Ribs and German Potato Salad

Between the country ribs and the bacon, this entry certainly won’t be getting a “light” tag. I know, I know, I am *supposed* to be eating healthier now that I’m back to cooking, but these country ribs were just staring at me from the freezer. I bought them a month or two ago really, really cheaply and froze them. I’ve never made ribs before. Actually I never really liked ribs all that much until fairly recently.

Since this was my first time making ribs, I went the easy route and used bottled sauce. Our favorite is Sweet Baby Ray’s.

As for the country ribs, I just rubbed them with some salt, pepper, cumin and garlic powder. I cooked them at 250* for about 2.5 hours.

Then, I brushed some sauce over the ribs, covered them with foil and continued to cook them an additional 45 minutes, basting once with more sauce halfway through.

These came out tender and delicious, but next time I would probably increase the time in the oven by another hour or so, just to get them even more tender.

Now, I love grilled meats and attending barbecues but I tend to not like barbecue food all that much. See, most of the picnic/barbecue food I have been privy to, like coleslaw and potato salad, is swimming in mayo-based sauce. I don’t know if I have ever mentioned this before but I really, truly HATE mayonnaise. More than a hate, it is actually a fear. I cannot even look at it without getting a little queasy.

So, to keep with a barbecue theme but keep myself from becoming ill, I decided to make a vinaigrette-based cabbage slaw and a German potato salad. Not much to the slaw. The dressing was just red wine vinegar, oil, mustard, salt, pepper and garlic.

The German potato salad recipe is one of Bobby Flay’s. I modified it slightly. We both loved it. But then, how can you NOT like potatoes and bacon?

German Potato Salad

1 to 1 1/2 pounds new potatoes (I used baby Yukon golds)
1/4 pound bacon
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped (I omitted)
1/2 teaspoon all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup cider vinegar (I used white wine vinegar)
Fresh snipped chives, optional garnish
Minced parsley, optional garnish
Hard boiled eggs, optional garnish

Scrub potatoes and cook in boiling salted water until tender. Drain and, while hot, skin and cut into 1/4-inch slices. You should have about 4 cups. Set aside.

Place bacon in a skillet and fry until almost crisp. Remove bacon from pan and add onion and celery, cook until tender and transparent, remove from pan.

Drain off all but one tablespoon of bacon fat; add flour, sugar, salt and pepper to skillet stir until slightly browned. Add vinegar and water and cook until mixture is slightly thickened. Add back the bacon, onion, and celery.

Pour hot dressing over potatoes; stir gently to blend. The potatoes should look glossy. Garnish with hard-boiled egg slices, sprinkle minced parsley, and chives over top. Serve warm.