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By Sarah Condley

Columnist

I was wondering what in the world we would have for supper and could not think of anything I wanted, so I started looking through some recipes I’ve saved throughout the years and when I spotted one for 20-minute Barbecue Ribs, I thought I’d give them a try. The recipe is from The Pampered Chef and you can hardly go wrong with one of their recipes. They are usually quick and not much trouble. After reviewing the recipe and figuring out I had all the ingredients, I went to the freezer and took out a rack of ribs.

When it was time to get supper together, the ribs had thawed and I used a small knife to remove the membrane from the back of them. To remove the membrane, I used the knife to get under it and then pulled to remove it all. After several attempts, the membrane was off and I cut each rib apart with no problems.

If you don’t have The Pampered Chef Deep Covered Baker, you can use some other type of baking dish with a lid, and hopefully, this recipe will turn out right for you. I’ve found their baker to do a great job when cooking meat in the microwave ––yes, meat in the microwave, usually you would think “Yuck”).

Once the ribs were cut apart, I sprinkled each with salt and pepper, placed them in the baking dish, added 1/4 cup water, put the lid on and then put the big dish into the microwave. After seven minutes in the microwave and after turning each rib over, I reset the timer for an additional seven minutes. When the ribs came out they were still pink and the meat thermometer only registered 120 degrees, so back into the microwave they went. I ended up cooking the ribs for a total of 16 minutes.

While the ribs cooked, I put the BBQ sauce together on the stove. Again, this recipe calls for The Pampered Chef’s Smoky BBQ Rub, and it is delicious, but if you don’t have that, you can try using your favorite BBQ rub, and hopefully, you’ll have a good outcome.

The sauce went together quickly, and once it came to a boil on top of the stove, I removed it from the heat source.

I thought about heating up our outdoor grill to finish off the ribs, but it was a bit cool and windy the day, and I didn’t want Brad to have to stand outside in that weather. The ribs were done, the sauce was ready, so I heated my grill pan. No grill pan? Maybe heat up a cast-iron skillet or some other type and try it.

Instead of tossing the ribs with the BBQ sauce, I placed them in the grill pan and slathered the sauce on each one. After several minutes of “grilling,” I turned the ribs and let them grill a few more minutes. Since I was impatient and hungry, I didn’t leave the ribs in the pan long enough to get excellent grill marks on them. But that was ok.

Brad and I sat down for our evening meal, and after he blessed the food, we were ready to dig in.

Now you can’t eat ribs without getting messy, and messy we got. After our first few bites, we agreed that these quick ribs were pretty good. Now, they weren’t as good as the ones Brad has prepared on our smoker, but to have them on the table in less than an hour—well they were good.

Brad and I were so hungry and ready to dig into them that I totally forgot to take a picture. When I thought, “Oh gosh, I was supposed to take a picture,” there was just one rib left. Brad suggested I take a picture of the pile of bones. I decided against that. Anyway, I think everyone knows what ribs look like. If you want ribs in a hurry, try this recipe; I don’t think you will be disappointed.

Chalk this Pampered Chef recipe up as another Nailed It!

20-Minute Barbecue Ribs

Ingredients

• 1 rack (2-3 pounds) pork loin back ribs (baby back ribs)

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

• 1/4 cup water

Smoky Barbecue Sauce

• 1 cup ketchup

• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar

• 2 tablespoons Smoky Barbecue Rub

• 2 teaspoons cider vinegar or white vinegar

Instructions

• For ribs, remove membrane from back of the ribs using a boning knife.  Season both sides of ribs with salt and black pepper.  Cut between each bone to separate rack into individual ribs.  Arrange ribs, cut side down in two layers in Deep Covered Baker.  Add water.  Microwave, covered, on High 8 minutes.  Turn ribs over.  Microwave on High 7-10 minutes or until Digital Pocket Thermometer registers 160 degrees when inserted into meatiest part of ribs alongside bones and ribs are no longer pink.

• Meanwhile, for sauce, combine ketchup, brown sugar, barbecue rub and vinegar in a saucepan.  Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally; remove from heat.

• Transfer ribs to a mixing bowl and add 1 cup of the sauce and toss to coat.

• Heat grill pan over medium heat 5 minutes.  Place ribs onto pan; cook 4-6 minutes or until grill marks appear, brushing with remaining sauce and turning once.  Transfer ribs to a serving platter and serve immediately.