Slow Cooker Baby Back Ribs

Cooking ribs in the slow cooker and then finishing them under the broiler helps recreate the fall-off-the-bone slow smoked awesomeness of barbecued ribs. 

These slow cooker baby back ribs are so easy to make, require little hands on time, and you don't need a barbecue to make them. 

Chinese Barbecued Pork - Char Siu

Chinese BBQ Pork, or char siu, is a Cantonese dish where pork is marinated in a sweet sauce and then broiled or roasted. 

Chinese barbecue pork, or char siu, is pretty much meat candy in my mind. It's sweet, fatty, and succulent. 

Blueberry Barbecue Sauce

This Blueberry Barbecue Sauce, made in the slow cooker, is great to make in the summer when fresh blueberries are bountiful. Don't despair if it's not summer. You can also make this with frozen blueberries. 

This slow cooker blueberry barbecue sauce is savory with a hint of sweetness from the fruit and a little brown sugar. It's easy to make, and excellent both as a simmering sauce and as a finishing sauce.

Grilled Teriyaki Pork Kebabs

Grilled Teriyaki Pork Kebabs with pineapple, peppers, and red onions flavored with homemade teriyaki sauce and grilled to perfection.

The pork for these grilled teriyaki pork kebabs is marinated in a teriyaki sauce that is deeply flavored with nine ingredients, and then grilled, brushed with more reserved sauce, and sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds and scallions. They are totally delicious.

Grilled Shish Kebabs with Rosemary, Mint, Garlic, and Lemon

These grilled Shish Kebabs are marinated with Rosemary, Mint, Garlic, and Lemon and then finished with a garlic and Parmesan butter glaze.

I've always loved grilled lamb with garlic and rosemary. I've also always loved shish kebabs. To combine these favorites, I thought I'd try making skewered lamb and vegetables with the the flavors of garlic and rosemary, along with mint and lemon.

Yang Chow Fried Rice with Grilled Duck

Yang Chow Fried Rice, also known as Yangzhou fried rice, is a traditional dish from the Chinese province of the same name. It is often served at the end of a banquet.

This Yang Chow fried rice is a little different than the typical simple version with just rice, ham, and shrimp. 

Spicy Tomato and Corn Salad

This Spicy Tomato and Corn Salad, with a lime, jalapeno, and shallot dressing, is a wonderful side dish for summer outdoor grilling.

This post is sponsored in conjunction with #BBQWeek. I received product samples from sponsors to use in creating #BBQWeek recipes. However, all opinions are mine alone.

This spicy tomato and corn salad is simple to make, and delivers such refreshing flavors.

Grilled Pork Burger with a Hawaiian-Style Bun

Grilled Pork Burger with a Hawaiian-Style Bun topped with coleslaw and dressed with Cherry Chipotle Sauce.

This grilled pork burger is not just a burger patty made from ground pork. There's lots of good stuff in the patty, like shallots, garlic, thyme, chiles, chorizo, and bacon.

Coffee Rubbed Flank Steak

This coffee rubbed flank steak has such a smoky, rich, and delicious flavor. 

Along with coffee, the rub for this steak also includes garlic, pepper, brown sugar, cayenne, cloves, and cinnamon, along with salt and pepper. The combination of the flavors in the rub, married with the high heat on the grill or grill pan, creates an incredible flavor.

Barbecue Beef Sliders

These barbecue beef sliders are so easy to make and the beef makes excellent leftovers.

The beef is braised for about three hours in barbecue sauce, shredded, and then piled onto slider sized buns (I used these rolls and they were excellent with this beef).  This recipe makes about 24 mini sandwiches.

The beef can be made a day in advance and reheated for serving.

Barbecue Beef Sliders

Ingredients

1 T olive oil

2 medium onions, roughly chopped

1 28 ounce whole tomatoes

1 18 ounce bottle of barbecue sauce (I used Bulls Eye)

3 pound chuck roast, trimmed of excess fat

Pepper

24 slider buns

Instructions

1. In a large dutch oven, heat the olive oil. Add the onions and saute about five minutes on medium.
2. Add the tomatoes and break them up in the pot. Pour in the barbecue sauce and simmer on medium for 10 minutes. 
3. Add the beef, cover, and simmer on low, stirring every once in awhile, for about 3 hours. 
4. Remove the meat from the dutch oven and shred it into small pieces with two forks, discarding any extra fat. Cover with foil and set it aside.
5. Bring the sauce to a boil and reduce it until thick, stirring regularly. 
6. Once the sauce has thickened, add the beef back into the sauce and heat on low until the beef is thoroughly warmed. Add pepper to taste. 
7. Serve on slider buns. 

