Oven-Braised & Grilled BBQ Pork Ribs

'Tis the season to fire up the grill. At least, it is where we live, because we've already broken 80 degrees a couple of times. And regardless of what month it is, hot weather calls for cold beer and cooking outdoors.

And pork.

Because, well, pork goes with everything, every time.

Who's up for some melt-in-your-mouth, tender, falling-apart, crispy-BBQ-edges porky goodness?

Start to finish, these ribs take about 4 hours, but there's only about 25 minutes of actually paying attention to them. If you're not home during the day, these are perfect for a relaxing weekend. Start them early in the afternoon, forget about them for a few hours, and then spend about 20 minutes at dinnertime putting on the finishing touches. How easy is that?

Oven-Braised BBQ Pork Ribs
Technique taught to me by my friend, Chrissy, and adapted by the Husband and me
Serves: As many or as few as you like

You'll need:
Country style pork ribs (boneless or bone-in is a matter of preference... I prefer bone-in)
Your favorite barbecue sauce
A grill
A grill top pan designed for grilling fish, veggies, and other delicate or small foods
A basting brush

About three and a half hours before dinnertime, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place your pork ribs into an appropriately sized casserole dish.

Add water to the dish, until the ribs are at least halfway submerged.

See the water line?

Cover the pan with foil and bake at 350 degrees for about 3 hours... during which time, your house will absolutely smell like pork heaven.

(Since the oven is already on, this is a great day to make some baked or twice-baked potatoes.)

When the three hours are up, carefully remove the pan from the oven and remove the foil. Get a trash bag for the bones and excess fat and a plate for the ribs, and grab some tongs and get to work.

First, pull out the bones and any clumps of fat. After three hours braising, the meat literally falls off the bones.

You'll also notice as you try to grab the meat with the tongs that it will completely fall apart.

Seriously. Give it a gentle squeeze and see what happens.

Now, some people like to leave the meat in bigger chunks for easier grilling. However, this is where the grill pan comes in. The Husband and I are in agreement that lots of smaller pieces means you can get more barbecue sauce to adhere to the pork, so that's a win. And with the grill pan, you don't have to worry about tiny pieces falling into your grill and going to waste. SO, decide how much you want to tear up your pork, and collect it on a plate.

Oh, and I dare you not to sneak bites during this process.

Helpful hint: PLEASE don't destroy your sink drain by trying to put all that fatty, greasy water down the drain. Even if you have a garbage disposal, that's not a good idea. I put the pan way back in the corner of the counter and let it cool until dinner is over, so that most of the fat solidifies on the top. Then you can skim most of it off, throw it in the trash, and carefully pour the rest down the disposal with LOTS of cold water.

Back the the pork.

Turn the grill on high, and get out the barbecue sauce. At our house, Sweet Baby Ray's is the boss, and we buy it by the jug.

See? I wasn't exaggerating.

Spread out all the pork on the grill pan and slather it with a generous layer of sauce.

The Husband usually does this first coat on the kitchen counter with the grill pan resting on a cookie sheet. Then take it outside, lift the grill pan onto the hot grill, and close the grill. Cook on high for about 15 minutes. During that time, flip the pieces of pork over and baste with more sauce 3 or 4 or 4 times. (So we're flipping and basting every 4-5 minutes.) Don't leave your pork on the grill too long; we don't want to dry it out, just get that sauce caramelized on the outside.

And there it is. Your pile of melt-in-your-mouth, spicy, saucy, smoky, pork.

Try not to drool.