Cooking ribs:



If you want great barbecue ribs and expect to make them on the stove

or in the oven, read no further. Good barbecue ribs must be hot

smoked in a smoker or grill. You can use a charcoal-fired grill but

it must have a tight-fitting cover and you must build the fire on the

opposite side of the grill from the meat. You must use an indirect

method of grilling.



Ribs take about 4 hours to become tender.



Here are recipes for the first three items.



Excerpted from the BBQ List FAQ version 2.0



Memphis Hogaholics Award-Winning Ribs Dry Rub



Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method

-------- ------------ --------------------------------

1 tablespoon lemon peel

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon paprika

1 tablespoon MSG

1/2 tablespoon black pepper

1/2 tablespoon cayenne pepper

1/2 tablespoon white pepper

2 tablespoons salt

2 tablespoons sugar



Mix together.

Rub this spice mixture on both sides of the ribs the night before you

will smoke them. Let them sit in the refrigerator overnight.





Memphis Hogaholics Award-Winning Ribs Basting Sauce



Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method

-------- ------------ --------------------------------

1 quart vinegar

1 pint water

1/2 small can chili peppers

1 cup prepared mustard

1-1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 stick butter

1/2 bottle root beer



Combine first four ingredients in a saucepan and mix well. Cook very

slowly for 1 hour. Add sugar, butter, and root beer to mixture and

slow boil for 30 minutes. Recommended for pork and game.



As the ribs are cooking, baste them on both sides with this sauce

every 30 minutes or so.





Memphis Hogaholics Award-Winning Ribs Wet Finishing Sauce



Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method

-------- ------------ --------------------------------

5 ounces dark soy sauce

24 ounces tomato juice

5 ounces Worcestershire sauce

12 ounces catsup

1 cup apple cider vinegar

1 cup brown sugar

juice of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon red pepper

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/2 teaspoon basil



Mix all ingredients in a saucepan and simmer for 1 hour. Let sauce

stand for 2 hours before serving on the side with barbecue.

The thing about this recipe is that it will depend on your smoker or

grill and the size of your ribs. Memphis barbecue is over an

extremely low fire so that the meat cooks very slowly. If you cannot

do this on your grill, you'll have to adjust your cooking time

accordingly. This is the original recipe and the time to cook it in a

smoker is approximately 6 hours. However, I cannot do this on my

grill because it's a gas grill and it's too hot. This is what I do.

I place the ribs on one side of the grill only, I turn the burner on

the other half of the grill on low. I place a smoker box over the

flame with wood chips. Using this method, I can stretch out the

cooking time to about 2 hours max. But it's worth the fuss. The ribs

are so moist and falling apart on the inside with a nice crust on the

outside.



One more piece of advice. If you have a small grill and are doing a

lot of meat for a big gang, here is something I do in that situation.

I cook everything in batches until nearly done, then transfer to

baking pans and keep in warm oven while I start the next batch. Since

the majority of cooking was done on the grill, the effect is the same.

Also, seal the pans of ribs with foil when you put in the oven;

grilled ribs dry out quickly in the oven.



For the complete story on how to make great barbecue ribs, see the BBQ

List FAQ at http://www.bbq-porch.org/faq/10-1-1.asp



Bill Wight





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