One of my all-time favorite food blogs is Simply Recipes by Elise Bauer. Each post is simply that... a short narrative, a recipe, and usually one gorgeous photo of the finished dish. I am amazed at how regularly she posts new recipes and I've never been disappointed with any of the ones that I have tried. This recipe has been slightly adapted from Simply Recipes.

Honey Maple Garlic Baby Back Ribs

I made these honey maple garlic baby back ribs for my son's birthday. He loves ribs. His two boys love ribs, How could I go wrong? (And I love, love, love all of these boys and get so much pleasure out of feeding them with food that they love).

I've always been intimidated by making ribs, but I'm not sure why. I guess because I thought a barbecue would be involved. I'm pretty sure I could figure out a barbecue... pretty sure....

But this recipe is so much easier. Marinate the ribs.... bake them in the oven.... and then toss them in a glaze. All I know is that everyone loved them. (Can you keep a secret? I had leftovers for breakfast.)

So here's the deal about these ribs. They are not overly "barbecue-y" flavored. They are really meaty and inherently sweet.. but not too much. Just make them. You will love them. And so will the men in your life.

Honey Maple Garlic Baby Back Ribs

Ingredients

3 racks of baby back ribs, about 9 pounds total, membrane removed, and each cut into thirds

1 1/2 C honey

1/2 C maple syrup

1/3 C soy sauce

1/2 C Dijon mustard

1/2 C apple cider vinegar

6 scallions, white part minced, and green part sliced

8 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Whisk the honey, maple syrup, soy sauce, Dijon, vinegar, minced white scallions, garlic, cayenne, and salt and pepper in a large bowl.
2. Divide the ribs among three one gallon plastic bags. 
3. Add the marinade to each bag and seal. Refrigerate for up to 24 hours. 
4. Place an oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat it to 325 degrees F.
5. Line a baking sheet with heavy duty foil and place a wire rack on top of the sheet. Spray it with spray oil. 
6. Place the marinated rib racks on top of the wire rack. 
7. Place the baking sheet onto the oven rack, and add 2 cups of warm water to the baking sheet. 
8. Tent the baking sheet with foil.
9. Pour the rest of the marinade into a bowl, cover, and refrigerate.
10. Bake for about 75 minutes.
11. Remove the foil and continue to bake for another hour.
12. Meanwhile, bring the rest of the marinade to boil in a large (6-8 quart) Dutch oven and allow it to boil down to a glaze. This should take 5 to 10 minutes. Brush the ribs with some of the glaze and continue to bake for another 15 to 30 minutes. 
13. Transfer the ribs to a cutting board and tent with foil. Allow them to rest for about 10 minutes. 
14. Cut the ribs into individual pieces and toss them with the rest of the glaze in the Dutch oven. 
15. Transfer them to a plate and sprinkle with scallions. 

Inspired by the Feb/Mar issue of Cook's Country magazine. 

Korean Style Barbecued Flank Steak

This is my favorite supermarket steak barbecue recipe. It's not all that expensive (for beef) and it's really good. 

I'm not that well versed in preparing excellent steak, and I am not thrilled with the steaks you can buy at a typical grocery store. If I'm going to prepare beef at home I'd rather have this beef tenderloin or a roast, neither of which is prepared on the barbecue.  

Which brings me back to flank steak. I absolutely love this cut of meat for barbecuing for a crowd. And I absolutely love this recipe. I have served this steak with this salad and fried rice. So good. 

This dish also is perfect for a week night dinner. Throw together a salad and some rice in the rice cooker and you have dinner. 

Flank steak is also a great cut for stir-fries, including broccoli beef and stir-fried beef and veggies. 

Korean Style Barbecue Flank Steak

Adapted from Food Network

2 T steak seasoning such as Montreal. I've been using the Bronzeville Rib Rub from the Spice House. 

1/4 C Tamari soy sauce

1 T honey

1 tsp red pepper flakes

2 large garlic cloves, chopped

2 tsp sesame oil

2 scallions, chopped

A drizzle of vegetable oil

2 pound flank steak
Kim chee (optional)

Instructions

1. Combine the ingredients and coat the flank steak. Cover and marinate for several hours.
2. Heat a grill to medium high. 
3. Cook the meat 5 minutes per side. 
4. Remove the meat from the grill, tent, and allow to sit for 5 minutes.
5. Slice the meat on an angle against the grain, top with the optional kim chee, and serve.