So a few days ago, I layed down some ground rules for a friendly BBQ competition between myself and rockzilla for the honor of being the TFP's official Iron Chef Barbecue. And although rockzilla said I could have it due to his lack of a digital camera, I prefer to prove that I deserve it....
The Menu...
Smoked Pork Back Ribs
Smoked Teriyaly chicken, whole
Baked 'taters
Homemade Spicy Coleslaw
All the beer you can drink
The Pictures and The Process, Click on the pix for full sized goodness...
It's all about the rub...
For the ribs, I prepared a dry spice rub. Real BBQ will NEVER see a helpless slab of ribs be plunged into a pot of boiling water! The rub was prepared as follows, just mix well in a small bowl.
quarter cup Kosher salt
quarter cup turbinado sugar (sugar in the raw)
eigth cup brown sugar
4 tsp. chili powder
2tsp garlic granulated
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp ground black pepper
Raw Meat
I have rinsed the ribs and removed the membrane from the back side of the ribs. These are nice sized slabs of "baby back" ribs weighing over 2.5 lbs each.
Rub Me Up
Next, I apply a "good overall dusting" of the dry rub to both sides of the ribs. How much exactly? I don't know, just enough so there is good coverage. The top pic shows them right after applying, the bottom shows them after sitting 2 hours at room temperature. Notice how "wet" they look after sitting. This is due to the salt in the rub. It brings out a lot of the moisture from the ribs and mixes with the spices, almost forming a glaze. YUM YUM!
Chicken Prep
The chicken prep was actually done the night before. I use a food syringe to inject the liquid teriyaki (a really thin one) into all parts of the chicken, breast, thigh, legs and wings. Then I allow the whole thing to rest in a pool of the teriyaki, breast side down overnight. This is how it looked about one hour before I was ready to cook it. For future reference, use a different sauce. I normally use Mr. Yoshida's, which is much better than this Kikkoman was. Oh well...
Fire In The Hole!!!
Time to light this candle. Notice how I have very few coals in the lighter, and many more in the charcoal holders off to the side? This is because ribs need to cook for a long time at low temperatures. I also only use regular charcoal, never "match light" because I want a controlled burn. The match light will all flare up at once, where the standard will burn slowly and light itself only as needed. The wood chunks are a mix of pecan wood and cherry wood. I don't really like the heavy taste of hickory or mesquite.
Coals are Ready
After only about 15 minutes the coals are ready. I pour out half and half of the lit coals over the unlit coals & wood. Next I put in a water drip pan and fill it with water. As you can see, it has lots of build up of grease and other crap. It doesn't matter because nothing you eat will ever touch this water.
Get to Temp
Next step is to close the lid and get the ambient temperature of the cooker to the 250 degree range. I make small adjustments to the vents on the top and bottom of the cooker to adjust airflow, which in turn adjusts the temperature of the cooker. It's tricky to get these low temps on this cooker because the fire almost wants to go out, but giving it too much air will make the temperature climb to over 300, which is not good for the ribs. You need to practice, practice, practice to get good at maintaining temperature!
Get Cookin'
Here you can see how the meat is arranged on the cooking grate. I have rolled the ribs, securing them with a kabob skewer. This allows them to stand upright, conserving valuable space. If layed flat, the 2 racks would take up all the available space, but rolling them gives enough room for the chicken as well. There are various rib racks that are supposed to stand up the ribs for you, but thay all basically suck. I prefer this method. Also notice that the meat is over the drip pan, and not over the coals. This is a must!
Baste It
It's about 1 hour and 45 minutes into the cook. Basting the ribs is a simple process of spraying them with apple juice from a small spray bottle. Just get a good overal spritz of all sides of the ribs. Continue basting every hour or so until they are done. It usually takes about 5 hours for the ribs to cook. I didn't do anything to the chicken.
'Taters on, Chicken Off
It's been a little over 3 hours and after probing the chicken, it is done! I was hoping it would take a little longer, but that's OK, I have ways of keeping it hot. (next pic) The potatoes go on now, they are simple. Just wash them off real good, wrap in foil and put them on the grill.
Holding Pattern
To hold the chicken and keep it hot, wrap it in aluminum foil, then wrap in towels and place into an ice chest, without ice of course. This will keep the chicken (or whatever you put in it) piping hot for as long as 3 hours.
Ribs are Done
It took just under 5 hours to hit the magic temperature of 195. It may seem like that is too hot, but it's another secret of BBQ. As they come off, they may look burned, it ain't burnt, that's called bark, and it's DELICIOUS. That bark is only a few milimeters thick, and below it is the most moist and succulent rib meat you've ever tasted! The potatoes were also cooked by the time the ribs were done.
Sauce Please
Some BBQ purists despise sauce, while many people think sauce is the best part. I split the difference and will prepare some sauce, but only apply a little bit and pass the rest. I mix KC Masterpiece Original with honey in a 4:1 ratio of sauce to honey.
Ready For Sauce
Here I have unrolled the ribs. If there is any doubt about wether or not these are over cooked, look at how that one bone is sticking right up? The meat literally falls off the bone, leaving it clean! That's Barbecue!!!
All Sauced Up, and Nowhere to Go, Except IN MA' BELLY!
Here they are with a light brushing of the sauce/honey mixture. All done and ready for the table. Good God, does it get better than this? I think not!
Add Some Slaw
Last but not least, the Spicy Slaw. I had prepared it the day before as well which gives all the flavors time to mix well, here is the recipe...
1 med head of cabbage, chopped
2 large carrots, shredded
1 small onion, diced
1 cup mayo
quarter cup turbinado sugar
2 TB apple cider vinegar
half tsp cayenne pepper (or more if you like it)
salt & pepper to taste
Mix all ingredients and chill for at least 2 hours. You may need to add a bit of mayo if it doesn't look wet enough.
And that was my BBQ! The guests arrived hungry, so I never got a good shot of everything all together, but I will assure you, it was all excellent. Rockzilla, I hope you are up to the challenge!