I got up this morning at 6 am and saw the sun was coming up. I asked Alexa what the temperature was…46-degrees! That’s a far cry from the 30s and frost. The first thing out of my mouth was, “Those bastards!” 😜
We went around putting all the planters back outside and uncovered the hanging baskets. The petunias weren’t totally happy sleeping under a sheet last night. I had to coax them back, give them a little encouragement and fluff up some of their branches.
Today was in the high 50s, but a cold 50. Windy??? Holy moly it was windy, which made the day even colder. It looked beautiful out inside the production kitchen, but when we were going from the kitchen to the freezer and walk-in refrigerator, it was cold.
I went from planning to make red wine braised boneless beef ribs in the oven like short ribs and make a stick to your ribs (pun intended) dinner. I was going to use the leftover mashed potatoes to make gnocchi to go with it. Then when I saw it was sunny outside instead of the rain that was forecasted, I decided to bbq the ribs.
After production and seeing that it was still pretty cold out, the thought of low and slow cooking outside was out for me. The wind alone was my deciding factor.
Now I didn’t know what to make. Since I already had the bbq rub made, Marty suggested braising the ribs with bbq seasoning and finishing the ribs on the grill. Sounds like a plan. I never did this before, but whatever.
I rubbed the ribs with my bbq spice blend, added a little apple juice and bbq sauce to the bottom of the pan, and covered it tightly with foil. I baked it at 275 for 3 hours.
I uncovered the ribs and let them cool in the refrigerator to be picked up and placed on the grill. If not, they would fall apart; then we would have shredded bbq beef instead of boneless ribs.
Now another dilemma…it’s forecasted to be going down to 38 degrees tonight. It’s like playing Russian roulette, deciding to bring the plants inside or let it roll. I am going to let it roll. Fingers crossed. This looks like the last night in the 30s. 🤞🏽
Here’s the other thing…it’s too cold and windy to grill, we realized after trying to sit on the deck with a glass of wine. Maybe we were wimps or lazy assholes, but neither of us wanted to grill.
New plan. I slathered the ribs with bbq sauce, Sweet Baby Rays. Don’t judge; I didn’t feel like making homemade. Then I threw them under the broiler to caramelize the bbq sauce and reheat the ribs.
With my very best Vermont accent, “ I tell you what, them there beef ribs were the best we ever had, by Jesus!” They were better than either of us imagined. Marty said if he got those ribs at a bbq joint, he’d be very happy.
What a wishy-washy food day based solely on the weather. The sunshine was deceiving and the cold wind relentless, but the ribs were off the fucking chain! Booyah!
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