Slow and Low Country Ribs

Country ribs are usually more than a foot long. We recommend slicing them in half before cooking, as they'll be easier to handle. Coat the ribs in oil and then salt them well. Use a little more salt than you think you should, especially over the fatty parts of the ribs. Much of the fat will render away in cooking, leaving a crispy-salty-fatty bit you will be fighting over with your friends.

To cook the ribs, you have several choices. You can bake them in a 250°F oven (line a baking pan with foil first). You can slow-roast them in a gas grill (covered) with half the burners turned off (put them on the side that is not over direct flame). You can set up a large charcoal grill like a smoker and cook the country ribs on the cool side (again covered). But best of all would be to build a wood fire on one side of the grill and slowly barbecue these ribs over woodsmoke.

No matter what you do, let the ribs cook untouched for 90 minutes. At the 90-minute mark, turn them and paint them with your barbecue sauce – we like the sweet-spicy Dr. Pepper BBQ sauce for this, but you could also use a South Carolina mustard-based barbecue sauce , a Bourbon BBQ sauce , or a traditional Kansas City-style sauce .

Every 30 minutes or so, turn your ribs and paint them again with the sauce. How long to cook? Depends on how hot your fire is. At least 3 hours. Maybe as many as 5 hours. You really, really want to slow-cook these ribs because they are pretty fatty. The slower you cook them, the more fat renders out and the smoother your ribs will be. Take your time.

When the meat begins to fall apart – you’ll notice this when you turn the rib – you’re ready for the final step. Paint the ribs one more time and then move them to the hot side of the grill. If you are using the oven method, move the ribs to the broiler. Let the ribs cook a minute or two so the sauce can caramelize. Pay attention, and do not let the ribs get too blackened. A little char is good, but you don’t want a briquette.

Serve with coleslaw , potato salad , deviled eggs or whatever you’d like. Oh, and napkins. Lots of napkins.