"Curt Nelson" <X> wrote in message
. ..
> Hi everybody:
>
> Well, this is my trial by fire. Never tried doing ribs before and now it's
> time. The good news is my best friend is a grilling guru and I have some
> very good guidance.
>
> Was at Cash and Carry this morning and they had cryovac spare ribs on sale
> for $1.47/lb. (!) Been meaning to do ribs for quite some time and figured
> that, for that price, now's the time. My general plan is more or less the
> same as an Alton Brown show I taped:
>
> Make yourself a good rub from scratch. Rub your pork liberally. Wrap your
> racks in HD aluminum foil let things sit overnight. Create a flavorful
> braising liquid and pour into your foil-wrapped pig. Do 'em in the oven at
> about 250, checking after about three hours to see where you're at.
>
> Here's where I plan to depart from AB's urban formula:
>
> When the ribs are about 90% done, I'm going to move them to my grill and
> finish 'em off there on low heat with smoke. BTW, I'm using gas and am
> thinking of heating things wide open until there's a good smoke going from
> my chips, and *then* putting the ribs on and dropping the heat to low...
> low. I'm thinking that I'll get a decent carmelization on the pork with
> and a bit of smoke with the initial heat blast while the temperature is
> dropping to a reasonable level.
>
> While that's happening, I plan on reducing the braising liquid to a glaze
> on the stove or the side burner and brushing it back onto the ribs in the
> last ten minutes or so of cooking.
>
> Anyway, that's my plan. I've never done ribs before but I figure it can't
> be much different than any other cooking. If you use the best ingredients,
> pay attention and care about what you're doing... and don't overcook it,
> things generally turn out better than you imagined.
>
> I'll let you know how it goes. BTW, I live two blocks from one of the
> great spice houses in the U.S., so I've got that base covered. The rub
> should be awesome. We'll see.
>
> Hasta,
> Curt Nelson

I do the whole thing on the grill. The grill I use is usually on sale for
$79; so it doesn't require expensive equipment. I learned the technique
from a TV show. It is the "indirect" method, which will result in the
lowest possible temperature on the grill. Burn one side on the lowest
setting and put the food on the other side of the grill. I found by trial
and error that wrapping the ribs in foil results in more tender meat and
faster cooking time. The ribs are done when the meat is tender - about two
or three hours for this first step. The second (final) step is to glaze the
sauce onto the meat.

I have tried various rubs and seasonings and have come to use none in the
initial grilling. Not even salt or pepper until the final half hour or so
of grilling. For this final step, I remove the foil and baste with my
favorite sauce, which is about one part Woody's Cooking Sauce concentrate
and four parts Chris and Pitts barbecue sauce. I often round the sauce off
with some cayenne pepper and maple syrup and other seasonings. I don't use
too much sauce or spice, just a very thin glaze. The pork flavor is
fantastic and cooking in foil makes it falling-off-the-bone tender.

Mitch