Ribs That Stick to Your Ribs

So I've mentioned Pappa McMillen's Oven Ribs in a previous post, but really the detail (or lack thereof) I provided for said post did the dish little to no justice. Upon Pop's return home to H-Town this summer, of course one of the things I'd been looking forward to was the meals I'd been doing painfully without while New Orleans was hogging all the glory (as if New Orleans needs anymore cooks in their kitchen).

Well, my memory of Oven Ribs is and will always be a fond one. How could they possibly be improved upon? They couldn't. So don't try.
Imagine mine and my sister's surprise when good ol' Pop was in town for his final job interview and offered was forced to bust out the Oven Ribs. The new and improved Oven Ribs.

HOLD UP. HOLD UP. WHY WE BE MESSIN' WITH THE FORMULA?!

He described the old recipe as crap compared to his new one. Now the improvement didn't really come in the form of ingredient alteration, but with the method of cooking. It's an age old rule of thumb for many bar-b-quers and these ribs are no exception to that rule.
Low and Slow.

It takes the event that is Oven Ribs and makes the process even more ceremonious. They get swaddled in a tin foil blanket and land in the oven for a six to seven hour nap. After their time in the oven, the ribs finish off on the grill for about an hour with a brush from some sweet, tangy sauce. I know as a Texan the very idea of cooking ribs with any kind of sauce is sacrilege, and the fact that these are pork ribs doesn't really help my case... but sometimes you just have to throw tradition out the window. Believe me... it's worth the time in Hell.

I was skeptical about change. But this day I learned that change... change is good. I went to pick up an un-carved rib by the bone and that's all I picked up; the bone. The meat stayed attached to the rest of the rack.

Needless to say, it was my step-sister's birthday, but all of us got to enjoy the gift.

This one goes out to you, Lauren. Happy Birthday!

-k