce. Bake until tender and fork inserted into meat meets no resistance, about 1½ hours, brushing meat side with sauce after 30 and 60 minutes of cooking. Tent ribs loosely with foil and rest for 30 minutes. Slice meat between bones and serve with reserved sauce.