Last week, we had six inches of snow on our deck. Six days later, it's 80 degrees outside, and I'm sweating in my I'm-not-going-to-turn-on-my-AC-until-it's-at-least-April house. Craziness. But when the weather gives you sunny lemons, you make ribs, right?

Ribs have always scared me. Boil, roast, grill, crock-pot, dry rub, tomato-based sauce, mustard sauce, no sauce, pork, beef, country style, baby back... OH MY GOODNESS. If you want meat, just go to McDonald's and leave me alone! Unfortunately for me, my husband would probably leave me for a plate of really good pork ribs... unless of course I make them myself. I figured it was a good enough reason.

"Homemade" Barbecue Sauce

Ribs start with a great sauce, right? I got a little overcome at all the options I found online, so I decided to try a fake-out instead. People... this mess is awesome.

• one small onion, finely diced
• one garlic cloved, minced
• 18-oz. bottle of barbecue sauce (I used KC Masterpiece)
• one bottle of a dark ale  (half to drink, half to put in the sauce)
• a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce
• a teaspoon of chipotle sauce, chipotle powder, or a few dashes of chipotle Tabasco (optional)

Here's the idea. Instead of doing all the work to get the tomato-brown sugar-vinegar mix, use a bottle of sauce and jazz it up however you'd like. Here's what I did.

1. Drizzle a little canola or vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions, season with salt and pepper, and cook for three minutes or so.
2. Add the garlic, stir, and cook for no more than a minute so the garlic doesn't burn.
3. Take a swig of beer.
4. Add the bottle of barbecue sauce.
5. Take another swig of beer.
6. Add the Worcestershire and chipotle.
7. Take one final swig. Now add the rest of the bottle to the pan.
8. Bring to a boil. Allow the sauce to simmer for at least 20 minutes so it'll cook down and reduce.

When we tasted this sauce and it's bottled "parent" back-to-back, the word we used to describe the undoctored version was artificial. It was amazing how different the two tasted. Take these extra steps on your sauce; you won't regret it.

Ribs

Buy whatever kind of ribs you like, but I think that country style pork ribs are best. They're soooo dang meaty. (We used one regular package - about two pounds - and had maybe 1/4 cup of sauce leftover.)

Put the ribs in a large pot with a lid, barely cover with water, cover, and bring to a boil. Once they boil (lift the lid to check), turn the heat to low, put the lid back on, and leave them for an hour. Take the ribs out, dry them on some paper towels, and don't be grossed out by what you see. Boiled meat has never really tempted me, but it's necessary for tender, cooked-through ribs.

Okay, done with that! Let's get to the pretty version!

Ooh, that's better. Everybody okay?

Make sure your grill is nice and hot, and grill your little heart out! The key here is to baste and flip OFTEN. You don't want to let the meat sit for longer than a couple of minutes. Otherwise, the sauce will burn. And the point of basting is to build layers of flavor, so flip and baste. Flip and baste. Slather that sauce on, and drink another beer. The whole process will probably take about twenty minutes.

I'm glad I'm not afraid anymore. Made-at-home ribs should be consumed in high quantities.