Herb-Encrusted Baby Back Ribs Recipe | Grilling

My list of rib variations is so long that it may call for a "rib week". One rack that I've always wanted to try since seeing Mike Lang's recipe on his excellent blog Another Pint Please were these herb-encrusted loin back ribs.

They're given a coating of a herb mixture that includes basil, parsley, thyme, and oregano to start. Then, forgoing the usually smoked treatment, these are still done low-and-slow but on a rotisserie on the grill. It takes about three hours for them to achieve perfect tenderness, and in the last half hour they're basted in a garlic and basil-infused olive oil.

Man, these looks so good coming off the spit. They were definitely different in looks from barbecued ribs, but were really worlds apart in taste. Without smoke, the pork had a very mild flavor that let the subtleties of each herb come through. They were juicy and tender with just the right pull off the bone, but for such a barbecue freak as myself, they were lacking just something a little extra.

Since I really loved the herb rub, I'll probably keep that in tact if I made these again, but try adding just a chunk or two of a light smoking wood–like apple or cherry–to give a little more flavor to the meat without overdoing it, and then I think they'd really be outstanding.