Ribs

Some of you may have heard of the Listeria outbreak in Canada. At this point, 11 people have died while testing positive for Listeria.

On television, there are regular commercials from Maple Leaf, the company held responsible for the outbreak.

I think this commercial is going to end up in a business school class for analysis. How effectively did the president of Maple Leaf address the issue? Here are some more details – we still don’t know the full extent of this virus. Listeria can remain dormant for as many as 3 months. We also don’t know whether other products pose a risk. It was only last month that we were fearing tomatoes and salsa, to discover that the cause of the problem was jalapenos.

So maybe other products could transmit Listeria. There were four more products recalled today. Or, maybe we’ve already been exposed. Not to get panicky.

I’m curious whether the commercial is effective.

Personally, I think that the commercial is a minimum gesture, for now. But will not suffice if things worsen or if future assurance of the quality of our food lessens. But the speech itself seems to address many important aspects of communicating a message during a time of stress. They took ownership of the problem, described a swift reaction to address the problem and addressed an intention to improve in the future.

Frankly, I’m not sure if it’s enough to salvage their market value or consumers’ confidence.

I’m not sure how this recall will affect the meat industry, in general. But, I'm still taking advantage of bbq season. Don't worry, it's not Maple Leaf.

This recipe is largely my own, but I must acknowledge both R and Peter for the impetus to do it. Peter’s submission to our first Tried, Tested and True event was ribs. At some point, I had marked another rib recipe of his. So, his posts definitely gave me some direction. R also contributed by making a formal request for ribs and seeing to it that we purchase some.

Actually, props to R – he always goes grocery shopping with me. Sometimes he goes without me and does a good job of getting items off of our list. Here’s a question for you – when you go grocery shopping, does anyone go with you?

Ribs

Combine the following ingredients for a rub:

black pepper, dried oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, hot paprika, garlic powder, thyme

I really suggest that you play around with your rub. We like spicy foods, but you could use a sweet paprika to tone down the heat.

Before adding the rub, peel the white layer of skin/membrane off the back of the ribs. I cut up the ribs in three at this point, just to separate it for ease of eating. Spread the rub and let it sit in the fridge for 3 hours.

Before cooking, I put some cut up lemons on top of the ribs to maintain the moistness during cooking. This is one of Giz’s tips. Props to her too because she fields about 6 calls a week for cooking/baking instructions.

I cooked my ribs in the oven at 400F for 1 hour. My oven is fast, so you may want to use more time. From here, I took the lemons off of the ribs and put them on the bbq. I left the ribs on the bbq for about 15 minutes before starting to baste. I’m personally a proponent of multiple layers of bbq sauce. I used a basic president’s choice sauce, but I’d like to play around with sauces in the future. One skill at a time.

Verdict: The ribs were delicious. We ate them with fresh corn on the cob. Very satisfying supper.

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We've been really bad with our monthly events, Recipes to Rival and Daring Bakers. Between Giz's move, preparing for this bar mitzvah and my own workload, it just wasn't realistic this month. We'll try to do better next month.

But, we do have a lot to show for our catering experience. Let's just say there was way too much food. We'll post the pictures soon.