President's Day may be an average holiday that many people don't get off, but I did. So, the plan was to take full advantage of a rare three day weekend, and maximize it.
My day actually started the night before when I prepped my barbecue ribs that would become dinner for the holiday. This began by preparing my rub.
INGREDIENTS
6 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
3/4 Teaspoon Black Pepper
1 1/2 Teaspoons Chili Powder
1 1/2 Teaspoons Salt
3 Teaspoons Onion Powder
3 Teaspoons Garlic Powder
3 Teaspoons Paprika
1 1/2 Teaspoon Oregano
1 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper (Optional)
Throw all those spices into a bowl, and stir them up, ensuring you crush all the clumped bits of brown sugar. You want to get everything good and blended, and to ensure you do, you can even run it through a sifter, but that may be a bit overkill.
Once you have a nice mixture, take your ribs (or chicken, or really any kind of meat you want to turn into barbecue), and pat it dry.
You want to get as much moisture off the surface of your meat as possible. This will ensure your mixture actually adheres to the meat versus running off the liquid.
Generously coat the top side of your meat with the mixture, and then get down and dirty, rubbing it into the meat. Get every nook and cranny.
Flip your meat over, and repeat the process, making sure you get the sides as well.
With your meat coated, you're going to want to seal it, and let it rest in the fridge overnight. Alternatively, you could also freeze your meat if you want to eat it on a different day. Tinfoil will work if you want to let it sit over night. However, for me, I'm going to vacuum seal that bad boy.
If you don't own a vacuum sealer, I highly recommend one. This is not only perfect for marinating food, but also allows you to buy large portions of meat, which is ultimately cheaper, and then freeze it in portions. My girl and I find this so convenient.
Yes, I know the debate that vacuum sealing may or may not aid in the marination process, I do it for one specific reason. No mess in the fridge. Bottom line, sealed bags don't leak.
With my ribs set up, they go to the fridge, and the night slowly comes to an end.
The next day was a day of outings with George of G.I. Jigsaw. Our first stop was McKay's. I've been many times, but for George, it was his first.
I spent most of my time there digging through the CD's, and while I didn't necessarily find anything from my want list, I did grab a few CD's which intrigued.
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Soundtracks
The Jungle Book*Mary Poppins*Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
2001: A Space Odyssey*Cinderella*Fantasia
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80's Soundtracks
Somewhere In Time*Sweet Dreams
Sea of Love*Children of a Lesser God*Bird
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80's Albums
Run DMC's Tougher Than Leather*Split Enz' History
Never Repeats (The Best of Split Enz)*Paul Young's Between
Two Fires*Elvis Costell and the Attractions' Blood &
Chocolate*Randy Newman's Land of Dreams*Mike
Oldfield's Discovery
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From the CD section, I made my way over to the cartoon DVD's. I found a complete series of the 90's Superman the Animated Series, and felt the price was right for it to come home with me.
Our next stop was Echo Base. I wasn't necessarily looking for anything here, but when I saw a few back issues of What The, and the crossover series Evolutionary War, I decided to grab them.
Feeling happy that I wasn't spending a ton of money for the day, I made my way to the exit, only to find George and I in a conversation with the employee there. It was at that moment that I glanced to my left. Big mistake.
Ugh! Mega Man 5 and 6 were the last two games in the series that I didn't own, and while the latter of the sequels has always been "reasonably" priced, 5 has always been rarer and far more expensive. Today was no exception. I paid double what I got all of the above comics and CD's for these two games. My budget for the day was blown, but I wasn't going to leave these two out in the wild.
Our last stop was 2nd and Charles, another store which George hadn't been to. While I glanced around to see if there were any diamonds in the rough, my shopping spree was more than over. As such, I didn't end up picking up anything.
What I did do was ask my girl at noon to open those barbecue ribs up, wrap them in tinfoil, and throw them in the oven on 250°. They'll sit in that low temp for the next five hours, getting all delicious and tender.
After the five hour mark, take those bad boys out of the oven, and carefully open them. There's going to be a bit of liquid in there, so be mindful of steam and spills.
Go ahead and dump that liquid down the drain, being careful to not send your ribs with it. Then give a bone a gentle tug. If it comes out clean, those ribs are right on the money.
Now give those ribs a kiss of sauce. A little, a lot, it doesn't matter. Whatever sauce you like, and as much as you like. Me, I just like a nice thin coat.
Then I use a cooking brush to spread it all over.
Now you have a few choices. These are done, so you can eat them as is. Alternatively, you can throw them back in the oven on a high broil, or even on a grill to get the charred up.
I personally prefer the high broil method for two reasons. One, I'm just looking to get that sauce gooey and sticky. Two, while there's definitely an appeal to charring them on a grill, with how tender they are, you risk losing meat down the slats.
Whatever your method, it's all good. The end result is to get you a good plate full. Eat them off the bone, put them on bread, heck, even dump them on a salad if you're into the healthy lifestyle.
Either way, you know what's up. Dig in and get you some!
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