The Virtual Gourmand: Column No. 4

August 28, 2006

Contributing Editor and CW Executive Chef Jason Clabaugh (BigO) heads back out to the grill to give us a comprehensive look at one of summer's most delicious treats: barbecued ribs!

Ribs, wonderful ribs...

Wherever you are in the barbecue universe, the one barbecue dish that defines you like no other is pork ribs. Sure, you can smoke a brisket or a pork shoulder... you can barbecue chickens whole or in parts, but can you really do ribs?

Ribs are a daunting cut of meat to face. Do you take the safe route and do only the succulent baby-back ribs or do you take on the larger, tougher (and cheaper) spare ribs? Do you boil and grill them or do you dry-rub them and smoke them low-and-slow? And, the ultimate rib question... do you serve them dry (with just a spice rub coating them), or wet (slathered in sauce)?

These aren't trivial questions. They are debated hotly between pitmasters from all over the country. The dry ribs you'll likely find in Texas or Memphis are a sharp contrast to the heavily sauced ribs from Kansas City or South Carolina. Everyone has their favorite and it's always the best way to serve them... and good luck convincing anyone otherwise.

A rib rack, a sauce mop a thermometer and a clothespin. All you need besides a grill to make fantastic ribs.

1) flap, 2) cartilage, 3) membrane. Remove all three.

Trimmed rack of ribs.

Work under the center of the rack above a bone to remove the membrane. Pull it off to one side first and then to the other.

Rubbed (dry) ribs.

Whatever your choices, this article will attempt to de-mystify the process of cooking ribs and make it easy enough that even the junior pitmaster can get results that make them seem like a seasoned professional when it comes to making great ribs... and just in time for Labor Day, the unofficial end of summer and grilling season.

Ribs require a low-heat fire (200-250 degrees) and a lot of smoke. On a charcoal grill, this will not only require a bed of coals, but the knowledge of fire and temperature sufficient to maintain such a temperature level while adding smoke to the equation. Fahgeddabout gas. We're doing it old school.

The other pieces of equipment you might find yourself needing is a rib rack. This allows you to do up to 4 racks in a small space. A thermometer to help read the heat level in the chamber (if your grill doesn't have one built into the lid), a clothespin to hold the thermometer, and perhaps a sauce mop if you are going to serve the ribs wet. Tongs and forks and the like shouldn't be needed. As my uncle the pitmaster used to say, "If you can't turn the ribs with your bare hands, your fire's too damned hot!"

Now that you're properly outfitted, let's turn our attention to the meat. Select ribs that have some, but not large amounts of fat on them. Let's face it, ribs aren't exactly a value-oriented food... you're going to throw half of it (the bones) away! A little fat is necessary to baste the ribs and keep them juicy. Too much fat and you'll be left with a greasy mess that won't want to accept sauce (should you choose to add it later).

Baby back ribs generally don't need much processing straight out of the package. Trim larger pieces of fat off of it and rinse it and pat it dry with paper towels. You'll need to remove the membrane on the back, but we'll cover that shortly. Spare ribs are another story. There's a line of meat that runs along the inside of the rack. The first thing you'll want to do is remove it. You are still going to cook this piece, but it's a reward for you the cook. It won't cook properly attached to the rack and will become dry and tough if you leave it on. Secondly, locate the ends of the rib bones where they are attached with lots of cartilage to the chine bone (backbone, part of which is often left attached to the ribs. Trim the rack along this line.

Now, turn the rack bone side up and work your finger up along the middle bone, loosening the membrane from the rack.

Work your hand up underneath this membrane and pull it off towards each end. If left there, it will harden and become tough. Discard this membrane.

