A Hunka, Hunka Burnin' Love.....

Sometimes, not matter how well you think you're doing, something just goes wrong.....terribly wrong.

You all know me by now, and how easily influenced I am by the products made available to me by my local grocer. Well, last week, wandering the meat case, I found a lovely selection of beef back ribs. Naturally, a couple of packages went directly into my cart. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. In the cart with ya.

A bit of quick research showed me that the best way to cook these bad boys was to season, then roast on a rack in the oven, covered with foil for a couple of hours, then finish them on the grill for some nice caramelization.

That has got to be my all time favorite culinary term. CARAMELIZATION. Love it.

And so....it began. The Great Beef Massacre.

It all started innocently enough. I whipped up a batch of my new grill-seasoning-of-the-moment, and slathered it all over the fatty little bones.

Then I placed them on a rack on a baking sheet and covered them with foil.

They baked for two hours, making the house smell like heaven while Ginny and I were sampling a couple of lovely wines (to be featured later in The Ten Spot).

Pulling them out of the oven, I burned my finger on the luscious steam released by the ribs when I pulled back the foil....carefully.... I thought.

I trotted the tray outside to the front yard where the preheated grill was waiting and arranged them eagerly on the grates, then skipped back up the steps to refill my wine glass.

I was inside for TWO. MINUTES.

When I came back through the front door, I was greeted by this:

(okay, technically the lid was still closed when I came back outside, but I digress...)

Which produced THIS:

And, once the flames died down....this....(notice the white charring on the ends up the bones? Classy....)

Suffice it to say that Ginny and I survived on crusty bread and olive oil for our supper that night.

Now, as I said before....you all know me. I can't just let something like that go, So, I bought another two packages of ribs and prepared them in the oven again for the hubs the other night. I declined the use of the grill until we could nail down the issue with the uber-flamage.

Again, I seasoned and roasted them.

Again, the house smelled like heaven.

I was smart enough to avoid the steam burn this time (I still say that was an omen on the first go-round).

And....we dined.

(no caramelization, but we made do.)

Beef back ribs don't actually have much meat on them, just so you know. And I'm not in the habit of eating straight fat. But damn....this ft was goooood. The hubs and I got down and dirty with these ribs and ended up with a big greasy mess all over the place, but it was well worth it.

Upon the hubs' suggestion, I saved all the bones and excess fat and threw it in a freezer bag to use for my next batch of beef stock. That's going to be some flavorful stock....I can hardly wait to get it going.

Lesson learned? Since the grill was parked in the not-so-level front yard, the grease was pooling in places unknown instead of running into the grease trap and proceeded to cause a massive grease fire. Now that that is no longer an issue, I hope to be having some new grilled recipes to share with you soon!