Barbecued Meats
Reported Four Time "Memphis in May"
World Championship Rib Winning Recipe
Ingredients for 1 Recipe:
----------------DRY RUB-------------------------------
--------------FINISH SAUCE-----------------------------
I prefer to use baby back ribs, and remove the membrane
from the back side of the ribs in order to let the smoke permeate the meat.
To remove this membrane a stubby Phillip's screw driver works great to get
the membrane started. Start on the narrowest part of the rack then peel the membrane
off toward the thickest part. This seems to work best if
you closely adhere to the "plenty of beverage" rule aforementioned
on the "recipes" page.
Mix dry rub ingredients. Rub into pork ribs. Put rubbed ribs
into the refrigerator for 4 to 10 hours before cooking. Bring sauce
ingredients to a boil. Then add 1 finely grated onion, 1 grated medium
Golden Delicious apple and 1/4 grated small bell pepper. Cook until desired
thickness. Cook prepared ribs for about 5 1/2 to 7 hours over charcoal kept
at 180 to 200 degrees. Baste occasionally with warm apple juice. Use soaked
apple-wood chips in the fire to create a sweet flavor. About 30 minutes
before serving, brush ribs with finish sauce. Right before serving, sprinkle
on dry rub. Serve sauce on the side.
TIP: Don't rush the cooking process.
Basic Barbecue A pork butt or shoulder. This can be sliced or pulled to serve.
I hadn't intended to include this recipe since I thought we
all knew how to fix "Q".
Recently, due to several E-mail requests I feel inclined to add this one.
Thanks to Meredith Young for reminding me we're not all born to barbecue!
Depending what part of the country you're in will depend on
the cuts of meat available or at least what they're called. You'll most likely
want a pork roast, "butt", or Boston butt. Sometimes they're called a shoulder
depending how much bone is left in. A true shoulder is huge, its the full front
leg, skin and all, of the hog from the shoulder joint to just above the hoof and is usually
only used in competitions. A "butt" is only the portion that most
folks might consider as the hog's actual shoulder and weighs about 8-12 pounds.
Before cooking, preferably the night before, rub the meat liberally with yellow
mustard and a meat rub. There are several good rub recipes on my site. I don't
know if you can get it where you live, but my favorite rub is "Konriko®
Hot 'N Spicy Creole Seasoning" mixed with garlic powder. It's simple, easy and cheap. A
lot of other commercial seasonings available at your local grocery store would
do too. Whatever your taste. The mustard will help the rub stick to the meat. In
the cooking process the mustard will loose it's flavor and create a beautiful
golden brown crust that seals in the meat's juices.
As for cooking, one hour per pound is a good rule of thumb. If the butt you get
has a bone, (which is best) the bone should easily twist out of the meat when
done. If you have a meat thermometer the internal temp should reach at least 160
and no more than 200 degrees keeping the thermometer away from the bone.
Keep the meat away from the fire, and keep the temperature at 200 degrees.
Anything over 212 degrees will boil all the moisture out of the meat and make it
tough.
Lower temperatures and longer cooking times with indirect heat make the meat tender.
I hope you intend to do this on a smoker or at least a grill. A crock pot is
absolutely no good! I have cheated and started the meat on the smoker to get the
smoke flavor and color, and after about four hours, wrapped the meat in heavy
aluminum foil and put it in a deep baking pan (there'll be lots of juices), put
the meat in the oven for a few more hours at 250 to finish cooking. This speeds up the cooking process and time spent tending the fire. It's very messy! It's best to just do it all on
the smoker and let the juices drip into the smoker. Be careful of the dripping
juices though! They can cause a flair up (fire) that will ruin the whole
process. Keep the meat away from the fire and flame!
Meat will get it's smoke flavor the first couple of hours during the smoking
process. Pour on the smoke during this time. Hickory, mesquite, apple or cherry
make the best smoke. A "Smoke Ring" about 1/4 to 1/2 inches deep will
develop in the meat. (As the judges say, "Beautiful!") There's no need
for more smoke after the first few hours.
You now have the basic secrets to a World Championship barbecue. Take this start
and make changes as your tastes desire. I hope to see you at some competitions
in the future, you can thank me then!
Poultry To Perfection (This is cheating, you start it in the crock pot and move it to the grill)
Place chicken pieces in the bottom of a crock pot. Mix barbecue sauce with water and pour over chicken. Cook on high for 2 hours or until done. Place chicken pieces on grill (brushing on barbecue sauce as you turn) for five minutes to crispen the outside. Yield: 4 servings
HALIBUT FILLET WITH RED PEPPER BEURRE BLANC
Halibut is an exceptional medium-firm fish for the grill. Try
grilling a whole
fillet for beautiful presentation. For best results, buy fish with the skin
intact, because it helps to keep it from falling apart on the grill.
