The Perfect Baby Back Ribs : Part Two Recipe

If you read The Perfect Baby Back Ribs: Part One, you have surely seen how to grill them up. Now I'm going to give you a complete meal recipe here, something that I make in the back woods of Maine and really can say it's worth a chow down. This recipe is for two sides to go with your ribs:

Angus Macaroni and Cheese  and  Maple Summer Squash


One thing I do want to reiterate on the ribs, remmember even if your ribs have been sitting on the pit for awhile, they may look crispy on the outside...

but the key is cooking low and slow to get them yummy and falling apart on the inside.  For this mean you can cut and serve with barbecue sauce or leave on the rack it's up to you.  You want to time out your sides just right. While your ribs are cooking and about 90% done, start your sides.  Both of these sides will only take 10-12 minutes max and you can do them both and have everything done at once!

Love=A Man and His Grill

Angus Macaroni and Cheese  Feeds 4 to 6

You will need:

• 2 Boxes of Mac and Cheese  ( which will call for butter, milk and water )
• Stockpot to cook the mac and cheese
• Cracked Peppercorn Mill or Coarse Pepper
• 1 lb ground Angus (lean)   *For lower fat substitute with ground turkey*
• Saute Pan for the Angus beef
• 1/2 lb provolone slices

I wish I could say I make this from scratch but for this meal I sure do cheat.  I use 2 boxes of Mac and Cheese making sure to use partial water and milk option in my stock pot.  Meanwhile, I'm browning 1 lb of ground angus in the frying pan. Make sure to add fresh cracked pepper from a grinder mill or coarse black pepper, as this really makes it tasty. For the pepper, I add directly to the beef.   I cut the provolone into tiny squares and mix into finished mac and cheese while I've drained grease off my beef and shovel that in too.  A few light tosses and voila!  Generally this whole side takes 12 minutes or less.

Summer Maple Squash  (Serves 4 to 6)

You will need:

• 2 Medium  (or 1 Large 1 Small) Yellow Crookneck Squash
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• 1/3 cup water
• Dill
• Salt
• Maple Syrup 
• Saute' pan w cover

I use crookneck squash for this, cutting the rinds off and removing the seed channel. I have heard you can zap the crookneck after poking with a fork to get it a bit more pliable, but I really like the whole struggle with the rind as it makes me think I've accomplished something by not chopping my finger off.  I find that on a large it's about 40% waste between the ends, seed and rind and a lot harder to cut which is why I suggest mediums.  After the rind and channel is removed I cut into C-shaped pieces about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick.

Now really a lot of folks I know could care less for squash. I really think you have to give it a taste and for this it's going to be maple. Melt butter in your saute' pan adding in squash and gently brown on both sides. Add small bits of water to keep from burning and cook on low covered until the squash is cooked, adding in dill and salt to taste. When squash is your preferred feel (some like it soggy, some like it Al dente....)  then coat with a light coat of maple syrup (for this we used homemade straight from the trees in Maine thanks to Mr. Donald Sanborn), flipping once and coating again. Turn saute' pan off and let syrup brown. 


Need some Green? Go with Fresh Fiddleheads!
Only if you are in Maine....fiddleheads rock!

If you like this, click on this picture to see my beef: