I would rather have started writing this before that Tua disaster Thursday night. But, yeah. Sometimes this game of football is tough to watch.
Just feels like it’s been a lot of injuries so far this season, and we’re only in Week 4. Here closer to home, Jameis Winston probably isn’t going to play because of a rib issue he’s dealing with. Herbert out in San Diego by way of L.A. is dealing with ribs, and, well, at some point any jokes start to ring hollow.
Feels like the only certainty when it comes to fantasy football is injury. Time to buckle up because that waiver wire is already hair thin.
Our advice, focus on the things you can control. In your kitchen.
With that in mind, and for all those players hurting on the sideline, we’ve got just the ticket in our Injury Report Ribs with a Pineapple Habanero BBQ Sauce and a Grapefruit Arugula Salad on the side.
Some of those might be flavors you don’t usually play with, but trust me. All three of these are going to dance on your taste buds in a way I can’t prepare you for.
Let me know what you think, or if there’s a recipe you’d like to see on our Tailgate Menu. And be sure to check out The Tailgate Kings podcast on Spotify, and you can always tweet at me @TheTailgateKing !
What We Need for Spice Mix:
.5 C brown sugar
1 T kosher salt
1 T black pepper
1 T chili powder
1 T onion powder
1 T garlic powder
2 t ground mustard
1 t cayenne
1 t cinnamon
1 T cumin
1 T thyme
What We’re Doing With It:
Mix all ingredients and set aside
What We Need for the BBQ Sauce:
46 0z. Pineapple Juice
5 cloves roasted garlic
2 fingers ginger, peeled and minced
3 roasted, deseeded and deveined poblanos
2 roasted habaneros
2 roasted red and orange bells
2 roasted serranoes
1 medium red onion, small dice
1.5-2 C Ketchup
.25 C Worchestershire
.5 C Apple cider vinegar
.25 C Brown sugar
3 T paprika
1 t cumin
.25 C lemon juice
S&P TT
What We’re Doing With It:
In a large pot, begin to reduce your pineapple juice. At the same time, coat your peppers in oil, salt, and pepper, and put them in a pan to roast at 400 degrees in the oven.
In a pan, sweat down onions and ginger. Then add to pineapple juice.
When peppers finished roasting, set them aside to cool, then deseed and devein them.
Add all other ingredients to pineapple pot and reduce by half.
Puree and set aside.
What We Need For Ribs:
1 rack of babybacks
1 C Olive oil
1 C Grape jelly
.5 C Dijon mustard
2 T Hot sauce- Jammin’ Jelly’s
S&P TT
What We’re Doing With It:
Fire up your grill/smoker using charcoal and your favorite soaked hardwood.
Pat dry your ribs. Coat ribs with olive oil, salt and pepper.
Once coals are right, place ribs on direct heat to create your grill marks and sear the ribs. When done on both sides, set aside and allow to cool for ten minutes.
Mix together grape jelly, Dijon mustard, and hot sauce. Slather ribs with concoction and let set. Add spice mix to ribs.
Place back on grill away from flame. Baste the ribs off the flame with the remaining wet rub.
You can then either introduce the sauce and continue to cook to temp or wait to have the sauce on the side. If you use the sauce now, keep basting as needed.
Try to keep the temp in your smoker/grill at 275 and let ribs roll for 3-5 hours, depending on the pig. We’re looking to get to an internal temp of 200.
Buy a meat thermometer if you haven’t already!!!
What We Need for Our Salad:
1 clam shell of arugula
3 grapefruit, segmented- save all extra juice for vinaigrette
1 English cucumber, Lyonnaise cut
.5 C dried cranberries
1 C walnuts and pepitas
.25 C candied grapefruit zest
1 C grapefruit vinaigrette
S&P TT
What We’re Doing With It:
Mix all ingredients and toss with vinaigrette and season. Serve on side with ribs.
And there you have it. Another fantastic creation brought to you by The Tailgate Kings!