Inside My Mid-life Crisis

Has it been a month already since my last post? Time is really flying by and we have been busy enjoying this great summer weather. One of my stand-by's for camping meals (especially for a group) is my baby back pork ribs.
This is a 3 step process so planning is everything. Dry rub overnight-braise-grill.

Ribs:
I usually pick them up at Costco or Cash & Carry ranging in price from $2.99 to $3.99 per pound. They come in packages containing 3 racks of ribs. (Yield is about 9 servings of 4-rib sections).

Dry Rub:
1 1/2 C Brown sugar (light or dark)
1/4 C Kosher Salt
1 t Black Pepper
1/4 t Chipotle Pepper (ground or Chili Powder)
1/2 t Smoked Paprika (optional or regular paprika)
1 t Cajun Seasoning (good 'ol Penzy!)
2 t Sweet Curry Powder (yellow)
Mix rub ingredients in a bowl.
Line a deep roasting pan with 2 layers of foil overlapping a few inches to hang over the top.

Lay the racks in the pan "meat" side up "silver" side down, they will likely overlap a bit or you may need to use more then one pan depending on how big your pan is. **NOTE-you don't have to take that "silver" off, these babies will be so tender you actually need it to hold the meat on the bone!**
Coat liberally with the dry rub on the top/meat side only.
Cover the ribs with another layer of foil pressing it down against the meat and folding over your overlap edges--Refrigerate overnight (or a minimum of 4 hours).
Good morning! The next step is the braise, braising is cooking at low temperature in a liquid. This technique is used for making tough cuts of meat tender, liquid can be water, stock, beer, apple juice or hard cider or something a little more special as below. Use this same technique with a beef or pork roast for succulent results.
Braise Liquid
2 C White Wine (I like to use a Chardonnay)
1/4 C Vinegar ( I used white wine vinegar but cider is great too)
2T Honey
1 T crushed garlic
Dash Tabasco or Franks
Dash Worcestershire sauce
Mix braise ingredients in a bowl and gently poor over the top of your now-24 hour-rubbed ribs. Cover again with the foil.
Bake at 300 for 3-4 hours until meat is tender and pulls away from the bone. Check them after about 2 hours and add more wine or water if needed, you don't want your liquid to dry out.

These are ready to eat now, you can serve immediately with a little BBQ sauce on the side.  To serve later, let them cool a bit before putting them back in the fridge. When you are ready to serve them you can just heat them up on the grill. If you want you can coat with BBQ sauce on the grill. I usually just serve it on the side because these babies don't even need the sauce, they are amazing just as they are. Enjoy and remember, anything worth having is worth working for.

Wine Corner: I have been remiss in getting pictures of bottles for you but I do have this one. Suffice it to say that does NOT mean I haven't been tasting new wines and taking tasting notes tho :)

2007 Athena Dolcetto from the Viansa Winery in Sonoma County CA.
Dolcetto is a black (red) grape from originating from the Piedmont Region of NW Italy. This wine appeared clear and ruby in color. Aroma was light and pleasant with fruit notes. Taste was medium dry with a low acid soft finish. Pretty easy drinker especially in this hot weather, chill it a little so it is not at "room temp" of 80!!