If you’re looking for a girl to pull up a chair at the poker table, help you work on your car, or go camping in the dirt with, you won’t find her in me. I’m not into many things that guys are into. I wear pink, my nails are always polished, and yes, there are many more pillows than necessary on my bed. But, I also don’t like clothes shopping very much (food shopping is the exception), I enjoy going to and watching baseball games (go Sox!), and I, like my husband Mark, love a saucy, messy plate of barbecued meat.

You see this deliciousness? This is what happens when Mark and I go to the store for milk and bread. We inevitably forget what we were there for and end up leaving with a rack of ribs, a bag of brown sugar, and a head full of ideas. Then, we spend the early evening outside, drinking wine, playing cards and grilling those bad boys for dinner!

So, yea, for a moment after I sink my teeth into the manly hunk of meat before me, I do feel like one of the boys. I feel like I can drive a stick-shift truck and smoke a cigar (even though I’d be pretty scared to do either), and go muddin’. But then, Mark, also covered in barbecue sauce, reaches across the table and dabs big globs of red off my forehead and cheeks.

Well, maybe I got a little overly excited. But hey, a girl can wear pink and indulge in a rack of ribs, too!

I know you’ll absolutely love this recipe – We sure did! The sweet and sticky barbecue sauce was our own creation, and it had just the right amount of kick to compliment the ribs. We had a little help from Real Simple magazine on the oven and grill timing, though. (Here’s a link to their great tips for how to cook various types of ribs). The ribs were slow-baked, quickly grilled and came out so juicy and tender, very meaty, and not too fatty, which is usually the case with lean baby back cuts – The meatier, the better! To top it off, they’re pretty inexpensive, too.

I really hope you try this recipe, even just as a cooking time guideline, the next time you have a barbecue, or if you’re just in the mood for some finger-lickin’ good food! I guarantee you’ll keep going back to this technique, and these ribs, again and again!