New Blog Look and BBQ Ribs with Corn on the Cob – On the Grill

So?  What do you think?  My new look!  Thanks to the amazing Keely the Un-Mom, who inspired me with this awesome graphic she personally drew for me:

She has mad skillz, doesn’t she?  I had  lot of fun working off that most awesome graphic and creating the header and all the fun new stuff – in fact, if you have my old button posted on your blog, here’s the brand new one:

If you add (or have added) my button to your blog and don’t see yours on my Blog Roll page, let me know and I’ll rectify that as soon as possible.

A huge thank you to Keely for inspiring me with her creative mind and talents!  You rock, Keely!  And I definitely owe you drinks at BlogHer.  Big time.

So let’s start off the new week and new look with something yummy.  By popular demand (well, OK, for Jan at Jan’s Sushi Bar) I’m posting the recipe for the BBQ Ribs and Corn on the Cob on the Grill I made over Memorial Day Weekend.  Actually Jan just asked for the Rib Rub recipe I had mentioned, but I might as well give you the whole thing, in case you decide you’re really hungry for ribs and/or corn on the grill.  Which you may be.  Maybe not today, but soon.  Very soon.

BBQ Ribs and Corn on the Cob

On the Grill

What you’ll need:

Rack of ribs (beef or pork – I used pork ribs for this cookout)

Dry Rub Ingredients (see below)

Fresh ears of corn

Dry Rub Ingredients:

Directions:

Mix ingredients together.  Rub generously on ribs that have been rinsed and patted dry, then let sit until the rub appears moist.

Notice how I have the ‘optional’ ingredients?  It all started because I couldn’t find the cayenne, so I decided to improvise a little.  After I added the extra ingredients, I found the cayenne (hubby had used it and didn’t put it back in the spice cupboard in alphabetical order.  I know.)  But you know what?  It turned out absolutely delicious!  So you can ‘accidentally on purpose’ do the same thing.  You’ll love it.

The dry rub ingredients – simplicity at it’s best:

This is what I added extra:

My Swedish great-grandmother always added cinnamon to practically everything she cooked – hence the addition of that.  Trust me, it works.

I bought a ginormous rack of ribs and divided it in half, wrapping and freezing one half to have at a later time, and rinsing off the remaining half and patted it dry with paper towels:

Rubbed on the dry rub and cut the ribs into 3 sections (one for each of us):

Wrap each section in foil (and be sure not to accidentally poke holes in it while you do, or you’ll have a huge mess in your oven).  Bake at 300-degrees for 2-1/2 hours.

While the ribs are slowly cooking in the oven (just wait, we’ll get to the grill part of it later), you can prep the corn on the cob for its journey to the grill, too.  Carefully peel back the husks without actually removing them – you can remove the outer most husks if you want, just be sure to leave enough to re-husk the corn (which Princess Nagger thought was hysterical).  Remove all the silk and wash the corn.  I cut the tip off the very end at this point too, so I wouldn’t have to do that later.  Close the husks back over the corn and set in a large bowl of cold water:

Since they have the tendency to float, putting a plate over them does the trick of keeping them fully submerged:

Why soak the corn?  I’m glad you asked.  Soaking them like that absorbs water into the husks, which will act as a great way to ‘steam’ them when they’re cooking on the grill, resulting in succulent moist corn!  Leave them soaking for about an hour, then drain them on paper towels:

Pull back the husks and slather them with butter:

We like lots of butter on our corn, and you don’t have to be skimpy on this step, because a lot of it will run off the cob when it melts.  You can also melt butter and brush it on, but this way was much quicker and easier.  I’m all about quick and easy.  You can season them at this time, add some salt or pepper or anything you like on your corn.  I added fresh ground pepper to hubby’s ear because that’s how he likes it, but waited until after they were cooked before sprinkling a little fresh ground sea salt on mine and Princess Nagger’s.

Pull the husks back over the ear of corn to cover it back up, then you can either use a husk strand to tie the end and grill them just in the husk, or wrap in foil:

You’ll want to cook them on your grill in indirect heat – we have an upper half-rack on our grill that worked perfect.  Cook them for about 15-20 minutes turning every 5-10 minutes or so.

When the ribs have finished their pre-cook mode in the oven (and filled the house with a delicious scent making you ravenously hungry), remove them from the oven and let them ‘rest’ for about 10 minutes.  Unwrap from the foil and they’re ready for the grill:

They’re actually ready to eat now, but we want that finishing touch with barbecue sauce and grill flamage.  After the corn has been cooking for about 10 minutes, it’s time to add the ribs:

You want to cook them in indirect heat, so for these we only lit the two side burners and left the middle burner off so we could put the ribs right in the middle.   Grill the ribs for 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Brush sauce on the ribs while they’re grilling, and just before you serve them (adding it too early will burn it).

The ribs were literally falling off the bone when I took them out of the oven, so next time I may keep them in one big rib formation for the grill instead of splitting it up like I did.  But at least I didn’t have to cut it up and burn my fingers in the process after they were done.

Princess Nagger’s plate:

Hubby’s plate:

My plate:

I forgot to take a picture of the corn after I unwrapped it, but we did the same method the next day with our steaks and I made sure I took a picture just for you:

They’re super hot and steamy when you unwrap them, so be careful.  I got the husks mostly moved out of the way, then took a sharp knife and cut them off at the bottom.  Besides, I needed a flat end to use the corn cob holders we have.

So there you have it – the ribs and corn both turned out absolutely amazing, and the rub really did add a lot to the flavor and tenderness of the ribs overall.   As far as barbecue sauce goes, you can use any kind you want – I have a homemade recipe I usually use, but I was out of a couple of the ingredients so I opted to go (quick and easy again) with a bottled barbecue sauce instead.

Pre-cooking in the oven is highly recommended if you have a gas grill like we do, since those grills usually cook fast and hot.  That way you can be sure your ribs don’t dry out, get over cooked, or don’t get cooked enough.

What are your favorite things to cook on the grill?

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Here’s a printable version of the recipes and directions: