yield: Makes 6 servings

Editor’s note: The recipe and introductory text below are from The Barbecue! Bible 10th Anniversary Edition, by Steven Raichlen. To read more about Raichlen and barbecue, go to our feature The Best Barbecue in the U.S.A.

It never fails to amaze me how one simple idea can give birth to so many great regional variations. Consider ribs. The pork rib is one of the most perfect morsels ever to occupy a grill. The meat is generously marbled, which keeps it moist during prolonged cooking. As the fat melts, it crisps the meat fibers and bastes the meat naturally. The bones impart a rich meaty flavor (meat next to the bone always tastes best), while literally providing a physical support—a gnawable rack on which to cook the meat. Yet depending on whether you eat ribs in Birmingham or Kansas City, or Bangkok or Paris for that matter, you’ll get a completely different preparation.

I’ve always been partial to Memphis-style ribs. Memphians don’t mess around with a lot of sugary sauces. Instead, they favor dry rubs—full-flavored mixtures of paprika, black pepper, and cayenne, with just a touch of brown sugar for sweetness. The rub is massaged into the meat the night before grilling, and additional rub is sprinkled on the ribs at the end of cooking. This double application of spices creates incredible character and depth of flavor, while at the same time preserving the natural taste of the pork. Sometimes a vinegar and mustard based sauce—aptly called a mop sauce—is swabbed over the ribs (with said mop) during cooking; I’ve included one here, for you to use if you like.

You can choose any type of rib for this recipe: baby back ribs, long ends, short ends, rib tips—you name it. Cooking times are approximate. The ribs are done when the ends of the bones protrude and the meat is tender enough to pull apart with your fingers. I like my ribs served dry, in the style of Memphis’s legendary barbecue haunt, the Rendezvous. If you want to serve them with a sauce, you’ll find a number to choose from in this chapter.

Grilling Method

• Indirect grilling

Advance preparation

• 4 to 8 hours for marinating the ribs

Special equipment

• 1 1/2 cups wood chips or chunks (preferably hickory), soaked for 1 hour in cold water to cover and drained

For the ribs and rub

• 3 racks baby back pork ribs (about 7 pounds), or 2 racks pork spareribs (6 to 8 pounds total)
• 1/4 cup sweet paprika
• 4 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 4 1/2 teaspoons dark brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons celery salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

For the mop sauce (optional)

• 1. Prepare the ribs and rub: Remove the thin, papery skin from the back of each rack of ribs by pulling it off in a sheet with your fingers, using the corner of a kitchen towel to gain a secure grip, or with pliers.

  2. Combine the paprika, black pepper, brown sugar, salt, celery salt, cayenne, garlic powder, dry mustard, and cumin in a small bowl and whisk to mix. Rub two thirds of this mixture over the ribs on both sides, then transfer the ribs to a roasting pan. Cover and let cure, in the refrigerator, for 4 to 8 hours.

  3. Prepare the mop sauce (if using): Mix together the cider vinegar, mustard, and salt in a bowl and set aside.

  4. Set up the grill for indirect grilling and place a large drip pan in the center.

  If using a gas grill, place all of the wood chips in the smoker box and preheat the grill to high; when smoke appears, reduce the heat to medium.

  If using a charcoal grill, preheat it to medium.

  5. When ready to cook, if using a charcoal grill, toss the wood chips on the coals. Brush and oil the grill grate. Arrange the ribs on the hot grate over the drip pan. Cover the grill and smoke cook the ribs for 1 hour.

  6. When the ribs have cooked for an hour, uncover the grill and brush the ribs with the mop sauce (if using). Re-cover the grill and continue cooking the ribs until tender and almost done, 1/4 to 1/2 hour longer for baby back ribs, 1/2 to 1 hour longer for spareribs. The ribs are done when the meat is very tender and has shrunk back from the ends of the bones. If using a charcoal grill, you’ll need to add 10 to 12 fresh coals to each side after 1 hour. Fifteen minutes before the ribs are done, season them with the remaining rub, sprinkling it on.

  7. To serve, cut the racks in half or, for a plate-burying effect, just leave them whole.

Bon Appétit  | July 2009

by Steven Raichlen

yield: Makes 6 servings

Using sharp knife, lightly score flank steaks about 1/8 inch deep on both sides in a crisscross pattern at 1/2-inch intervals. Place steaks in 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Sprinkle steaks on both sides with oregano and cumin and generous amount of coarse salt and freshly ground pepper. Drizzle olive oil over both sides of steaks, rubbing oil and spices into meat. Add green onions, beer, and Worcestershire sauce, turning steaks several times to coat both sides. Cover and chill at least 3 hours, turning occasionally. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled.

Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Brush grill rack lightly with oil. Grill steaks to desired doneness, 3 to 4 minutes total per side for medium-rare, turning steaks 1/4 turn after 1 1/2 minutes to form crisscross grill marks, if desired. Transfer steaks to cutting board; let rest 5 minutes. Thinly slice steaks across grain. Transfer to platter and serve with Aji Sauce and Colombian Guacamole.

• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped seeded jalapeño chiles (about 4 large)
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped green onions (about 2 large)
• 1/3 cup coarsely chopped sweet onion (such as Maui or Vidalia)
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 tablespoons (or more) red wine vinegar or fresh lime juice
• 3/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

Preparation:

Combine avocado, cilantro, green onion, and serrano chiles in processor. Puree until smooth. Add 1/4 cup water and 21/2 tablespoons lime juice and process to blend. Add more water to avocado mixture by tablespoonfuls if needed and blend until thick sauce forms.

Transfer to small bowl; season to taste with coarse salt and pepper and more lime juice, if desired. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 hours ahead. Cover and chill.

Bon Appétit  | July 2009

by Steven Raichlen

SUBMITTED BY: tinamenina

Courtesy of Allrecipes.com 

“A simple soy sauce and brown sugar marinade, with hints of lemon and garlic, are the perfect salty-sweet complement to rich salmon fillets. Even my 9 year old loves this recipe!”
 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 pounds salmon fillets
• lemon pepper to taste
• garlic powder to taste
• salt to taste
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil  

Bon Appétit | April 1996
Goodfellow’s, Minneapolis MN

Ingredients:

For sauce
3 cups orange juice
1 carrot, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons grated peeled fresh ginger
2 large garlic cloves, sliced
1 jalapeño chili, seeded, minced
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon Thai red curry base

For pork
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup Thai red curry base
1 tablespoon grated peeled fresh ginger
1 1/2 pounds pork tenderloin, trimmed

 1 cup coconut milk

1 tablespoon vegetable oil  

Make sauce:
Combine orange juice, carrot, cilantro, grated fresh ginger, garlic, minced jalapeño, ground cumin and Thai red curry base in heavy medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Boil mixture until carrot is very tender and liquid is reduced by half, stirring occasionally, about 12 minutes. Puree sauce in blender or processor in batches until smooth. Strain sauce and return to same saucepan. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Make pork:
Stir molasses, soy sauce, curry base and ginger in large zip lock bag. Add pork tenderloin and turn to coat. Refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 4 hours.

Preheat grill to 350°F. Remove pork from marinade; discard marinade.  Heat grill and oil grates . Add pork and cook until slightly browned, cook until thermometer registers 160°F, about 20 minutes. Transfer pork to platter. Tent with foil to keep warm.

Bring sauce to simmer. Remove from heat. Gradually 1 cup coconut milk, whisking just until blended. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Cut pork into 1-inch-thick slices. Serve with sauce.

I have changed the recipe so that it could be prepared on the grill, and I substituted coconut milk for the bitter that goes in the sauce. If you wish to use butter instead of the milk use 6 tablespoons butter.

Recipe from www.allrecipes.com

.INGREDIENTS
2 pounds venison backstrap (tenderloin), cut into 2 inch chunks
1 quart apple cider
1 1/2 pounds thick sliced bacon
2 (12 ounce) bottles barbecue sauce, your choice

DIRECTIONS
1.Place chunks of venison into a shallow baking dish, and pour enough apple cider in to cover them. Cover, and refrigerate for 2 hours. Remove, and pat dry. Discard apple cider, and return venison to the dish. Pour barbeque sauce over the chunks, cover, and refrigerate for 2 to 3 more hours.

2.Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat. Charcoal is best, but if you must, use gas. Remove meat from the refrigerator, and let stand for 30 minutes, or until no longer chilled. Wrap each chunk of venison in a slice of bacon, and secure with toothpicks.

3.Brush the grill grate with olive oil when hot, and place venison pieces on the grill so they are not touching. The bacon will kick up some flames, so be ready. Grill, turning occasionally, until the bacon becomes slightly burnt, 15 to 20 minutes. The slower, the better. Dig in, and prepare to want more!

Bon Appétit |  July 2006

Rick Browne

yield: Makes 4 to 6 servings

• 2 pounds sweet potatoes or yams, peeled, cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch-thick slices, each slice cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch-wide strips
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 tablespoon (packed) golden brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• Additional olive oil

Prepare barbecue (medium heat). Place potatoes in 13x9x2-inch baking dish. Add 1/4 cup oil, chopped fresh rosemary, brown sugar, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper to potatoes. Sprinkle potatoes with salt and pepper; toss to coat. Brush grill lightly with oil. Place potatoes on grill, spacing about 1 inch apart. Grill until potatoes are tender and slightly charred, turning occasionally, about 10 minutes total. Transfer potatoes to bowl, season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve.

