Bring on summer . . food at least

So I love winter, I love to ski, I love the snow, I love careening down my hill in my car out of control bouncing off snow banks. I love all of it. What I hate is a winter where there is no snow, and there is just a soggy mess outside. Thank goodness I live above the inversion or I would be in hell! If there isn't going to be any snow to enjoy, bring on summer please. So last night I made some summer food.  Barbecue ribs, with coleslaw, french fries and watermelon.

So my ribs are really faux barbecue ribs. Because before I put them on the grill, I braise them on the stove. They however are the best ribs you will ever have. So here it goes!

Baby Back Ribs:

I buy my ribs at costco, however they only sell them in pretty big quantity, so if you are only serving a little family, best get them at you friendly corner market. You will need to cut them into sections in order to fit them into a pot. Sometimes I cut them individually, sometimes into three or four sections. Get your nice big pot and put your ribs in, if you are doing more than fits in one layer in the pan, stop here. Make one layer and liberally season with salt and pepper. Now quarter 1 small onion and smash 3-4 garlic cloves with the back side of your knife and add to the pot. Sprinkle with about a teaspoon of rubbed sage. Add 3-4 bay leaves. Now if you have more layers of ribs to put down, do so now and add more salt and pepper, onions, garlic and sage and bay leave. I would advise only doing two layers in a pot. Now add water just to cover the ribs. Bring to a boil and immediately turn to the lowest heat your stove will go. Let simmer for 1.5-2 hours. You can check them to see if they are pulling away from the bone and looking tender. They won't look super appetizing. . . yet.

 What the ribs look like taken out of the liquid

At this point you can potentially just put them in the fridge for when you are ready to eat them, or more significantly you can freeze them to eat them at another date or to take them on a camping trip, lake powell, etc. If you are going to eat them that night, like I just did, get your grill or your oven hot. I used my grill. You want the grill on medium low, the oven at 425 degrees. Baste the ribs with your favorite barbecue sauce, I like "sweet baby rays". Put them on the grill, flipping them once, for about 10 minutes. So they are browned and looking tasty.

like this . . . 

If using the oven, put them on a cookie sheet and put them in the oven for about 10-15 minutes until they are browned. You will not believe how good these ribs are, and you will want summer to come!