Why The Crazy Cook Will Never Be A Chef

Last week, Mom asked Uncle to buy her four racks of spareribs. Aunt asked what she was doing with so many ribs. She said she liked the way I make spareribs and wanted me to cook them for her. Uncle agreed. He's had my spareribs and he likes them too. So he e-mailed me for the recipe.

I phoned him and had this crazy conversation with Aunt.

Aunt: "How do you make your spareribs? Your Mom and Uncle say they are the best."

Me: "I think the trick is to boil them first. You cut up the ribs in single pieces and put them in a pot. Add just enough water to cover the ribs and bring to a boil. Then you simmer the pot for about 35 minutes."

"You cut them up into single ribs? Do you still grill them after?"

"Yes."

"Oh no, that's too much work cutting up the ribs. And it's not necessary to boil them first. You just need to put the whole rack on the grill and use low heat."

"You can do that, but the meat doesn't fall off the bone when you cook it that way."

"How do you grill them?"

"I mix different BBQ sauces. I make sure one of the sauces is a hickory smoke sauce, and sometimes I buy liquid smoke to add to the sauce."

"But I like hoisin sauce. It's sweeter and it glazes easily."

"You can use that sauce too."

"But Uncle likes your ribs better. They're not burnt."

"Well, because I boil them, the meat is already cooked when they go on the grill. You put them on the grill to add flavour and texture with a bit of charring. Grilling is finished when you see the sauce glaze over and char marks start to appear on the ribs. It takes just a few minutes."

"You have to stand there and watch over it? That takes too much time. I just leave the rack on the grill and go away. No boiling, not necessary to cook twice."

"That's one way to cook them."

"I'll do it my way. But how do you make yours taste so good?"