Baby Back Ribs Recipe

I'm going to chronicle my latest attempt at Baby Back Ribs. I bought the three slabs from Sam's Club and I believe they were $2.89 per pound. A very low price, but we'll see if the quality matches the value.

Today I pulled the membrane off the backs of the ribs, slathered on some BBQ sauce and sprinkled them with onion powder, garlic powder and chili powder. They are now wrapped in foil and going back into the fridge.

Tomorrow (Sunday April 27, 2008) I will remove them from the fridge and allow them to warm up to room temperature before baking them in the foil at 200 degrees for 4 hours. After that, the ribs are transferred to a hot grill (or broiler, haven't decided yet) for a quick crisping. Hopefully they will fall off the bone. They should certainly taste good with the spices I've used.

Update: Baked them in foil for 4 hours, and put them under the broiler for 10 minutes to crisp up. They were tender and tasty, but not the best I've made. I think the 4-hour bake is the correct process, but a very hot grill might be better than the broiler for crisping.

Name Your Dog After Your Worst Enemy

Where did I come up with this? Actually, it came to me while I was sleeping. I decided to jot this down so I wouldn't forget it.

The rationale is this: Name your dog after your worst enemy, and then you won't be so heartbroken when it dies!

Don't Mess Around with Jim

This fish was whole when it was brought into the boat. Omega Man took a bite out of it while we were headed back into the inlet. Copius amounts of roast beef were consumed later in this same trip.

Christmas Dinner - Prime Rib Recipe

I wanted to share my recipe for Prime Rib, and document it for myself as I only do this once per year.

This roast was boned and tied, but I'm not doing this next year. The 2007 Prime Rib was cooked a little too much for my liking, and I want to have the bones attached next time. The other thing I tried was cutting slits into the meat and inserting garlic cloves, and I'm not doing that next year either. I think slicing into the meat makes it cook unevenly at the top, and I only noticed the garlic flavor when slicing the meat.

5-bone Rib Roast, cut from the Delmonico End of the whole rib

Sprinkle top of roast liberally with:

Garlic powder, Salt, Pepper, Chili Powder (nice color)

Let the meat sit out of the refrigerator for at least an hour, probably two. I made the mistake of beginning my 2007 roast at an internal temperature of 48 F, and I believe this is one of the factors in being overdone at the ends.

Use a meat thermometer (I use a wireless probe) and make sure it is centered in the meat. Roast at 325 and pull the meat from the oven when the thermometer reads 125 degrees. Any more than that, and you will get medium or well done. For a rare center, pull at 120.

Let the meat rest for a minimum of 20 minutes, tented with aluminum foil. Cut the bones away and slice yourself some mammoth slabs of beautiful prime rib.

Biggest Spammer I've Seen

www.123inkjets.com is by far the biggest spammer I've seen. I made the mistake of signing up for their newsletter, and I have been barraged with spam ever since. I have a fairly new email address on Gmail, and until now it's been pretty much spam-free.

I read about the spamming issue with 123inkjets, and now I've seen it for myself. From what I've read on their reviews, you should probably avoid them as they are completely lacking in customer support skills.

I was going to buy their ink for my new Brother printer, but because of their sleazy spamming, they just lost a customer.

Sport Clips (Viera, FL) Bad Hair Day

Holy Cow! Did I find a men's hair salon to avoid at all costs?

I figured I would try the new Sport Clips, in Viera. They cater to men, with their sports themed salon, and TVs. Nice place to visit, but don't get your hair cut.

My hair cutter was a cute brunette, very petite, but not very friendly, pretty much cold to the touch. In fact, she was literally cold to the touch, when her hands touched my head, they were ice cold!

I was going to describe what they offered, versus what I got, but I decided it wasn't worth the effort. Just leave it at a very lousy, unprofessional haircut, and a customer that will never return. I've heard from other guys with very similar experiences in the Viera location.

Gun Show - Melbourne, Florida Audorium 12/29/07

My friend Jeff and I visited the Gun Show today at the Melbourne (Florida) Auditorium, and it was packed with gawkers/shoppers/enthusiasts. The aisles are ridiculously sized for the crowds.

I was speaking with vendors, trying to determine why my brand new Bushmaster M4-A3 is having feed problems with the stock magazines. The guy from Anvil Arms (from which I shoudl have purchase an AR15) told me it was most likely a gun problem, and not a magazine problem.

Now I have to box up the Bushy, and get it sent back to the manufacturer through B&H Gun Rack in Merritt Island, where I purchased the gun.