My Cajun BBQ Spareribs Recipe

It seems that around my house around the holidays I always get saddled with the task of cooking. Doesn't matter if it's outdoors on the grill or doing a Thanksgiving dinner. The past fourth of July was no different. Knowing well what was coming I set out for my local supermarket looking for Baby Back Spareribs. One small slab of ribs was over seven dollars. However, in the frozen meat section there was a box of frozen imported spareribs. Ten Pounds for less than ten dollars. Well the price is good, but the first thing I thought was this was going to be some tough meat. I bought a box and on the drive home began to go through my recipes mentally to cook ribs until they were tender.

Water was the first thing that came to mind. I could either bake them in water or boil them until tender before placing them on the grill. I have cooked them that way before. Just season them and slice up a couple of onions then bake until the meat falls of the bone. Easy! No, that's cheating. as a matter of fact any self respecting BBQ competition will not allow you to boil your ribs first. If you have a cut of meat that has to be prepared a certain way in order to be tender, then you better know the proper way to prepare it. So boiling spareribs first is a sin.

There was one other recipe that I knew of that knew prepared spareribs on a grill and rendered juicy tender meat with bones that would twist out on their own. My Cajun BBQ Spareribs recipe! Well it's mine now, and everything that I needed was already in my kitchen.

Cajun cuisine developed out of necessity. Acadian refugees, who largely came from what is now modern-day New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, were farmers rendered destitute by the British expulsion, and had to learn to live off the land. They adapted their French rustic cuisine to local (i.e. Louisiana) ingredients such as rice, crawfish, and sugar cane. Many households were large, consisting of eight to twelve people; thus, regardless what other vocations may have been followed by the head of household, most families also farmed. Feeding a large family, all of whose members did hard physical work every day, required a lot of food. Cajun cuisine grew out of supplementing rice with white meat, game, or other proteins where available such as crawfish or any other type of river creature. French, Spanish and Indian culinary influences can also be detected in Cajun food.

For this recipe I will need Cajun Spice, Garlic, Powder Red Cayenne Pepper, Aluminum Foil and Salt. And because it was the Fourth, I opted to cook outdoors on the gas grill. a charcoal grill would work, but it's maintaining a proper temperature is going to be crucial to ensure the meat cooks properly. If you can do it on a charcoal grill fine, a smoker might be easier, but relax an oven will do nicely as well.

Here's how to have everyone asking what you put on your ribs. First off note there was no mention on Barbecue Sauce. BBQ sauce is a condiment. Put it on the table next to the ketchup and mustard. We're doing a Dry Rub using the Cajun Spice. Here's a recipe, however, the supermarket brand will do fine.

CAJUN SEASONING SPICE RUB

2 tbsp. paprika
1 1/2 tsp. each dried oregano and dried thyme
1 tsp. each onion powder and black pepper
1 tsp. each garlic powder and salt

Mix until well combined. Save in an airtight container for future use. Makes about 1/4 cup.

Rub your thawed meat with the Cajun spice. Coat it well as you would any other rub. Note that I said "Coat Your Meat". I also use this spice on Chicken and Fish as well as Pork. After the Cajun spice, season both sides of the ribs with Garlic Powder, Salt and Cayenne Pepper to taste. If you like spicy foods, add more Cayenne. Wrap each slab separately in aluminum foil and put the in the refrigerator overnight. Hey! That's important. Without the over night marinate the flavors of the spices and the peppers won't have a chance to get to know each other and season the meat all the way to the bone.

The hard work is done! You now have individually wrapped Cajun seasoned, marinated and maybe spicy spareribs that we are now going to cook slowly on a low heat. Why cook "Slow, Low, and wrapped in foil? We're cooking it slow so that the fat has a chance to melt and moisturize the meat while cooking. The foil is so that the meat does not brown too fast during the process. So preheat your grill, oven, or smoker to 350 degrees. Lay your foiled ribs on the grill and let them cook allow 2 to 3 hours of slow grilling time. Turning your packages every hour to make certain one side does not cook more than the other. After two hours on the grill you can peak through the foil. Remove when your ribs are crispy and the seasoning has caramelized on forming a spicy crust on the meat. Careful removing the ribs from the foil, when hot the meat should fall off the bone.

One of the reasons I love to Travel is because I love to eat and sampling the local cuisine is better than a souvenir tee shirt to me. Don't get me wrong, as a Travel Agent I have a closet full of tropical shirts, Tee shirts and Golf shirts, but even as I type this article about Cajun Foods, I'm thinking of another dish I have eaten from another of my travels. Who knows, maybe one day I'll tell you about that also.

Arthur Williams, " Start Your Own Online Travel Business And Work From Home. "

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