My favorite holiday is Independence day. The 4th of July is always a big deal because we celebrate the birth of our country and we give thanks to our founding fathers and everyone who has served our country. The 4th also means its time for an all-out feast. On the menu this Independence day is BBQ’ed ribs, bratwurst, potato salad and beans.
Now, I have made my love for wild game known here in my posts, so you might be expecting the ribs to be deer or elk, but they are not. There is very little meat on the ribs of wild game so you end up just chewing on bones. This year we are having pork ribs.
The next surprise is that I am not cooking them on the grill. I will be cooking these beauties in the slow cooker, or crock pot if you prefer. I have found this to be the best way to get juicy, tender, fall-off-the-bone ribs, and it is so easy to make them this way.
Start with a thawed out rack of pork ribs. Cut them into sections that will fit into your slow cooker.
Add enough of your favorite barbeque sauce to cover the bottom of the cooker and heat it to cooking temp. My slow cooker will cook a rack of ribs in 6 to 7 hours on high heat so they can be prepared the day of the feast. If I use the low heat setting and let them cook overnight, they are just as good.
Heat a frying pan, with the bottom coated with vegetable oil, to a high heat.
Lightly coat the rib sections with flour and brown on both sides. Add some seasoning salt to each side as you brown it.
After the ribs are browned coat each side with BBQ sauce and place them in the cooker. After all of the ribs are in the cooker, add the rest of the BBQ sauce. Fill the bottle about half full of water and swish it around to get the last of the sauce out and add that to the pot. That is all there is to it.
The potato salad is also an easy recipe. This is always a big hit at our get-togethers.
Ingredients:
Peel, dice, and boil the potatoes and set aside to cool.
Add the pickles, eggs and onion to a large bowl with the potatoes. Also add about a quarter cup of pickle juice from both the sweet and dill pickles.
Add the mayo, mustard, salt, and pepper to taste and mix everything together.
For the beans we start with a can of baked beans. Any brand will do so go with your favorite.
Ingredients:
Fry up about 6 strips of bacon and set aside to drain.
Add the can of baked beans, 1 cup molasses, 1 cup brown sugar, bacon and onion to a large oven-safe pot. Mix well and bake in the oven at 400 degrees for about 2 hours. If you like the beans really thick then bake them longer.
The Brat’s I do cook on the grill. I start by getting he grill hot and then searing the Brats quickly on all sides. I do not leave them on the high heat for more than a few minutes right now — just long enough to sear the outside to lock in the juices. After that I use the bun rack in my grill to finish cooking them. By placing them up on the rack they are farther from the heat and cook slowly and do not burn. If you do not have the bun rack then reduce the heat on the grill. The slower you cook the Brats the better.
That is what I will be having to celebrate Independence Day this 4th of July. We will sit around after eating and talk about the family and friends that have gone or are now in harm’s way to protect and defend freedom around the world. I hope everyone has a good holiday.
Clacked by Jeff Love
on Jul 04, 2009 @ 10:00 EST5EDT
