Grill season is officially upon us. Memorial Day has finally arrived and it’s officially time for cookouts, barbecues, ribs, and fingers messy from barbecue sauce.
This year I started grill season a week early and stopped by Wal-Mart for a rack of Smithfield’s St. Louis Style Ribs.
I had a taste for ribs, but ones that would have a good bit of meat on the bone, so I decided St. Louis Style ribs were going to be my choice of over Baby Back Ribs.
I don’t know about you, but I like my ribs to have one thing: Plenty of meat on the bone, and tender meat at that.
Smithfield’s St. Louis Style Ribs satisfied that requirement.
Traditionally I rub my ribs down with whatever seasoning I have on hand at the time, and slather them down with whatever store brand barbecue sauce is on sale, but this time I wanted something different.
I went the Caribbean route and rubbed and marinated my ribs down in a jerk seasoning, and created a Mango Jalapeno Barbecue Sauce.
The jalapeno in the barbecue sauce gave a lingering heat but mild overtone to the sweetness of the fresh mango that was also in the sauce.
And the ribs, Lawd the ribs. They were cooked slow and low on the grill, then popped in the oven some more until the meat was falling off the bone.
Although the Jalapeno Mango Barbecue Sauce was intended to be the star of the show, the ribs were so well seasoned in the jerk seasoning that I decided to leave the barbecue sauce as more of a dipping sauce for the ribs.
When the ribs were slow cooking on the grill I thought back to all the times my mother held a barbecue at my grandparent’s.
My grandfather had a custom grill which my step-father would use to grill ribs on at family get-togethers at my grandparent’s house. And even though my step-dad was responsible for cooking the ribs, my mom always supervised the grilling because burnt ribs in my family is a sin.
Funny how cooking can remind you of better times. I still remember watching my mom make her barbecue sauce that was passed down from my great-grandmother. My mom is the only person that knows the recipe. Well technically I have a cousin that knows it too, but nobody makes our family barbecue sauce recipe like my mom can.
I think my mom puts a bit of magic in her barbecue sauce, when nobody is looking, if you ask me.
These Jerk Ribs and Mango Jalapeno Barbecue Sauce are a total left from the type of ribs and barbecue sauce I grew up on, but like my Honey Glazed Cornish Game Hens recipe, it will be a new tradition in my home and hopefully your’s.
If you are ready set for ribs grab a $1 coupon off of Farmland or Smithfield Baby Back and St. Louis Style Ribs, on coupons.com. And, grab some grilling tips from the BBQ Pitmasters at Ready Set Ribs.
Jerk Ribs with Jalapeno Mango Barbecue Sauce 2014-05-25 23:33:44 Marinated and slow cooked Jerk Ribs with a Jalapeno Mango Barbecue Sauce.XOXO, Miss Foodie Fab!
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