Beef Ribs with Cabernet Sauce
Weekend cooking, restored: rib racks take an overnight herb rub, a hard sear, and then a long covered ride over indirect heat in a bath of barbecue sauce and Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine cuts the sauce's sweetness and turns it into something worth mopping up.
Ingredients
- For the rub: 2 tsp dried marjoram
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp granulated garlic
- 1 tsp light brown sugar
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 2 beef rib racks, about 5 pounds total
- For the sauce: 1 1/2 cups barbecue sauce
- 1 cup Cabernet Sauvignon
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to season the finished sauce
Method
- Combine the rub ingredients in a small bowl. Trim the ribs of excess fat, press the rub into the meat, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate 8 to 12 hours.
- Let the ribs stand at room temperature 20 to 30 minutes before grilling. Sear over direct medium heat until evenly browned, about 10 minutes, turning once halfway through.
- Transfer the ribs to a heavy-gauge aluminum pan large enough to hold them in one layer, cutting the racks into smaller sections if necessary.
- Whisk the barbecue sauce and Cabernet together in a saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Pour the sauce over the ribs and cover the pan tightly with foil.
- Grill over indirect medium heat until very tender, 1 1/2 to 2 hours, turning once halfway through. Remove the ribs, cut into one- or two-rib pieces, skim the fat from the sauce, season, and serve the sauce alongside.
Notes from the Grill
This is the indirect method doing what it does best - hold the covered grill at 325-350°F and let time do the work. 'Very tender' means the meat pulls cleanly from the bone with gentle pressure. Any drinkable Cabernet works; save the good bottle for the table.