Visiting the Casbah on Super Bowl Sunday

Thanks to an inability to not buy anything that looks really good to me at the market, I had, in my frozen stash of goodies, a small, rather expensive package of lamb ribs. Really, they should be called riblets. Tiny, perfect llittle miniature spareribs. I love them all rubbed up with spices and grilled until tender and crispy around the edges. A perfect preprandial tidbit to gnaw on while the rest of the meal cooks over the coals. Especially with beer. I’d bought them last August and never got to cook them under the summer sun. So, since there weren't going to be any wings or onion dip around here for the Super Bowl, why not riblets?

The spices in the rub give this lamb a distinct North African flavor, and I can always imagine, when these are in the oven or on the grill that this is the scent of evening in the Casbah.

Since most of today was given over to the never ending pre-Super Bowl shows, there was plenty of time to prep and pop these in the oven during a commercial.

Casbah Lamb Riblets

2 small racks of lamb riblets (about 1 to 1-1/2  lbs)

The Rub:

1 teasp. fine sea salt

1 T. ground cinnamon

1 T. ground dry ginger

1 teasp. garlic powder

2 T curry powder

Cilantro for garnish if desired.

Preheat the oven to 300°F. Place the oven rack in the upper 1/3 of the oven. Place a square of heavy duty aluminum foil,  large enough to wrap both racks without overlapping them, on the counter. Place the lamb on the foil.  Blend all the dry ingredients in a small bowl and then rub the lamb racks thoroughly with the mixture. Fold the foil to seal the lamb tightly, and place on a baking sheet and into the oven. Bake about 1-1/2 hours, or until the meat has exposed the ends of the bones. Open the top enough to expose the top of the racks and turn the oven to “broil” and broil just long enough to crisp the top, about 5 minutes. Unwrap carefully, as there will be some hot fat in the foil. Move the ribs to a cutting board and cut into individual ribs, and serve. You can omit the broiling if you want and just serve as is.  Garnish with cilantro. Serves 4 as a snack.