Grilled BBQ Ribs: The Great Computer Transition

After 8 years with my PC, Husband took it upon himself to insist I upgrade and get a new computer. I demurred and deferred expressing my desire to avoid a large purchase as well as trying to hide the dread of actually transferring and organizing the data and information on one computer in order to move it to another. Husband's insistence came on the heels of loud and vociferous yelling at my PC, when it repeatedly crashed over a series of days that subsequently blew up a lot of work that I needed.

After a 8 month period of debate, I finally decided to go ahead and make my new computer thing happen. I told Husband that I wanted to be completely ready for the transition, so I began uploading photos to the cloud and removing unnecessary data bits and pieces from my computer, so that I could literally start afresh with a new computer; it would be clean, pristine, organized and smoothly working so that I could find things easily and execute things well.

The best laid plans - sometimes don't happen. I gave myself an additional 10 days to finish the work that I was working on, and went ahead and ordered myself the new computer. I thought that I would finish up all the transfer work during the time that I was waiting for the new computer, and by the time it arrved, I'd be ready to go.

Fast forward one week after pickup, and currently on my desk are two rather large computers, both functioning while I am turning into a mad schizophrenic because I can't let go of my old computer and let the new one fully take over. I make unfair comparisons and judgements between the two, and definitely find myself favoring my old computer for work and the new one for...SHOPPING ONLINE. (Fortunately I haven't bought anything, but man do I love looking.) The new one doesn't have all the programs I need on it yet, while the old one is worn, familiar and comfortable. I kind of want my desk space back but I'm unwilling to let go of the old one yet, and the truth of the matter is that it's still in need of lots of work before all the data is ready to be transferred.

In short, I wasn't ready when I opened the box and I shouldn't have allowed myself to put the new one out until the old one was ready to go. My desire did not meet my preparation, and now, nearly two weeks after I have my new computer set up, my old one sits there as well, still awaiting it's full data transfer and organization. Even with my best laid plans, I was not prepared enough and now I'm left with a full desk and one computer too many. I don't really have an opt out option from this situation at this point, so until I get my act fully together, this is what I'll have to deal with. I do not recommend this situation to anyone.

Over the summer, I discovered this method of cooking ribs, and it was the perfect "opt-out" option I needed from an oven on low for several hours. When you're in a rush, or you've forgotten your timing, ribs aren't that feasible because rushing them makes them unappetizing and not delicious. However this boil and brine method cuts your slow roasting time of a rib by 75% and gives you the option of finishing your ribs on the grill with your favorite bbq sauce basted on by your husband, further freeing you up to pursue other things.

This is one of those recipes that does benefit from a bit of meticulousness when it comes too timing. Boil the ribs for too long and you'll end up with dry ribs. Not long enough and the ribs end up tough and not tender, even after grilling. Get the timing right, and you'll end up with juicy, tender, perfectly executed ribs in less than half the time.

Grilled Barbecue Ribs
Makes 3 racks of ribs

Boil and Brine Ingredients
6 quarts water
½ cup sugar
¼ cup salt
1 onion
5 cloves of garlic
3 racks of baby back pork loin ribs, each rack cut into halves or thirds, depending on your stock pot size. (you need to fit the racks into the pot so they are submerged completely)

Method
In a very large stock pot, bring to a boil all ingredients, except for the ribs. Once water has come to a boil, add rib racks carefully, one by one, submerging them in the water. If the water looks as if it will overflow, you may need to get a cup and carefully remove some of the water.

Bring pot back up to a boil. Once the water is boiling again, set timer for 30 minutes. Once 30 minutes has passed, remove ribs from water, and cool on a large tray until ready for grilling. DO NOT leave ribs submerged in the water, as the meat will dry out.

BBQ Sauce Ingredients
2 bacon slices
4 sprigs fresh thyme
1/2 onion
3 smashed garlic cloves
2 cups ketchup
1 cup apricot jam
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground paprika

Sauce Method
Heat a 2-count of oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the thyme and bacon and cook slowly for 3 to 4 minutes to render the bacon fat and give the sauce a nice smoky taste. Add the onion and garlic and cook slowly, without coloring, for 5 minutes. Add all of the rest of the sauce ingredients, give the sauce a stir, and turn the heat down to low. Cook slowly for 20 minutes to meld the flavors. With a hand blender, puree the sauce (all the bacon, onions, garlic, thyme all chopped up.) Put some sauce in a separate bowl for basting, reserving the remaining sauce for serving.

Grill Method
Preheat grill to low heat. Evenly coat ribs with BBQ sauce and place sauce side down onto the grill. Coat top side with bbq sauce as well. Cover grill and allow sauce to cook on ribs for about 10 minutes. Open grill, flip over and again cover, this time for only 7 minutes. Add more sauce to cook if desired.

Remove from heat. Cool slightly before cutting. Serve with lots of wet napkins.

Printable recipe