BBQ, My Dad, and Memories…

As a child, I always remember my parents taking in family members in their time of need. My parents always taught us that family is important by the way they lived. They taught us that we should come together to celebrate good times and struggles, that we should share the joys and sorrows of life together, and we should make sacrifices for the ones we love. My parents sacrificed a lot for me and my siblings. I am so grateful.

Now, after four long years, my dad came for a visit this past Wednesday. My children are elated! He has been a tremendous help to us. We didn’t realize how much we needed an extra set of hands in the house. We are all so happy he is here.

Two things my dad and I enjoy talking about: Jesus and, well, FOOD (no, sorry…not politics)! We exchange ideas for recipes and tango in the kitchen. So Sunday, we got our hands dirty in the kitchen. He worked on some ribs and I worked on the BBQ sauce (with coconut palm sugar and molasses, which is a bone booster, diabetic-friendly sweetener, and it is good for the blood. Learn more here). When we put our creations together, we had a house full of happy tummies 🙂 I am savoring every moment I can with my dad. But I’ll take a moment to share a little bit of our time together with you. Here is our BBQ Creation.

Ingredients:

4 lbs St. Louis ribs, cleaned with membrane and excess fat removed
2-4 Tbsp of Adobo dry rub (recipe below)
2-3 cups of 5-minute BBQ sauce or Tropical Habanero BBQ sauce, plus extra for basting

Steps:

1. Line a broiler pan with heavy duty foil or two layers of regular foil.
2. Cut ribs into desired portion sizes (e.g., 3-4 ribs per serving).
3. Place ribs in pan and season ribs front and back with Adobo dry rub.
4. Let marinate in fridge for 30 minutes or overnight.
5. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
6. Right before baking, brush a generous amount of BBQ sauce on both the front and the back of the ribs.
7. Place ribs meat side down and cover with foil (shiny side out) and crimp all side to form a seal.
8. Bake at 300 degrees for 2 – 2 1/2 hours, or until fork tender.
9. Finish ribs on either a grill or broiler:
   1. Remove top foil cover and add a generous amount of BBQ sauce to the top of the ribs. Place ribs on grill on medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Flip the ribs and add a generous amount of BBQ sauce and grill for another 2-3 minutes.
   2. Serve. enJOY

Homemade Adobo Dry Rub:

2 tsp cumin
2 tsp tumeric
2 tsp black pepper
8 tsp garlic powder
4 Tbsp salt

Mix together and store in a small glass jar.