Father's Day in Willingboro, NJ, BBQ Rib Recipe from Trisha Yearwood's Cousin Fred

Before Father's Day as teens and young adults, my sister and I would leaf through sales flyers. Our primary goal? To find camping equipment as we prepared for the annual Creation Festival at Agape Farm in Mount Union, Pa. We lost track of exactly how many times we went to "Creationfest" over the years, but I believe the count is about 14. A Christian Festival where participants camp with about 80,000 other campers, we would prepare for weeks with lists, shopping and plans knowing we would be united with other Christians in celebrating our Father.



I confess, Father's Day has not been a huge celebration day in my family. Dad and Mom had divorced when I was 15. He had left the day before my 14th birthday. Every June we were distracted by the excitement of celebrating God our Creator, our other Father. Dad wasn't in touch with us, and after some attempts, we were not in touch with him either.

Years later, after a long life, Dad phoned us, and worked his way back into our lives. So when he died, we all, including Mom, had built a relationship with him that was on the mend, wounds still healing. With Dad's estate money, I was able to move to a house in Willingboro from a small condo in Jackson, NJ. It is in Willingboro where I witnessed the art of celebrating Dad through the beloved BBQ.

Willingboro is very community-oriented despite the high population of over 30,000 everyone seems to know one another. I intend to move back to the area eventually, if not to Willingboro, at least close to it. Mom moved there a couple years ago and she has the best neighbors ever. Shop Rite on JFK Blvd. is a shoppers meeting place before every holiday and before Father's Day everyone is buying steak, ribs, BBQ sauces, the ingredients for collards, macaroni and cheese, fresh salads, chips, soda... you name it! I still drive over 20 miles to do all of my grocery shopping there.

Willingboro knows how to party, they know a good BBQ. I lived there for over 4 years and every Father's Day there is not a street without the smoky aroma of fresh barbecue, the sounds of music and children laughing, cars parked all along the curbs and a general knowledge that Dad is being celebrated today, Father's Day. I miss it. When I heard a lawnmower start around 1pm, I knew that Dad had already been to church with his family, Mom was preparing the salads and side dishes and Dad was doing what he always did every Sunday afternoon, mow the lawn. The difference is on that day, Father's Day, Dad would sit in an honorary lawn chair on his freshly mowed lawn eating his BBQ dinner with his family.

My Creation Festival days are a thing of the past. We attended in 1999 and camped in the handicapped section. It was a rough trip and we knew it was probably our last, leaving us to celebrate our Father in other ways. Likewise, I will never have a Father's Day celebration with my Dad. I've missed many Father's Days but I like to think that if he were still here, I would have tried a recipe such as the following. Let me know if you try it and Happy Father's Day!

From Country Living Magazine, Trisha Yearwood's Cousin Fred's Barbecued Pork Ribs

(For 12 servings, about 25 minutes working time and 5 hours total time)

6 lbs meaty pork rib slabs

4 tbls of seasoned salt

4 tbls of lemon-pepper seasoning (Lawry's)

1 cup lemon juice

1 cup apple cider vinegar

2 tbls Worcestershire sauce

Preheat electric or gas grill to 250 degrees. Rub both sides of pork with seasoned salt and lemon pepper. Place rib sections on grill.
In small bowl, mix lemon juice, vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce to make Fred's special spray. Transfer mixture to a food-safe spray bottle and spritz ribs.

Cook ribs until they are browned, flipping occasionally and spritzing often about 1 1/2 hours. Put ribs in a 4 inch deep stainless steel pan with a lid. Spritz ribs once more and close lid completely. Increase grill temperature to 300 degrees and cook for 3 more hours.