Tasty Morsels: Punch up baby back ribs with cider

Last week I met up with Bruce Nissen and Sean Deorsey, owners of Fox Barrel Cider, at their tasting room in Colfax. They gave me some great ideas for cooking ribs, pears and pasta using their currant, pear and apple ciders. I picked up a few bottles so I could try these recipes on my family. A few minutes later, I visited Bob Sorensen's Coffee Pot Ranch booth at the Farmers' Market, where he sells premium cuts of pork, lamb and beef. "In about two weeks, we'll have a large assortment of beef cuts, but right now we have pork on hand," Sorensen said. "We usually get lamb in a couple of months."It's a good idea to phone ahead to see what we'll be carrying at the market," he pointed out.Then, I zipped home and immediately poured a large bottle of Fox Barrel cider over a couple racks of baby back ribs, so they could marinate overnight. Naturally, I had a swig or two before emptying the bottle!The next day, I drained off and discarded about one-third of the cider and put the ribs in a broiler pan with the remaining cider. Then, as Sean suggested, I sprinkled a half cup or so of brown sugar over the ribs, added a little coarse sea salt, covered them tightly, super-tightly, with heavy duty foil and baked them for about 2 ½ hours at 325 degrees until the ribs were very tender. (Sean uses the plastic baking bags, and says they are amazing, but I've still never cooked with those, preferring to stick to the tried and true tin foil method.)At this point, you can cool the ribs and refrigerate, covered, until ready to grill. You'll notice that the sauce gels a bit once refrigerated. Don't throw it out — reserve it for later.For final cooking, heat grill to medium, spread the gelled sauce over the ribs, and sprinkle about ¼ to 1/2 cup additional brown sugar over the curved side of the ribs. Cook about 3-4 minutes per side, just long enough to let the sugary coating crisp and the ribs to brown.Serve at once!Note-Sean also said that pears poached in Fox Barrel's currant cider are terrific, especially served with a dollop of whipped cream. I haven't had the chance to try it yet, but if anyone out there does, please e-mail me to let me know how it turned out.Fox Barrel Ciders are widely distributed in the foothill retail grocery stores as well as in many pubs and restaurants. Coffee Pot Ranch premium cut meats are sold at local farmers' markets, and at Newcastle Produce in Newcastle, Blue Goose Produce in Loomis, and Persimmon Café in Lincoln. Fox Barrel cider grilled baby back ribs(Serves 4) Four 6-rib baby back pork racksOne 22-ounce bottle Fox Barrel hard apple cider¾ to 1 cup brown sugarCoarse sea salt and pepper to tasteDirectionsPlace ribs in one or two large Ziploc bags. Season to taste with coarse sea salt and pepper. Distribute cider evenly over ribs and seal bags. Marinate in refrigerator overnight. Spray roasting pan with non-stick spray. Place ribs in pan and pour juices over. Sprinkle evenly with ½ cup brown sugar. Seal very tightly with aluminum foil. Cook ribs in 325-degree oven for 2½ hours or until very tender. Remove from oven and drain off 1/3 of the juices, keeping the ribs in the remaining juices. Cool, cover and chill until ready to grill.Preheat grill or barbecue to medium heat. Spread gelled juices over ribs and sprinkle an additional ¼-1/2 cup brown sugar evenly over curved sides of rib racks. Grill for about 3-4 minutes per side, just until ribs are nicely browned and sugar begins to get crunchy. Serve hot.Susie can be reached at suziven@gmail.com --------About Coffee Pot Ranchl Coffee Pot Ranch4225 Karchner RoadSheridan, CA. 95681(530) 633-0814e-mail: s_field@sbcglobal.net www. placergrown.org Shirley and Bob Sorensen of Coffee Pot Ranch both hail from farm families. Bob's dad grew up on a farm in Nebraska while Shirley's great-grandfather, Dexter Field, ran cattle, sheep and horses on the Coffee Pot Range in Colorado. Both of their families eventually moved west to California, where Shirley and Bob met as kids in the American River 4-H Club. The couple married in 1997 and the following year started raising cattle, sheep and hogs on the Coffee Pot Ranch, named after the area where Dexter ran cattle back in the 1860s. Since 2005, the Sorensens have been bringing Coffee Pot Ranch Premium Cut Meats (no added hormones, steroids, or antibiotics) to the public through farmers' markets and select retail outlets. They also sell directly off the ranch.About Fox Barrel CiderFox Barrel Cider1213 S. Auburn StreetColfax, CA. 95713(530) 346-9699www. foxbarrel.comThese award winning ciders are hand crafted from freshly pressed juice in California's Sierra Foothills. Each batch is hand-blended to ensure the highest quality product. These hard ciders offer a palate somewhere between craft beer and fine wine. Hard cider is made from fruit juice that has gone through the fermentation process of turning natural sugars into alcohol. Once the fermentation is complete, the "must" is then filtered and blended with juice, thus increasing the fruitiness and decreasing the alcohol content.Fox Barrel's Cidery and Tasting Room are open from noon to 5 p.m. daily for tours and tasting