foolproof oven ribs

after oxtail, ribs are probably my favorite meat dish. but the thought of cleaning the grates of a grill and lugging a bag of charcoal around seem like more work than it's worth. and how about all of that ash? no thanks. sure, i could use a propane grill (in fact that's actually what i have at home anyhow) but let's not forget the scrubbing down grates part. i'm far too lazy to endure that type of torture if i'm cooking for one. so what do you do when you just feel like some ribs but cannot get yourself to do it the "right" way? enter: oven ribs. they lack the smoky flavor, but they're pretty damn good, i've got to say! cook them slowly and steady and they fall right off the bone.

this recipe calls for a dry rub, but then you slather it with loads of bbq sauce so that you've got the best of both worlds. a little sweet, a little smoky (i know i said they lack smokiness but you get a little with the paprika in the rub), a lot easier to clean up. in fact, the clean up process is just one step: toss foil. that's it! life is just a little bit easier if you decide to make your ribs this way. trust me.

 smoked paprika is best but this works too

seal tight. 

careful not to burn yourself with the steam when you open that pocket of meat. it hurts.

in a semi-hurry, i cooked these for 2 hrs and 15 minutes. if you cook them longer they will recede from the bone even more and get even more tender. 

oven ribs

ingredients:

-1 rack of ribs

-3/4 c brown sugar
-1 teaspoon salt
-1 tbs paprika
-1 tbs garlic powder
-1/2 tsp cayenne
-2 c any bbq sauce (i used Sweet Baby Ray's)

directions:

1. preheat oven to 300 degrees F

2. peel off tough membrane on bony side of ribs
3. mix sugar and spices together to form the dry rub
4. rub all sides of the rib with dry rub
5. lay ribs over two layers of thick foil on a baking sheet, meat side down
6. lay two layers of thick foil on top of ribs and fold edges together to make a seal
7. bake for 2-2.5 hrs until meat starts to shrink away from the ends of the bone.
8. remove from oven, uncover and drain excess juices from the pan
9. heat broiler
10. brush bony side of ribs with bbq sauce
11. broil for 1-2 minutes until the sauce is cooked on and bubbling. do this twice.
12. flip ribs over to brush meat side with bbq sauce
13. repeat broiling process

getting my dog fix

let's preface this need for dog fixes...so for fourteen years of my life i had a dog whom i truly thought of as my best friend. like, i'm not even kidding. my best friend. i loved that dog more than any human i knew. he could make any day, bad or good, even better just by greeting me at the door. i loved that dog so SO much that the idea of leaving to go to college wasn't even really an option. how could i leave my best friend behind? do i sound crazy yet? if i do, then that just means you've never been a legit dog owner. so, my beloved Shortie passed away too many years ago and since then i haven't really had a dog. 

once upon a time, years back probably single and slightly lonely, i went to the SPCA bored with nothing to do. my intentions weren't to find a dog at all. nope. i was missing my best friend, so my intentions were to get my dog fix by simply looking at dogs. at the Peninsula Humane Society, i saw the cutest thing. she had the coat and head of a golden retriever, but had a corgi body and i sort of fell in love. i was ready to walk away when i heard a little kid say to his dad "i want that one!" the asshole inside of me thought "hell no, kid! i want that one and there are plenty of chihuahuas 'round here for you." long story short, i got the dog, named her Biscuit, and after three short weeks realized that i didn't have the time needed to be a good dog owner. sad face forever. she was a really good dog, but my lifestyle and work schedule just couldn't accommodate a pup. 

so every now and then i feel the need to get my dog fix before i go carelessly adopting dogs again. lucky for me, this past weekend was the Golden Gate Kennel Club Dog Show. you guys, i went twice. and it was awesome! like, it was basically better than Disneyland for me. being surrounded by dogs and getting to play with them was absurdly fun. 

Irish Wolfhound. holy moly there were like fifteen of these guys and walking through them made me feel like i had been miniaturized and placed in a jungle of giant dogs. 

this Mastiff was a puppy!! the most huge puppy ever in life! at one point i had my whole hand AND half my forearm in it's mouth and it was sort of awesome. the woman gave me a towel to wipe the slobber off with but considering multiple people prior to me had used it as well, it really didn't do much good.

puppy Saint Bernard! 80lbs

Newfoundland. growing up, the neighbors across the street had two of these gentle giants. look how cute it is! it's like a bear! i want!

look at those huge pawsssssss!

i. love. Newfies!

wrinkles galore...who could it be??

my kind. Chinese Shar Pei.

can't remember what this was...boo me...

does that Chow Chow even look real? it looks like a stuffed animal, no? 

Icelandic Sheepdog. i love the coloring on this one. i'm thinking that when i eventually get a dog, it's going to be one of these. 

the cutest! i'm sure that little girl is this dog's owner and he's just soaking in the love. 

Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever

a brindle corgi with sly eyes

bullie!

hmmmzzzz...

Bernese Mountain Dog. they're such happy looking dogs. and any dog who's job it is to save humans trapped in snow wins the humanitarian award in my book.

the beautiful Shiba Inu

i always want to call Pugs "Pugglesworth"

toy Pomeranians. so effing cute.

oh so very obedient, fellas...

this was the most hilarious thing for some reason

so Libby is crouched next to an Irish Wolfhound and she's a pretty tall Asian in boots with heels, just to give you some perspective on the massivity of this breed. 

Marmaduke, but not really. 

ridic. i call this the Donald Duck because he's got no pantaloons on

the friendliest Rots

i LOVE Alaskan Eskimos! if white dogs weren't so hard to keep pristine, this would be my future dog. 

my vision of this dog is of him speaking in an English accent saying "umm hellooo...i cannot see you, but i'm aware of your wanderings around me." 

Akita pup!

Bull Terriers are far from cute. they're just odd to me

Frenchie!

long haired Daschund.

Mastiff

 Cane Corso. oh my damn, this is the scariest looking dog ever in life. with their ears cut they almost look devilish. 

the pup Bernard again

Great Pyrenee. these dogs seem to be the most gentle and sophisticated of the giants. 

just barely fitting in it's cage

aahhhh that was fun!