Katie and Mike's Kitchen Cravings: A taste of the south for warmer weather

Watching shows like Man vs. Food, and Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, you see all sorts of delicious barbequed food. Having acquired some pork back ribs the other week I decided to make Cajun Spiced Ribs for dinner the other night. I have tried using a few cajun spice recipes before but always found the herb mix had fennel which imparted a licorice flavor that I did not care for that is why I gave this Cajun Spice Rub that was specifically lacking in fennel. I also took out most of the heat by omitting the cayenne pepper. The flavor is reminiscent of bbq flavoured potato chips and paired nicely with a store bought bbq sauce.

Cajun Spice Rub:
1/3 cup Smoked Paprika
1 Tbsp Kosher Salt
2 tsp Garlic Powder
2 tsp Onion Powder
2 tsp dried Oregano
2 tsp dried Basil
1 tsp dried Thyme
1 tsp ground black pepper

When making a spice rub, bulk barn is your friend

I utilized a recipe for the ribs that called to bake them in the oven for 1 hr at 350 degrees wrapped in tin foil and then baste in bbq sauce and bake for another 30 minutes. I found that this amount of time wasn't long enough to get that fall off the bone texture. I would recommend cooking for 2 1/2 hrs at 325 for the initial cooking.

Cajun Spiced Ribs

3 Tbsp Cajun Spice Rub
1 rack of Pork Back Ribs
1/2 cup BBQ Sauce to baste

Method:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cover ribs in spice rub, ensuring to cover both sides. Cover ribs and let absorb flavour for 1 hr or overnight. Wrap in tin foil and bake in oven for 2 1/2 hrs. Remove from oven cover in bbq sauce and let marinate for 1 hr in fridge. Remove from fridge and bake on a foil lined baking sheet for 1/2 hr, brushing with bbq sauce half way through cooking time. Remove from oven, and serve.