Bon Appétit |  August 2007

Molly Stevens

Peace, Love, & Barbecue: Recipes, Secrets, Tall Tales, and Outright Lies from the Legends of Barbecue – by Mike Mills, Amy Mills Tunnicliffe

SERVES 4, OR YOU CAN CUT THE RACKS IN HALF TO SERVE 8
“Life is too short for a half-rack.” -Mike Mills

People are mystified about how to cook ribs properly. I’m going to walk you through every step using a basic charcoal grill. Obviously if you have different or more high-tech equipment, you’ll need to modify these procedures. If you’re setting up your backyard charcoal grill for indirect cooking, you’ll want to use a disposable aluminum pan to capture the grease as the fat renders while cooking. Some people add water to this pan to add moisture to the cooking environment.
     Let me caution you right up front to mop the ribs with sauce no more than 10 minutes before you take them off the grill. Saucing the meat too early is a mistake many people make when smoking or grilling. Virtually all barbecue sauce contains sugar, and your meat will have a burned crust around the outside if you use sauce too soon in the process.
     Ribs are readily available in most grocery stores. When selecting ribs, try not to buy ones that weigh less than 2 pounds. A true baby back rib weighs about 11/4 to 1 1/2 pounds; they are very fragile and dry out quickly. This recipe calls for a meatier rib. A loin back rib is preferable; they’re easier to cook, less fragile, and have more meat.
     Once you start smoking ribs, you can’t leave the smoker unattended for any more than about 20 minutes. You’ll need to continually check that the temperature in the grill remains between 200 and 210 degrees at all times. If it gets too hot, open the lid and allow some of the heat to escape. Coals that appear to be glowing red will cause a hot spot. Don’t cook the ribs directly over the hot spot; move the ribs to a different, cooler part of the grill. If the temperature dips below 200 degrees, move the ribs to a hot spot for a while. If the temperature gets too low, add some more coals.
     You’ll need about 4 cups of apple wood chips to be authentic; you can use hickory, pecan, sweet maple, or cherry, but the ribs won’t taste as sweet. You’ll also need a chimney starter or another small covered grill or bucket to keep extra hot coals.

4 racks of ribs (about 2 pounds each)
Magic Dust (recipe below)
4 cups apple juice in a spray bottle
Apple City Barbecue Sauce (recipe below)

Sprinkle the ribs liberally with Magic Dust, coating both sides. Put them in a shallow pan or on a cookie sheet and cover them with clear plastic wrap or a lid. Refrigerate them until you’re ready to use them. I recommend letting them marinate for at least an hour. At the restaurant, we dust the ribs up to a day in advance.

Soak the apple wood chips in water for half an hour. Drain.

Remove the grate and arrange the medium-hot coals in a grill or smoker. If you are using a grill, it must have a lid. Set an aluminum pan next to the coals as a drip pan. Spread out the wet wood chips on the coals. Replace the rack, close the grill, and check the temperature. It should be between 200 and 210 degrees. If the temperature is too high, open the lid to allow some heat to escape.

Notice that the meat on a rack of ribs is on the top. The bottom, where you remove the membrane, is called the “bone side.” Once the temperature is steady, place the ribs on the rack, bone side down. You want to cook them bone side down as much as possible. Turning them dries out the meat. If necessary, you can cut the racks of ribs in half to comfortably fit your grill.

Cover and smoke the ribs for 3 to 5 hours or until the ribs are done and tender. 

You’ll want to check the ribs every 20 minutes or so. Examine them to see if the surface of the meat looks dry or moist. Ribs “sweat” about three times during the smoking process. The pores of the meat open, and this allows moisture to escape. This is when the seasoning from the dry rub and the smoke itself are reabsorbed into the meat. When they’re sweating, mop or mist them with some apple juice and sprinkle them with a little more Magic Dust. Opening the lid will lower the temperature; add more coals and wood chips as needed to maintain the temperature.

About 10 minutes before you remove the ribs from the pit, mop them with the sauce. When you take them off the pit, mop again with sauce and sprinkle some more Magic Dust on them. Serve immediately.

APPLE CITY BARBECUE SAUCE

MAKES 3 CUPS

This award-winning sauce enhances just about any barbecue. Some barbecue sauce is very thick and just sits on top of the meat. This sauce is smooth and on the thin side, and it seeps down into the meat.

1 cup ketchup (I use Hunt’s)
2/3 cup seasoned rice vinegar 
1/2 cup apple juice or cider
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar 
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce   
2 teaspoons prepared yellow mustard
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/3 cup bacon bits, ground in a spice grinder
1/3 cup peeled and grated apple
1/3 cup grated onion
2 teaspoons grated green bell pepper

Combine the ketchup, rice vinegar, apple juice or cider, cider vinegar, brown sugar, soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce, mustard, garlic powder, white pepper, cayenne, and bacon bits in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir in the apple, onion, and bell pepper. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, 10 to 15 minutes or until it thickens slightly. Stir it often. Allow to cool, then pour into sterilized glass bottles. A glass jar that used to contain mayonnaise or juice works real well. Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.

VARIATION: To make this sauce a little hotter, add more cayenne pepper to taste, approximately another 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon. Be careful; a little cayenne goes a long way.