produce enough heat to cook the ribs thoroughly. In cold weather, prepare for a longer cooking time. Depending on how cold it is, when you turn ribs at 1½ hour point you'll probably need to add an additional 15 coals to keep cooking temperature more or less constant. To gauge how outside temperatures can affect cooking times, it takes 4 hours to cook ribs in 17 degree weather. Signs of doneness include meat starting to pull away from ribs (if you grab one end of an individual rib bone and twist it, the bone will actually turn a bit, separate from meat) and a distinct rosy glow on exterior.
If there is a secret to producing authentic barbecue-joint-style ribs at home, it is this step: Immediately after taking ribs off grill, completely wrap them in aluminum foil. Put foil-wrapped ribs in a brown paper sack, and fold sack over ribs. Allow to rest at room temperature for 1 hour or more. Although it's difficult to say exactly what happens inside that foil-wrapped, brown-paper-sacked package, whatever it is, is good. An unscientific guess is that the moist, enclosed heat allows some of the juices to return to the meat, further flavoring and tenderizing it.
Finally, heat up the sauce, unwrap the ribs, swab on the sauce, chop into individual ribs, and then chomp. Serve additional sauce passed separately for those who want it.
Kentucky Smoked Barbecue Sauce: Follow instructions in step 3 for sauce using above ingredients but making the following changes: Increase lemon juice to ¼ cup-, increase paprika to 2 teaspoons- add ½ teaspoon liquid smoke with the lemon juice- dissolve 2 tablespoons firm-packed brown sugar in the vinegar' and add with the tomato sauce.
Louisiana Sweet Barbecue Sauce: Follow instructions in step 3 for sauce using above ingredients but making the following changes: Increase vinegar to 6 tablespoons-, dissolve 1 tablespoon firm-packed brown sugar in the vinegar. Add it along with ¼ cup molasses and 2 tablespoons sweet sherry when you add the tomato sauce.
Spicy Rio Grande Barbecue Sauce: Follow instructions in step 3 for sauce using above ingredients but making the following changes: Increase garlic to 4 cloves-, increase lemon juice to ¼ cup-, increase hot red pepper sauce to 1 teaspoon-, add 1 can (7 ounces) diced mild green chiles along with the lemon juice. For an even hotter sauce, add ⅛ to ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper.
Cook's Illustrated, July/Aug.
Page 1 1. Credit: A. Cort Sinnes.
Nationality: USA Course: main course Method: grilled Start to Finish 4 hours Preparation 1 hour Attention 2 hours Finishing 1 hour Converted from Mangia!, Cook's Illustrated 1993-1995 Cookbook NOTES : Allow about four hours, from start to finish. Assemble the following: - A covered kettle grill. Although it doesn't have to be a " kettle" grill, a covered grill is a necessity for this process. . - Charcoal briquettes. For purposes of consistency, all cooking was done over premium-quality charcoal briquettes if you prefer lump, natural charcoal, by all means use it, although it may affect cooking times slightly. - Hickory smoking chips. Hickory is absolutely the favored type of wood-use other types at your own risk. . - Two slabs of pork spareribs, about 6 pounds total (serves about 4). . - Your favorite dry rub . - Your favorite barbecue sauce. . - Aluminum foil (extra-wide, heavy-duty, if you have it on hand). - A large brown paper bag.
Recipe by: Cook's Illustrated, July/Aug.
Page 11.
Posted to MC-Recipe Digest by "Hobbs, D B USO" on Mar 19, 1998
