Thai-style baby back ribs

I usually think of the NY Times food section, which they call "Dining," as somewhat lame and this week's articles on summer cocktails proved the point. They did have an interesting article, however, about how cuisines in hot-weather countries differ from our Western, French-style cuisines by not building a pyramid of flavors over time but cooking quickly and producing a wave of flavors.

Case in point was this recipe. Instead of marinating the ribs overnight and slow-cooking them in a smoker you grill the meat quickly and toss it with the flavoring -- all in the space of 30 to 40 minutes. Worth a try!

Just salt and pepper 2 racks of baby backs (3 to 3-1/2 lbs) and slap them onto a medium-low grill and cook 10 to 12 min. on each side. I used the BGE and it did a terrific job. Then you cut the racks into individual ribs and toss in a bowl with the ingredients for the sauce: 1/4 c. soy sauce, 1/4 c. Thai fish sauce, 1/4 c. lime juice (from 2 limes), 1 Tbl. sugar, 2 Tbl. chopped jalapenos, 2 Tbl. minced ginger, 1 Tbl. minced garlic, 3 Tbl. minced lemon grass. And the writer means toss -- flip in a huge bowl like a chef with a skillet -- to get everything mixed together.

The grilled ribs were delicious in flavor, but clearly not as tender as we are used to from our slow methods. The sauce had a nice Asian flavor, and I picked up some hot Thai vegetables and Asian broccoli slaw from the prepared food tables at WF to accompany. A great change of pace!