Paul's Award Winning Smoked Baby Back Ribs

Paul, Clara and I visited my Uncle Richard and Aunt Diane in Virginia one year and Richard (who looks so much like my dad that it is scary and who always tells me that he is my favorite uncle) made these incredible ribs for us on the smoker. So they are really more my Uncle Richard's ribs.  But Paul has adapted them and made them him own and entered them in our ward's Elders Quorum cookoff where they won 1st place so now they are just as much his as Uncle Richard's.  They really are the best ribs ever and were the driving force behind us getting a smoker of our own.

The funny story behind these ribs is that when we got home from our trip and Paul was reminiscing about the ribs, he was 100% convinced that my uncle had grated cheese over the ribs and that somehow they were cheesy ribs.  He totally thought I was pulling his leg when I explained that it was butter that Uncle Richard had been grating over the cooked ribs.  I was laughing until my belly ached over the thought of cheesy ribs and Paul's confusion.

 

Paul's Award Winning Smoked Baby Back Ribs

Rub

 

2 tablespoons ground black pepper

1 tablespoon salt

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

2 teaspoons paprika

 

Ribs  

 

Dr. Pepper

Baby back ribs

butter, grated

brown sugar

honey

apple flavor wood pellets

Marinate the ribs in Dr. Pepper (in an extra large Ziploc bag) overnight (don’t put in marinade until just before bed). When ready to smoke, start the smoker on “Smoke” with the lid open for at 3 to 5 minutes to get a good smoke established, then close the lid and set the smoker to 225 degrees.

              

Remove ribs from Dr. Pepper and discard the soda. Pat ribs dry with paper towels. Lightly coat both sides with olive oil. Apply even coat of rub to both sides. Place ribs directly on grill, meat side up. Smoke until rib meat ’breaks’ when lifted in the center (2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours). Remove from smoker and place on extra large sheet of aluminum foil. Grate butter on top of ribs, then sprinkle with brown sugar and drizzle honey over the top. Tightly wrap ribs with the foil and return to the smoker for another 20 minutes. Remove from smoker and let sit for 10 minutes. Then cut into individual ribs with sharp knife. No barbecue sauce.

Pan Seared New York Strip Steak

This is a restaurant quality, pan-seared New York strip steak and it is one of our favorites. I learned how to cook steak this way by reading a bunch of tutorials and watching videos online of Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver cooking steak and then trying it out myself. It is honestly easier than it sounds and tastes absolutely amazing.

Pan Seared New York Strip Steak

1 12-ounce New York strip steak

1 tablespoon olive oil

3/4 teaspoon coarse salt, or to taste

1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper, or to taste

2 tablespoons butter

1-2 sprigs of fresh thyme

2 garlic cloves

 

Pull steak out of refrigerator about 30 minutes before you plan to cook them. This step is VERY important to bring them up to temperature.

              

Drizzle steak with olive oil, then sprinkle salt and pepper evenly over steaks and press or rub it into the meat. Heat a large cast-iron or heavy skillet over medium-high to high heat so that it gets very hot and if you sprinkled it with water the water would dance around and evaporate almost immediately. Turn your fan on to high because when you start cooking the steak you will definitely need it.

              

Carefully add steak to the pan and then don’t touch it! You want to sear all sides of the steak really well and develop nice caramelization on all sides that will hold in the juices. Let the steak sear on the first side for about 3 minutes, then flip using tongs (not a fork - you don’t want to pierce the meat and give the juices a way to escape) and sear on the other side for 3 minutes. Using the tongs, be sure to sear the side of the steak that has the thick layer of fat (a good New York strip steak has one) for a minute to melt some of the fat and crisp it up. Reduce heat to medium-low and add the butter, thyme and garlic to the pan. Carefully grasp the pan handle using an oven mitt and tilt the pan toward you so the butter pools; using a spoon, baste the steak with the thyme-garlic butter constantly for another 1 1/2-2 minutes. This should give you a nice medium-rare steak that is very pink but warm all the way through. Total cooking time is about 3-4 minutes per side (so 6-8 minutes total) for medium rare, and about 5-6 minutes per side (so 8-10 minutes total) for medium (please don’t cook your New York strip to well done). The best way to tell doneness is by testing the firmness of the meat by pressing on it with your fingers. A medium rare steak will feel the same as the fleshy mound on your hand, just below the thumb.

              

Remove steak from the pan to a plate and let it rest for 10 minutes. This is another important step because it lets the juices disperse through the meat. If you cut it too early, all the juice will just leak out.

              

Cut steak diagonally across the grain into thin slices. Discard thyme and garlic and spoon the reserved butter mixture over the steak.