OK, we're selected our ribs and trimmed them up. It's time to think about a dry rub. If you're going to want to serve wet ribs, you might only want to season them with a LITTLE Kosher salt and pepper. Sometimes dry rubs and sauces can clash - and they can end up terribly salty. If you choose that route, be sure that you do season them the night before just as you would with a dry rub, wrapping them in plastic wrap or foil and refrigerating them overnight. Salt helps to start the cooking process by drawing excess moisture out of the meat much as a cured meat product does. If you choose the dry rub method, here's an old favorite recipe of mine:

Bubba Ribba Rubba

• 2 C. dark brown sugar
• 2 C. Kosher salt
• 1 C. paprika
• ½ C. dry mustard
• ½ C. onion powder
• ¼ C. garlic powder
• 2 T. cumin
• 2 T. ground ginger
• 1 T. black pepper
• 1/2 T. white pepper
• 1/2 T. cayenne pepper

Dry the sugar by spreading it out on a lipped cookie sheet and baking it in a 250 degree oven until it dries out. This will keep it from clumping after the fact. When it is dry, transfer it to a food processor and grind it thoroughly. Sift the result through a fine-mesh strainer into your mixing bowl.

Mix together. Keeps forever in an airtight container. Great on beef and chicken too.

Now, take extra-wide heavy-duty aluminum foil and tear off a piece twice as long as your rack of ribs. Place the bone side of the rack of the ribs on top of the foil and slather it with the rub, rubbing and massaging it into the meat. Flip it over and do the same to the top side of the ribs. Wrap the remainder of the foil over the ribs and seal it up. Place in the refrigerator and allow it to marinate and season overnight.

It might seem a bit premature at this point, but it's time to think about sauces. Why, you ask? Well, quite simply, you want the sauce ready (should you serve your ribs wet or sauce on the side) when you need it and sauces are usually much better the next day after the flavors have married. Also, some sauces require a considerable amount of reduction and this just takes time to achieve the desired consistency.

What sauce you like is probably determined by where you're from. There are four distinct regions of barbecue and they all have their own idea of what a great barbecue sauce is. In the western Kentucky-North Carolina region, the primary sauce base is vinegar. They add spices and sugar to the mixture, but it is very thin and is better suited to pulled pork barbecue sandwiches than it is to ribs. Nonetheless, here's a favorite recipe for it... you may choose to serve it on the side for dipping the ribs into:

Bluegrass Juice

• 4 C. vinegar
• 2 C. ketchup
• ½ t. cayenne pepper
• ¼ t. crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 T. sugar
• 1 C. water
• salt - to taste
• ground black pepper - to taste
• 3 oz. (2 shots) bourbon
• 1 C. Lea and Perrin's Worcestershire sauce
• 1 t. liquid smoke
• ½ t. dry mustard
• 1 T. chopped garlic
• 2 bay leaves

Combine in a stockpot and bring to a boil until thoroughly mixed. Cool.

South Carolina and part of Georgia prefers their barbecue sauce to be mustard-based. I'm not the world's biggest fan of prepared mustard (also referred to in the South as 'Yaller" mustard), but this recipe has gotten raves form folks who have tried it. This sauce works very well with either ribs or pulled pork:

You don't need a huge fire to make great ribs. Smaller is better in this case.

Fire on one side, ribs on the other.

The bone should release from the meat with a gentle pull.

Time to get messy.

Southern Sunshine

• 4 C. yellow prepared mustard
• 1 C. Lea and Perrin's Worcestershire sauce
• 1 C. molasses
• 3 oz. bourbon
• 3 oz. coffee liqueur
• 1 T. chopped garlic
• ½ C. soy sauce
• 1 T. liquid smoke
• 1 T. lime juice
• 1 t. tabasco sauce
• ½ C. peach preserves (blended until smooth)
• ¼ t. cayenne pepper
• 1-1/2 C. sweet onions (blended)
• 1 serrano or 1 jalapeno (or a combination of the two) pepper, stemmed and blended
• salt - to taste

Combine in a stock pot, simmer until it reaches desired consistency (for ribs you'll want it a little thicker than for pulled pork).

