Clove and honey bbq ribs

BBQ season has always been a bit daunting since I always had my dad around to make the food and never learned how to do it myself. This summer my husband and I set out to master our grilling techniques. We have also been experimenting with new cuts of meat since switching from the grocery store to the farmer's markets. As of right now we are down to 1 grocery store trip a month for things that aren't local. Baking supplies simply don't come in season in our local market. When they do, we will be totally big box store free. These ribs were from Riley's Ranch in North Carolina. They raise heritage Large Black hogs, Tamworth hogs and heritage chickens. As a nice bonus, the owners are two of the sweetest people you could meet. 

This recipe is a bit sweet, slightly tangy and adaptable. It also works great with a bit of orange juice or peach juice mixed in. We served our ribs up with a side of skewered veggies. 

Ingredients: 

• 2 tbl coconut oil or other high heat oil
• 1/2 onion or a small onion, chopped small
• 1 cup honey
• 1 cup of Dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• pinch salt, ground pepper
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves (more if you really like cloves)

Directions: In a saucepan  heat the oil and cook down the onions until translucent. In a bowl add the vinegar, honey and mustard and mix. Season with the cloves, salt, pepper and cooked onions. Pour into a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes while stirring. Take off the heat and split into two batches. One will be for placing on the raw meat, the other for dipping later. 

Heat your grill for indirect heat. Salt and pepper the rack of ribs and place on the vented grill for 35-40 minutes. Brush the sauce on at this point. Before that it will just stick to the grill and make a mess instead of clinging to the meat. After 10 minutes, flip and sauce the other side. Cook another 10 minutes. Total cook time is about 1 hour.

Remove from heat, cut up and enjoy. We made ours with the grilled peaches since we were already working with the indirect heat and cloves. Our son devoured 3 ribs all by himself. Not bad for a 12 month old. I didn't worry about the honey because it was cooked and no longer ran the risk of botulism. 

Baby eating ribs-is there anything cuter?