I have used this method to cook ribs for at close to 40 years. I learned the method while working in a restaraunt called Gadgets in the 80’s. They did it in bulk, and using commercial equipment to prepare hundreds of racks of baby backs at a time. The method was using low and slow, and then a quick trip to the grill at the end, for char and sauce.

Pork ribs have been pretty cheap lately and I purchased these two large racks on a buy one get one free. The total cost for the two large racks was under $14.00

The first thing I do is remove is remove the membrane from the back of the ribs. This is easily accomplished with a butter knife, under the end and pry it up enough to grab it with a paper towel and it removes in one sheet. I then cut the ribs in half, for easy handling.

I then season the ribs heavily with garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper and paprika on the back of the ribs.

I then take onion slices and place them on the bottom of the covered pan, to elevate the ribs from the pan to prevent sticking.

I then season the top side of the ribs with the same seasoning

I then add more onion to give a barrier between the next set up ribs that will stack on top.

These were already seasons on the bottom, and then I season the top and add some liquid smoke into the pan. The pan is then covered and go into the oven at 225 and go for approx 6 hours.

You want them to cook long enough to make them tender, but not so long that they fall off of the bone. You want them to stay together for the next phase. You will end up with a lot of liquid in the covered pan when finished.

This is how they looked out of the pan. I preheat my grill to 350 or 400 degrees for the next phase of the cooking process.

This ends up being a 4 phase approach that completes in 10-15 minutes. I put the ribs face down, for several minutes to get char on the bottom. I flip, and then sauce the bottom that received the char. A couple more minutes, I flip again, and apply sauce on the top that had just received the char. A couple more minutes I flip again, as the sauce carmalizes.

Finished product, the two on the left are char only for my daughter who does not like them sauced. The two on the right are sauced and charred. The a consitently great, they are tender and full of flavor from the seasoning and the liquid smoke, make they taste like they were prepared on the smoker. I also did corn on the grill, which is just shucked, buttered and wrapped in foil and grilled for 15 minutes. It will be fully cooked with some char on it as well.

As is the typical tradition, I prepare hashbrown casserole. Taking a bag of hashbrowns, a half a stick of butter, a can of cream of chicken soup, garlic powder and onion powder and paprika, and shredded cheese. This time I used sharp cheddar and smoked cheddar, and bake at 375 for an hour.

And as is tradition Dorothy make jello pretzel salad. Which used pretzel and butter baked for the crust. Followed by a layer of cream cheese and cool whip, topped with strawberry jello and sliced strawberries.