Barbecue Recipe

Baby Back Spar-Ribs, Cooking Tip:

This barbecue tip was revealed to us by some very good friends who also barbecue a lot. It is one of our family's favorite barbecue recipes. In fact its what we barbecue most every Sunday. It's very simple. Place the ribs in a roasting pan and cover them with coffee. Place the roasting pan in the oven, uncovered, for 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Take out and then barbecue using your favorite barbecue sauce. Note that the ribs will be mostly cooked by the time you pull them out of the oven so they won't need a hot fire.

If you normally don't drink regular coffee we suggest using decaffeinated coffee with which to cover the ribs. I normally only have one "real" cup of coffee early in the morning and then no other caffeine for the rest of the day. I still remember the first time we barbecued with this recipe. I followed the directions and the ribs were tender and tasted great! I went to bed that night and boy if I couldn't get to sleep, not a normal problem for me. As I lay there awake in bed it dawned on me that I had par-boiled the ribs in regular coffee before I barbecued them and that enough coffee had soaked into them to keep me awake. Since then I've switched to decaf and haven't had a problem.

Why it works...I think. As I understand it the acid in the coffee breaks down the meat fibers which makes them tender. The coffee also adds some flavor but it doesn't taste like coffee. Everyone we've shared this tip with has raved about how good it makes the ribs taste. Give it a try.