We're back to pork again. This time, it was an entire slab of spare ribs that jumped into our cart oh, a week or two ago. It's been taking up an impressive amount of space in the freezer all this time, while I went to San Diego and back. The price, and my darling's love of pork, was the incentive.
Two days ago I wrestled it out of the freezer and into the refrigerator to thaw. It's been so windy and cold that we've been essentially trailer-bound due to strong wind and blowing dust. It hasn't been pleasant to be outside and we've done it as little as possible. A slow braise in the oven yesterday seemed a good idea for helping to keep the trailer warm.
6.5 pounds is a lot of meat. Even if I'd wanted to cook it all at once I'd have had to layer it somehow; it was too long for the oven! So I cut it into 3 pieces, cooked one and vacuum-packed the others for later. They're back in the freezer again.
I finally found, by accident, the Espresso and Ancho Rub that I thought I'd left behind; it was stashed along with some extra spices I'd been looking for, in a container that used to hold dates and unshelled pecans. This rub is wonderful stuff. I didn't make it to this spice shop when I visited my sister in Reno earlier this year, but they also do mail order. When I exhaust this package, I'll probably buy more. I put a generous coating on the ribs, snuggled them into an enameled cast iron pan with a small amount of water in the bottom, added a temperature probe and the cover, and set the oven for around 285F.
I'm not sure how helpful the probe was. This is a small, fine needle but it's still hard to find a spot with no bone. I'd set the alarm for 165F, and it came up to that temperature long before the meat was done. After that it was a game of adjusting the oven temperature down and physically checking the meat. Two thermometers said it was around 195F before I thought it done.
The question in the meantime was which barbecue sauce to use. We're out of both our favorites from Texas, so we've bought some at grocery stores.
We didn't want to open all four bottles for a taste test. All need refrigeration after opening. We still have a little bit of refrigerator space open, and I'm trying to keep it that way!
I let him pick, and he went for our old standby.
Toward the end of the cooking, I painted some on the ribs and let it set up in the oven while I prepped and cooked broccoli.
Dinner! He added sauce at the table; I didn't. We both thought these were perfectly done: tender, toothsome, with the bones coming out cleanly. (We know that meat coming off the bone cleanly is considered to be a no-no in some barbecue circles. We don't care. This wasn't so overcooked as to be dry.)
The broccoli was barely steamed, then dressed with Meyer lemon juice and zest, butter and julienned sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil. Quite good, and a nice accompaniment to the meat.
We were surprised and a bit disappointed in the Jack Daniel's. It's much, much sweeter than we remember it being. A look at the label explains the sweetness.
Do any of you use this stuff? Have they changed its recipe? I think I'll be messing with it to try to tone down the sweetness. He wants to open more of the sauces and try them now, of course. 
eta: This reviewer and at least one commenter say that yes, the formula has changed -- and not for the better.
