Recipe - Glazed Spare Ribs

By popular demand, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls: the glazed spare rib recipe.

I've made this recipe a couple of times. The first was for my birthday last spring and Joanne liked it so much she asked for it for Mother's Day. This is also the recipe I used for her 40th birthday. This makes for a great dinner, or, when cut into individual ribs (recommended), excellent finger food/appetizers.

We've used the rub alternatively on chicken cuts and pork chops with great results. Whenever you use it, the longer you leave the rub on the meat in the refrigerator, the more tender the meat will be (the rub actually tenderizes the cuts).

It is a very slight variation on Thomas Keller's recipe from Ad Hoc at Home. Thomas Keller, as I've noted before, is a genius.

Ingredients:
Rub
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon pepper flakes (I use chile caribe, but up to you)

2 slabs ribs, about three pounds each, cut into 3-bone portions

Instructions:
Combine all ingredients in a bowl.
Line a baking sheet with wax or parchment paper.
Rub ribs on all sides with the rub mixture.
Wrap the ribs in plastic wrap and refrigerate for between 2 and 6 hours.

Grilling Instructions:
Heat your grill on all burners to medium heat. Take an onion and slice it in half. Put the onion on a grill fork and dip the flat side into some canola oil. Rub the flat side of the oiled onion on the grill to clean and season it. (This tip alone, from Keller himself, has improved all of our grill flavors geometrically).

Prepare your grill for direct heat cooking, followed by indirect cooking. Depending on your grill, your settings will vary, obviously. For ours, we have a small/medium size grill (two long burners, front and back), so I fire up the front to high and leave the back one off. The temperature of the grill should remain around 250 degrees F.

Sear the ribs in batches. Don't crowd the ribs, man!

Place the ribs meat side down and sear for about two minutes. Turn 90 degrees and sear another two minutes to create that classic crosshatch pattern. Turn the ribs over and set on the cool side of the grill, meat side UP. Close that lid and leave it closed for about two hours. As long as the temperature stays at about 250, you're good.

After two hours, take the ribs off and cut into individual bones (recommended). Enjoy with maybe some mashed potatoes or fries, a nice salad, bread and a cold one or two. Maybe something from...Belgium?