Bacon Wrapped BBQ Country Ribs

     Adapted from this recipe I found on the Just A Pinch website, these bacon wrapped ribs are seriously good and just made for dutch oven cooking.  Really, is there anything that doesn't taste better when wrapped in bacon?  Juicy on the inside and crispy on the outside, applewood smoked bacon paired with a hickory barbecue sauce made for a winning combination.  In my 10 inch dutch oven, I started with 10 coals in a ring around the base of the oven with 26 briquettes on the lid.  I left them alone and in spite of the wind and chilly temperatures, in one hour the steam was pouring from my oven and they were perfectly done.  This recipe can easily be doubled or tripled, depending on the size of your oven.  Just be sure to bake them in one layer and don't cover them with too much sauce, you want the bacon exposed to the heat, otherwise it will become soggy.  

Bacon Wrapped BBQ Country Ribs
5 pork country ribs
10 slices uncooked bacon
1 1/2 cups barbecue sauce
toothpicks

     Lightly oil or spray dutch oven.
     Cover bottom of dutch oven with half of barbecue sauce.
     Wrap each rib with two slices of bacon; secure bacon with toothpicks.
     Place ribs in single layer in dutch oven.
     Spoon remaining sauce evenly over ribs.
     Ribs should not be swimming in sauce.
     Bake at 350 degrees for one hour or until bacon is crisp on top and ribs are tender.
     Recipe can easily be doubled and baked in larger dutch oven.

Wrap ribs with bacon and secure with toothpicks

Cover ribs in a light layer of sauce before baking

Bake at 350 degrees for one hour

Mmmmm, bacon keeps the ribs moist and juicy

Slow Roasted Country Ribs

      The cool fall weather has arrived in my neck of the woods and it's time to start thinking about hearty dutch oven meals.  This recipe for Slow Roasted Country Ribs from Mr. Food is just about one of the easiest dinners you'll ever make.  I decided to bake them in my 10 inch Camp Chef Yosemite Deluxe Dutch Oven.  I picked it up for a song last winter online and what I like about it is the extra height it gives you with the deeper lid, perfect for roasting the ribs or cooking stuffed peppers.  I started out with 10 coals in a ring around the base of the oven and covered the lid with around 24 coals, I didn't even peek under the lid, in 1 hour and 30 minutes the onions were soft and the ribs were beautifully browned. You can also make these in your crock pot, cook them for 8 hours on low.  Very tender and juicy but not overly spicy, serve them with a big spoonful of brown mustard to boost the flavor.

Slow Roasted Country Ribs
1 2 lb. package refrigerated sauerkraut, rinsed and drained
1 3 lb. package pork country-style ribs
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
1 onion, thinly sliced

     Lightly oil or spray dutch oven.
     Place sauerkraut in prepared oven.
     Place ribs over sauerkraut.
     Sprinkle with onion soup mix.
     Top with sliced onions.
     Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until ribs are tender.
     Makes 3-4 servings.

Place ribs over sauerkraut then sprinkle with soup mix and onions

Deluxe oven has a deeper lid

Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes at 350 degrees

The ribs were very juicy, economical too, a hearty dinner
for under 7 dollars

Anita Lo's Mother's BBQ Spareribs

      In honor of the Chinese New Year I decided to make these spareribs from chef and New York restaurateur Anita Lo.  This five ingredient recipe comes from her mother and is so amazingly simple you won't believe something so easy can taste this juicy and good.  Mix the sauce, coat the ribs, place in your dutch oven and bake.  In my 12 inch dutch oven they baked with 12 coals in a ring around the bottom and the lid completely covered with 28-30 coals.  I left them alone for one solid hour and when I lifted the lid they were glazed, browned and tender.  Serve them with a side of rice and spoon some of the sauce over the ribs, it is simply too good to waste.  This recipe is from the Martha Stewart show, you can view the recipe and watch the video here.  Usher in the Year of the Dragon with these succulent and easy ribs. 

Anita Lo's Mother's BBQ Spareribs
1 rack (about 2 1/4 pounds) pork spareribs
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup ketchup
1 cup hoisin sauce

     Lightly oil or spray dutch oven.
     Cut spareribs into individual ribs.
     Season with salt and pepper; transfer to a large bowl.
     In small bowl combine ketchup and hoisin.
     Pour ketchup mixture over ribs; turn to coat evenly.
     Place ribs in single layer in bottom of prepared dutch oven, meat side up.
     Bake at 400 degrees for one hour or until meat begins to pull away from the ends of the bone.

