Tried and true recipes, new twists on old favorites, and new dishes to expand my family's palate.
I love a baby back rib and order them often when we go out to eat to anyplace famous for their ribs. But a spare rib is my first choice to make at home. More meat and more flavor makes for a great BBQ!
This is a several step process that you will begin the day before, but the end results yields a perfectly tender and deliciously flavored rib. Trust me when I tell you it is worth the extra effort.
The day before you plan to make the ribs, you want to dry rub them and then throw them into a wet marinade and refrigerate them over night.
You can also mix up your BBQ sauce the night before and refrigerate it so it’s ready the next day.
On day two, you bake the ribs in the oven with the marinade for about an hour or more and then you throw them on the grill and baste them with that sweet BBQ sauce. It comes out perfect every single time, and works especially well if you are doing these for a large crowd since the ribs have already cooked and now you are just really browning them up on the grill with some sauce.
BBQ Spare Ribs with homemade BBQ sauce:
Serves: 6 using 5 lbs of Beef or Pork Spare Ribs
*None of these ingredients or measurements are set in stone. Many of them are estimates because for dishes such as this I tend to cook by sight. I also tend to use whatever I have on hand at the moment, so don’t be afraid to leave something out, or add something different. Use whatever you have in your pantry.
Dry Rub:
Mix the dry rub together in a small bowl and sprinkle on the ribs. Rub the dry rub into each rib. If you have any dry rub left over just place it in a small jar or a resealable bag and save in your pantry.
Marinade:
Mix together all ingredients. Place your ribs into a resealable bag and pour the marinade over the top. Remove as much air as possible from the bag, seal it and place in a large bowl in the refrigerator. Allow ribs to marinate for a minimum of 8 hours, but overnight is even better.
BBQ Sauce:
Mix up BBQ sauce and place in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil and turn down to simmer. Cover and allow to simmer for an hour. After an hour, remove from heat and allow to cool. Place in an airtight container and refrigerate overnight until ready to use.
Day Two:
Place the ribs and the marinade in a baking dish, cover and bake at 350 for one hour to an hour and fifteen minutes. Remove from oven and set to the side.
Heat the grill to about 350 and place the ribs meat side down. Cover and allow to heat up for about 10 minutes.
Open grill and baste the ribs with the BBQ sauce, turning them over and basting again. Allow to cook until heated through and the outside is somewhat browned and the sauce is nice and sticky.
Serve immediately.
Enjoy!
If you come from Pennsylvania, or any area outside of it, you have probably heard of this pie. If you haven’t heard of it, you most likely have no idea what Pennsylvania Dutch baking is all about. If that’s the case, you have to either get to the area and try it, or find a true and authentic Pennsylvania Dutch/Amish cookbook and try some of their recipes. You won’t be sorry, I promise!
This is by far one of my husbands favorite pies. If you are interested in the story of what inspired me to make this pie, you can read all about it here.
I had what I “thought” was an heirloom recipe for this luscious pie, only to realize what I thought and what was actually true was a complete misunderstanding. It shattered my dreams but I’ll just eat 18 more pieces of pie and I’m sure I’ll be just fine.
Making this pie can be tricky. Especially if like me, you were going for the wet bottom version. It can be difficult to get that true wet bottom while still get the pie baked completely, without drying it out or over browning your crust.
I baked it and watched it very carefully, and it came out perfectly! Looking exactly like the pies we’ve eaten so many times in the past.
The problem? Something was definitely missing from this pie. It was definitely lacking in sweetness, and despite the amount of molasses in this recipe, it doesn’t make for an overly sweet pie. But it was also missing something else, and I can’t put my finger on it. I keep thinking it might be cinnamon, but after searching more than 25 different recipes online, I only found two that incorporated cinnamon into the pie, where all the rest did not. So I chose to omit it. I’m thinking that may be part of what is missing.
Most of the recipes I found online were similar, with a few minor changes. Some used white sugar, others brown. Some used Crisco in the topping, others used butter. Some were salted, some were unsalted.
I show you the recipe I tried, but I plan of combining a few other suggestions from other recipes and trying this again. The consistency was perfect, but it needs just a little something more. When I figure out what it is I’ll share it with you.
Shoo Fly Pie:
Heat oven to 400 degrees.
Place pie shell on a rimmed cooking sheet.
In a large bowl mix the flour, sugar, and salt together. Add the cubed butter and cut in with a pastry cutter, or two butter knifes until incorporated, but slightly crumbly.
In a separate bowl, very lightly beat the egg.
In a larger bowl, add the molasses and then the beaten egg. Mix together until just blended. Add the baking soda to the hot water, mix and add to the molasses and egg mixture. Using a wire whisk, gently mix the wet ingredients together. You don’t want to beat the mixture, but you do want it well incorporated. It will begin to turn a creamy brown and a little frothy, which is what you are looking for. One done, take 1 cup of the dry ingredients and add to the wet ingredients, leaving the remaining dry ingredients to the side. Incorporate the 1 cup of dry ingredients gently into the wet mixture. It’s ok if this is a little lumpy.
Pour the wet ingredients into the pie shell, and then gently top the pie with the remaining dry ingredients, spreading to cover to the outer edges of the pie. Do this carefully so you don’t sink the topping into the pie.
Carefully place the pie on the center rack and bake for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, turn the heat down to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 30 minutes, turning the pie once halfway through the baking process.
It will be jiggly, but near the end of the baking, it will firm up. Mine took a total of 38 minutes to be done perfectly, from start to finish.
Allow the pie to cool completely on a cooling rack. It will continue to set up the longer it sits.
When you cut into it there will be a “wet bottom” but this is normal.
Serve with some ice cream or just plain.
