When I first opened the jar of Whiskey Oak Pork and Poultry Seasoning I was immediately transported to Small Kid Time, i.e., hanabata days.
I was transported to the carefree summer days when my brothers and I would run around in the sprinklers when it got too hot, would drink from the garden hose (or perhaps down a glass of reconstituted Hawaiian Punch®) and--on rare occasion, typically a family picnic--enjoy Lay's® BBQ flavored potato chips.
Evoking a grocery-brand of flavored potato chips is hardly "gourmet", a word increasingly without meaning to me, however, aroma and the emotions and memory they evoke are powerful. I love the aroma of what I imagine is classic American "BBQ". The Pork and Poultry Seasoning from the Whiskey Oak Seasoning Set is my favorite.
Donald used this seasoning as a dry rub for the following recipe, then added a bit to the glaze recipe to layer the smoky effect.
We cannot in good conscious use the word barbecue here for this method of cooking because we recognize that specialists know Real Barbecue when they see it. If you're like most of us, you don't have a closed pit and low heat to slowly cook over a wood fire, however, we think using our little oven worked! Don't be intimidated by the Big Dawgs. You can do this!
Remove silver skin on the back of the rack of ribs or have your butcher do this for you.
Liberally sprinkle the seasoning mix to both sides of the rack of ribs. Allow this to marinate in the fridge for 2 to 24 hours. No need to actually “rub”, the salt and sugar will melt into the meat.
Preheat the oven to 300°F. It’s been so hot lately, we cut the rack in half and used our little toaster oven outside on a covered patio.
Place the rack of seasoned ribs in a large enough sheet of foil to create a pouch that can enclose the ribs. Place the ribs in the foil meat side up and add just enough olive oil to cover the top of the rack. Enclose the ribs in the foil and roast for 1.5 hours.
While the ribs are roasting make the glaze. Whisk all the glaze ingredients together until well emulsified.
After the 1.5 hours of roasting, open the foil and liberally brush the glaze onto the top of the ribs. Increase the heat of the oven to 350° F.
Return to the oven uncovered and roast for an additional 10 minutes. Brush another layer of glaze onto ribs and return to the oven again for yet another 10 minutes.
Remove the ribs from the oven and brush a final layer of glaze before serving serving.
Seriously consider wearing a bib. One of us (okay, it was Liz) dropped meat and sauce all down the front of her shirt and pants and was wearing it on her face by the time the meal was done.
Recipe Note
We don't enjoy ribs very often, maybe once every 12 or 18 months. Such a primal sort of meal. Rowr.
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