Coat ribs with sauce then place in a single layer in well oiled dutch oven

Bake at 400 degrees for one hour

Not overly sweet and incredibly juicy

Country Style Ribs with Red German Cabbage

      I found this recipe for German Red Cabbage in the Neiman Marcus cookbook, Pure and Simple.  The woman who submitted it wrote that it came from her grandmother's German mother-in-law.  Originally I thought I would just make the cabbage but decided at the last minute to add some pork ribs.  You could substitute the ribs with pork chops, bratwurst or even make the cabbage as a side dish.  Place your 12 inch dutch oven over as many coals as you can fit under the bottom.  Saute the ribs with the bacon until they are browned on both sides.  Remove the ribs to a platter while you add the cabbage mixture.  Stir the cabbage well and place the ribs or chops on top.  Move the coals to a ring of 12 around the bottom and cover the lid with 22-24 coals.  Leave it to cook, undisturbed for 50 minutes or until cabbage has cooked down and ribs are tender.  If you decide to just make the cabbage, saute the bacon then add the cabbage mixture and bake for 45 minutes.  With or without the pork, this sweet, tangy cabbage is a real delicacy.

Country Style Ribs with Red German Cabbage
2 pounds country style pork ribs
3 bacon slices, diced
1 head red cabbage, finely chopped
1 tart apple, peeled, cored, and chopped
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

     Lightly oil or spray 12 inch dutch oven.
     Mix cabbage, apple, water, brown sugar and vinegar together in large bowl.
     Season ribs with salt and pepper.
     Brown bacon and ribs over a full compliment of coals until ribs are lightly browned on both sides.
     Remove ribs from oven and set aside.
     Stir cabbage into bacon drippings in dutch oven.
     Lay pork ribs on top of cabbage.
     Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes or until pork and cabbage are tender.

Brown ribs with bacon

Bake pork on bed of cabbage for 50 minutes

Tender cabbage with juicy ribs

Mom's Baby Back Ribs

      My Mom makes the best, fall off the bone, tender baby back ribs.  Her secret has always been, wrapping them in foil, placing them on a cookie sheet and baking them for three hours at 300 degrees.  The recipe couldn't be easier and the clean up is a snap.  On a recent camping trip I thought I would adapt her technique to dutch oven cooking.  To really simplify things, I wrapped the ribs before leaving home and kept them ice cold in a cooler before cooking them a few hours later at our campsite.  Basically all you do is slather the ribs with your favorite barbecue sauce on a large piece of aluminum foil and wrap them up like a package, rolling the seams to make the packet air tight.  I cut a 2 1/2 pound slab of ribs in half and they fit perfectly in my 12 inch oven.  You don't want to stack the ribs in the foil, make sure they are placed side by side before sealing.  I cooked them for almost three hours.  They cooked in the hot sun with no wind so I only had to replenish the coals twice with 12 in a ring around the bottom and 18-20 on top.  I added more coals than probably needed but they threw the heat longer and I wanted to make sure I brought the oven temperature up to speed right off the bat.
      You really can't go wrong with this recipe, if you decide to cook them in a hotter oven, just shorten your cooking time by a half hour.  They definitely need a good 2 1/2 hours to cook.  This is a set it and forget it recipe, except for lighting more coals, you don't even have to lift the lid on your oven until the time is up.  If you are cooking for a larger group you will require a larger oven or even a second dutch oven to accomodate the extra portions.  I am not sure how they would come out but you might be able to stack two packets of ribs on top of each other in a deeper oven.  Of course the beauty of this recipe is the clean up.  Once I took the ribs out of the oven I was able to bake a quick batch of refrigerated biscuits without even wiping out the pot. Give these mouth watering ribs a try at your next camp out, trust me, they are finger lickin' good!

Mom's Baby Back Ribs
2-3 pounds pork baby back ribs, cut into aproximately 2 ten inch sections
1 bottle of prepared barbecue sauce
Extra wide, heavy duty aluminum foil

     Lightly oil or spray a 12 or 14 inch dutch oven.
     Tear a long piece of extra wide aluminum foil, at least 30 inches in length.
     Place rib sections upside down in center of foil.  Pour half bottle of sauce over ribs, spread sauce to completely cover underside of ribs.
     Turn ribs over and continue covering evenly with remainder of barbecue sauce. Bake rib portions side by side with the meat side up.
     Bring long ends of foil together and roll tightly to seal packet, as if you were wrapping a package.
     Seal ends of foil and roll tightly until ribs are closely wrapped and foil packet is tightly sealed. 
     Wrap in second layer of foil, repeating the same wrapping process.
     Place in dutch oven.  Bake at 300 degrees for 3 hours, replenishing the coals as needed to maintain a constant temperature.  Serves 2-3.

Ribs bathed in sauce then tightly wrapped in foil

Juicy, tender ribs served with campfire baked potatoes, corn and biscuits.