Tailgate Recipe Contest...Winner!!!

Well Anthony, with a little help from Bruce, has made his decision. I don’t have much time to write, so I’ll be brief. I’ve got a Boston Butt and Brisket on the smoker and am battling the temperature. The snow is wreaking havoc on my fire. Anyway, the winner of the first annual Eat Ugly Tailgate Recipe Contest in Dom from East Boston Massachusetts. Congratulations! I'll let you know what is in his prize package of BBQ goodies tomorrow. The winning recipe is below, enjoy...

Dom’s Grandmother’s Root Beer & Bourbon Baby Back Ribs...

Glaze:

• 2 cans or root beer
• 2 tablespoons hot pepper jelly
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tablespoons of the steak sauce of your choice
• 6 whole cloves
• 1 stick of cinnamon
• 1 lemon juiced
• 1 orange juiced
• 1 cup bourbon
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons of bitters
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla

Put all of the contents into a large pot and cook to a boil. Make sure it is stirred frequently to get all sugar dissolved. This is done at a medium to high heat. After it has boiled let it cook for 30 min a medium heat. Once this is done remove and strain through a fine strainer. Then put it away, but keep warm until needed.

Ribs:

• 2 full slabs of baby back ribs
• 2 tablespoons of salt (kosher)
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon of garlic powder (granulated)
• 1 teaspoon of onion powder (granulated)
• 1 teaspoon of ground black pepper
• 1/2-1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
• 1/2 cup of chicken stock

Preheat oven to 275

Place ribs on a large enough baking sheet. Put the salt, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, black and cayenne pepper into a bowl. Rub one table spoon of mixture into each rack of ribs. Let it sit for 20 min.

Pour the chicken stock into the sheet pan and cover it tightly with aluminum foil. Put in oven and cook until ribs become tender (1 1/2 - 2 hours).

Take ribs from oven and let them cool (15-20 min). Preheat grill to medium.

Coat ribs as much as desired with glaze. Put ribs right onto the grill and cook until brown and the glaze starts to caramelize. This should not be more than 10 min...watch for burning.

Take ribs off....use rest of glaze as desired and feast.