Texas and the Deep South like theirs tomato-based and both sweet and hot. This is likely the type of sauce that most people associate with barbecued ribs:

BigO's Redneck Rib Gravy

• 4 C. ketchup
• 2 C. Lea and Perrin's Worcestershire sauce
• 2 C. molasses
• ½ C. yellow mustard
• 1-1/2 C. sweet yellow onion (blended)
• 1 T. garlic (blended)
• 1 t. ginger
• 1 T. lime juice
• ¼ t. cayenne pepper
• ¼ t. white pepper
• ¼ t. black pepper

For a reasonable Kansas City sauce, reduce the amount of pepper by half and increase the molasses by half.

OK... it's rib day. You have your meat seasoned. You have your sauce made. It's time to fire up the barbecue pit and get started.

First of all, you want to build your initial coals. You can use a chimney starter or an electric starter - you can even use lighter fluid, as you'll never taste the fluid on the coals. This is just to get the coals started. You'll be adding hardwood chunks for the actual flavor later. Pile your hardwood charcoal on the back side of your grill and fire them up.

Let them burn down to a good glowing mass before you add 3-4 hickory or oak chunks to the fire. These are widely available now at grocery, grill shops and home improvement stores... hell, even Wal-Mart sells them now. Another word about wood: the type you use will help shape the flavor of your ribs. I like to use hickory and oak as a base and then throw in a chunk of cherry or apple every hour or so. You can use virtually any fruit or nut wood you can get. Just make sure it isn't a soft wood like pine. Some people swear by mesquite as a smoking wood. For me, the fact that mesquite burns so hot makes it a better choice for grilling rather than smoking. Additionally, I think it has a creosote-like flavor that I really don't care for.

Put the grill on, position the rib rack with the ribs on the front of the grill (away from the coals) and close the lid. Depending on your grill, either position the air vent just above the ribs or prop the front of the grill open one quarter inch to draw the smoke over the ribs. You really want to keep the grill temperature between 200 and 250 degrees. Use your thermometer. You can adjust the temperature by opening or closing the air vent to minimize the air flow to your fuel. You don't have to hover over the grill, but keep an eye on it. When the smoke level drops off, that's a good sign it's time to add more fuel. You'll want to rotate your racks of ribs, flipping them over or moving the racks around every hour or so. You'll know when they are done, as the meat shrinks back a bit from the bone as they cook. They're done when you can gently pull a bone and it separates from the meat.

When you get to this point, it is time to sauce them if that is your choice. Cook them another 20 minutes after you've sauced them. I generally will give them one coat and then a second coat ten minutes later. The sugar in the sauce will burn if you add it too soon. You really just want to glaze them nicely. Take the ribs off the grill, slice them between the bones and get ready to get sticky.

For me, there is no better side dish for barbecue than potato salad. You'll want to make this the night before as well, as it's always better if it has a day to let the flavors marry.

Potato Salad

• 8 medium size potatoes, scrubbed of any remaining dirt
• 8 large eggs
• 8 shallots, diced
• 10-12 sweet gherkin pickles, diced
• 3 cups Miracle Whip salad dressing
• ¼ C prepared yellow mustard
• ½ t. celery seed

Boil the potatoes and the eggs until the potatoes are fork-tender (meaning you can easily insert a fork into the center of the potato). Cool them. Then peel and dice them up. Mix in the shallots, gherkins, Miracle Whip, mustard and celery seed and stir until well-combined. Cover and refrigerate until serving time.

Here's hoping your journey on the road to rib nirvana has begun with these simple steps.

Contributing Editor and CW Executive Chef Jason Clabaugh (BigO) hailed from New Orleans before Hurricane Katrina devastated the city and has settled in a suburb of Atlanta. With the addition of a new baby to his family he's refocused his energies on fatherhood and a new project bringing his famous mango-habanero salsa and unique barbecue sauces into commercial production.