RIB-A-PALOOZA !!!

I love that all my bestest friends cook. Once a year we get together and make a big mess of a RIB-A-PALOOZA. Yay us. This year I made my blackberry-ginger sauced baby-back ribs. It's not about winning, it's about chest hair and saliva and sweat plus big stupid silly fun. Deal.

Chef Nick's Blackberry-Ginger BBQ sauce on baby back ribs

Mise en place

12 oz frozen blackberries, thawed. (one bag)

1/4 cup fresh ginger, peeled, minced (seriously if you have no idea what this is, please unfriend me)

splash white vinegar

splash Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup ketchup

1/4 cup honey

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 shallot, peeled, minced

1 clove garlic, peeled

1/4 cup honey

some hot pepper sauce. Today I used some rocket Habenero sauce. *optional (shhh'yeah right)

big pinch salt (Kosher)

big pinch black pepper (fresh cracked)

Now, use a peeler to remove the brown part from the ginger. Need a picture? Here's one.

Put all this into a blender or food-processor. Let it whirl around until it's one big liquid mass. Remove to a small pot. Bring to boil, let simmer and reduce by one third.

OK let's talk ribs. My butcher buddy Carlos got me a great price on mine. I used two racks. We need to score these bad boys so they don't split and crack. Drag a sharp knife across the back. Don't be shy.

Rub in kosher salt and black pepper on all sides. Put on your first coat of sauce.

Knowing that I wasn't going to finish the ribs until the next day what I did was pull a catering trick and par-cooked them slowly in a 250 degree oven. Total time was about 3.5 hours. 1 hour back side up first, then flip. Time for the second coat. Back in the oven for remaining time.

After the regular cooking time remove from oven and give one last good thick coat of the sauce

then put the racks under the broiler for a couple of minutes to get some caramelization going. Keeping in mind again I wasn't actually going to throw these on a grill until the next day and I wanted to enjoy the party rather than stand over a grill for very long.