In a saucepan, first combine the wine, vinegar, shallot, and
red pepper. Bring to a slow boil and reduce until 2 tablespoons of liquid
remain. Add cream and boil 2 minutes. Lower heat and whisk in butter a little at
a time, until all butter is incorporated. Remove from heat and place sauce in a
blender on medium speed for 1 minute. Strain, then season with salt. Set aside.
Prepare and preheat the grill. Brush fillets with olive oil and grill flesh side
down over hot coals for 4 to 5 minutes. Then turn to the skin side and grill for
4 to 5 minutes more. Flesh will get milky and opaque. Serve with beurre blanc
spooned over fillets. Serves 4
Scallop Kabobs
Place scallops on skewers, alternately threading on pineapple, mushrooms, and tomatoes until skewers are full. Cook over medium-high heat for 10 to 15 minutes, turning frequently to brown all sides evenly (scallops should be opaque when done). Five minutes prior to taking off the grill, baste liberally with barbecue sauce. You may add slices of red or green bell peppers and pearl onions between pieces of meat. Great served with rice. Yield: 4 servings
Grilled Pork Steaks
Pour ½ can of beer into a sauce pan, add margarine, bay leafs and pinches of salt, pepper and garlic -- allow the mixture to simmer. Trim away all but a small amount of fat from the edges of the meat and score the edges in several places (prevents meat from curling). Cook steaks for 15 to 20 minutes over medium-high heat, turning frequently (mop on basting sauce after each turn). Brush barbecue sauce on both sides immediately before removing from grill. Yield: 4 servings
Teriyaki Beef Kabobs
Trim fat from beef, remove any white connective tissue and cut meat into 1-inch cubes. Blend the soy sauce, sherry, ginger and garlic together in a bowl. Put the cubes into the bowl and marinate for 4 to 6 hours. Drain meat, place on skewers and cook over medium-high heat for 10 to 15 minutes. Turn frequently to brown all sides evenly. You may add mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, slices of bell peppers and pearl onions between pieces of meat. Yield: 4 servings
Grilled Shrimp & Bacon
Shell and clean shrimp. Marinate shrimp in barbecue sauce for 30 minutes. Cut bacon strips into 2 or 3 sections. Wrap shrimp in bacon strips and place on skewers, leaving space in between to allow heat to penetrate. Alternately thread on vegetables, if desired. Cook over medium-high heat for 10 to 15 minutes, turning frequently to brown all sides evenly (shrimp should be opaque when done). You may add slices of red or green bell peppers, mushrooms, pineapple, tomatoes and pearl onions between pieces of meat. Serve with lemon wedges. Great served with rice. Yield: 4 servings
Barbecued Pork Chops
Place chops on hot grill 4 to 6 inches above coals. Cook, turning once, until meat is well browned on the outside and no longer pink near the bone; cut to test. Occasionally, mist chops with water to help them remain moist. Five minutes before removing from the grill, brush barbecue sauce on both sides. Yield: 4 servings
Bacon-Wrapped Chicken Livers
Cut bacon in half and wrap chicken livers with it. Thread livers and bacon combination on to bamboo skewers (pre-soaked in water to prevent burning) placing mushrooms between each. Drizzle livers and mushrooms with olive oil and grill over medium-high heat for approximately 8 minutes, turn and cook for another 8 minutes (don't overcook). Brush barbecue sauce liberally on both sides. You may add cherry tomatoes, slices of bell peppers and pearl onions between pieces of meat. Yields: 4 servings
Peppered Steaks
Crush whole black peppercorns in a plastic bag, add paprika and garlic powder. In a bowl, mix vinegar, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce and water. Dip the steaks into the bowl then cover them all over with the crushed pepper mixture, pressing it into the meat. Let the meat rest for a minimum of one hour. Cook the meat over medium-high heat for 10 to 20 minutes per side, depending on how done you want them. Yield 4 servings
Bourbon Beef Kabobs
Mix first 8 ingredients together. Pour over beef cubes in a heavy plastic bag. Marinate for 2 hours at room temperature, up to 36 hours refrigerated. Drain. Soak bay leaves in white wine for 6 to 12 hours. After soaking the leaves, drink the wine.
Parboil potatoes and onion pieces (not quite done). Skewer a beef cube, bay leaf, potato, onion, tomato, pepper, then repeat (beef cube etc.). Grill over medium high heat until cooked to at least medium rare as protection from E.coli. Serves 6 to 8 people.