The perfect game-day menu

Saddledome ice crowd Flames

I’ll admit it – I’m a diehard Flames fan. If we’re not going to a game, we’re watching one (or taping it to watch later!) I wasn’t always this fanatical about it, but I guess once you become a hockey mom and have three other people in the house living and breathing hockey, you can’t help but get caught up in Flames fever.

ribs pork baby back

Which brings me to my inspiration for a Flames game menu – my good friend Dale Edwards. He lived and breathed the Flames, and was known for whipping up his specialty – ribs and caesar salad – on game night. Dale left us way too early, but the memories we have of him – especially his passion for Flames and ribs – will forever be etched in our minds whenever we have this meal!

Searching for the perfect rib recipe

This has been a lifelong journey to emulate Dale’s mastery of this cut of meat. I’ll be the first to admit – I’m picky about my ribs. I want them to fall off the bone but they can ‘t be too fatty. With tangy succulent sauce but not too saucy. Crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Is this too much to ask? I have hunted high and low for the right recipe that suits my particular requirements, and everytime I come close, I may happen to stumble into doing something right but then I can’t duplicate the outcome again. I’ve tested all kinds of techniques and nothing seems to satisfy. Pre-boiling in water? Blah – no flavour. Steam them covered in the oven? Mine are still tough and chewy. Grilled on the barbeque? Too fatty. So after years of searching I thought such a dream was unattainable. That is until I went for dinner at my sister’s last week! My sis dished out these amazing ribs and I needed to know what she did! She said she discovered the perfect rib technique in a recipe from Chowhound.

The perfect rib rack prep

The initial step for prep outlined in the recipe was familiar. If you don’t do this already, make sure you remove the membrane on the back of the rack for the best results so it doesn’t create a flavour barrier between the rub and the meat. To get a good grip on the membrane, use a paper towel so it doesn’t slip through your fingers.

removing membrane from ribs

The next step is to apply a rub. Been there, done that. Nothing new here. But the real trick is wrapping the racks in tinfoil and baking them in the oven.

Be generous with your rub before wrapping them up in tinfoil

I put them in the fridge all wrapped up for about two hours, but you can put them right into the oven if you wish. When I opened up the tinfoil packets two hours later the racks were so tender with a lovely rib rub crust on the outside!! Yay!

Giving them some saucy love

You can finish them off on the barbecue instead of the oven, but it was -32 C out when we tested the recipe so that wasn’t an option! My sister followed the Chowhound recipe to a tee and both the rub and sauce were excellent. But feel free to change them out for your favorite recipes – here’s my fave rib sauce that I used instead. Just don’t skip the rub part in your prep!

I like to think that Dale’s looking down and smiling – not only because I finally mastered his specialty, but because the Flames are hopefully well on their way to the playoffs again. Cheers Dale! Go Flames go!

Dale “Eddie” Edwards loved his red wine, cooking up ribs and the Flames!

Looking for some other tasty game-day menu ideas? Check these out: