Barbecued Baby Back Ribs with Maple Bourbon Barbecue Sauce

Baby back ribs are the small ribs at the upper end of the rib cage. Once a Danish specialty, they were ground for feed in the United States—until the savvy marketing campaigns of many restaurants made them the most popular version of pork ribs. There’s no need to use a single-batch, high-end bottle of bourbon here, just one with a good caramel taste.

Four 1-pound racks baby back ribs

One 750ml bottle bourbon

2 cups chicken broth

1 teaspoon liquid smoke

2 tablespoons canola oil, plus additional for the grill grate

2 large onions, chopped

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons cider vinegar

1 cup ketchup

1⁄2 cup bottled chili sauce, such as Heinz

1⁄2 cup lemon juice

1⁄2 cup maple syrup

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons dry mustard

1⁄4 teaspoon ground cloves

Several dashes of hot red pepper sauce to taste

• Lay the racks meat side down on your work surface. Look to see if they have a translucent membrane running over the meat and bones. Starting at the smallest bones, gently lift up the membrane with a knife, then pull it off with your hands, much like pulling a sheet of glued paper off something. Discard the membrane; set the ribs aside.
• Reserve 1⁄2 cup bourbon. Pour the remainder of the bourbon, the broth, and liquid smoke into a very large roasting pan or a disposable aluminum pan. If you don’t have a pan that’s large enough, divide the ingredients between two pans. Place the meat in the marinade, turn, cover, and refrigerate at least overnight or up to 2 days.
• Heat a large saucepan over medium heat. Swirl in the canola oil, then add the onions. Cook, stirring often, until translucent, about 4 minutes.
• Add the vinegar, ketchup, chili sauce, lemon juice, maple syrup, Worcestershire sauce, dry mustard, cloves, and hot red pepper sauce; then stir in the remaining 1⁄2 cup bourbon. Bring to a simmer, stirring constantly.
• Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the sauce is slightly thickened, about 25 minutes, stirring once in a while. Cover and set aside while you prepare the grill. (The sauce can be made in advance; cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days, but bring it back to a low simmer over medium heat before continuing.)
• Preheat half of a gas grill to medium heat and set a drip pan under the unheated section of the grate, or build a medium-heat, well-ashed coal bed in a charcoal grill, rake the coals to one side, and place a drip pan under the section of the grate not directly above the heat. Dab some oil on a paper towel and lightly oil the unheated section of the grate, setting it about 5 inches above the heat.
• Place the ribs meat side down on the unheated section of the grill over the drip pan; brush them generously with the barbecue sauce. Cover and barbecue for 40 minutes, basting the ribs with more sauce every 10 minutes.
• Turn the ribs meat side up; cover again; and continue barbecuing over the unheated grill section until the meat pulls back from the bones and is very tender, about 1 hour, basting with sauce every 10 minutes. If using a charcoal grill, add more briquettes occasionally to keep the medium-heat fi re burning. If you want crispy ribs, transfer them to the part of the grate directly over the heat for the last 5 minutes of cooking, searing the outside of the meat on both sides. Transfer to a carving board and let stand for 5 minutes before slicing between the ribs to serve.

To prepare baby back ribs in the oven:
• Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 250°F. Lay the prepared ribs bone side down on a baking sheet; roast for 11⁄2 hours.
• Bathe the ribs in barbecue sauce and continue roasting, basting occasionally, until the meat has pulled away from the bones and is fork-tender, about 1 more hour.
• You can also use this sauce on the Oven-Barbecued Pork Ribs
  .Mop it onto the ribs during their fi nal 30 minutes in the oven.

Makes 4 hearty main-course servings