Food & Wine Pairing: Zinfandel and BBQ Ribs

Happy Spring! Being stuck at home has given me a lot of time on my hands to cook up some fun meals. We have also been using our grill NONSTOP. Now that the weather is nice, we are cooking out on our patio everyday!

I had been craving some BBQ, so we got some baby back ribs, a nice smokey barbeque sauce, and a jammy zinfandel to pair with it!

Why Pair Zinfandel with Barbecue?

When pairing wine with barbecue, the main component to focus on is the sauce. You can pair all kinds of wines with chicken, pork, or beef, but it depends on what your sauce or seasoning is!

A classic barbecue sauce will be sweet and maybe slightly spicy which will go nice with a Zinfandel because the wine’s full body, jammy and smoky characters will compliment it nicely! You want a wine with those dark fruits and more jam-like flavors. A Malbec or Syrah could also be a nice pair!

For more basics on food and wine pairing, check out my post on “How to Pair Wine With Food”.

Cline Ancient Vines Zinfandel

When it comes to picking a wine to go with dinner, you do not need to go too expensive! For a typical night in, we will go with a bottle that is $14 – $20. This Ancient Vines Zinfandel by Cline Cellars in Sonoma was $16.

It had loads of dark fruit, ripe and jammy characteristics with a hint of smoky and cedar on the nose. It was full body with medium tannins. It went perfectly with our smokey BBQ sauce we chose to go on the ribs.

Baby Back BBQ Ribs

Ingredients:

• 1 rack of baby back ribs
• seasonings of your choice: seasoned salt, garlic, paprika, cumin, and chili powder
• BBQ sauce of your choice!

Directions:

For the ribs, you can make these any way you’d like! We used some basic seasonings such as seasoned salt, garlic, paprika, cumin, and chili powder.

1. Season the meat on both sides and them wrap them up in tinfoil.
2. Prepare for them to cook for a while! We had a smaller rack so we cooked them for 1.5 hours on the grill over med. / high heat, then added the BBQ sauce for the last 5-10 minutes.
3. Let stand for an additional 5 minutes. Add more sauce if you like, and enjoy!

Loaded Keto Cauliflower Salad

This has been one of my favorite recipes lately. It comes from the magazine “Keto Made Easy” by Delish.

Ingredients:

• 1 large head cauliflower, cut into florets
• 6 slices of bacon
• 1/2 c. sour cream
• 1/4 c. mayo
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• Kosher Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 c. shredded cheddar
• 1/4 c. finely chopped chives

Directions

1. In a large skillet, bring about 1/4 inch water to boil. Add cauliflower, cover skillet, and steam until tender, about 4 min. Drain and let cool while you prep other ingredients
2. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook bacon until crispy, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer to paper towel, then chop.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together sour cream, mayo, lemon juice, and garlic powder. Add cauliflower and toss gently. Season with salt and pepper, then fold in bacon, cheddar, and chives. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Marinated Cucumbers

This has always been one of my go to recipes for a snack or a dinner side! I don’t have exact measurements for this but it is super easy to eyeball and make to your preference.

Ingredients:

• Cucumbers of your choice cut in thin slices
• A Red or white onion
• Vinegar (I like red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar)
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• Splenda or other sweetener of your choice
• Dill for seasoning

Directions:

1. Cut cucumbers and onions very thin and place into medium sized bowl.
2. Pour vinegar into the bowl until it covers almost all of the cucumbers.
3. Add 1-2 tbsps. of olive oil and season with salt and pepper
4. Add 1 tbsp. of Splenda (this could be more or less depending on how much you made and what your preference of taste is!)
5. Chop dill and mix in or garnish when plated.