In honor of Ramadan, let's start with barbecued pork ribs:
PREFACE: I model my pork rib recipe after that served by Charlie Vergo at MemphisÂ’ legendary barbecue house, The Rendezvous . While consulting on the design of a failure analysis laboratory, I was invited to their company Christmas party. The labÂ’s owner has just been in Memphis for a convention and, being Greek, had dropped by The Rendezvous. This inspired him to Fed Ex in some forty pounds of Rendezvous barbecue for the event. It was simply the finest I had ever tasted in my entire life. Additionally, the sauce contained no tomato products, which is something that I prefer. Needless to say (then why say it?), I had to physically restrain myself from going back for a third helping. I did manage to tell all in attendance that they were tasting the real thing and to remember the flavor as a gold standard for future reference.
Remarkably enough, just a bare few weeks before, I had watched Tennessee Ernie Ford host a PBS television special called, “Great Barbecue Chefs of the Midwest”. Never in my entire life have I seen a two hour documentary that contained so little factual information. Each and every time Ford would ask a given barbecue chef about his ingredients or cooking method all you would get for a reply was something along the lines of, “hommina, hommina, hommina, yadda, yaddita”. Out of over a dozen chefs interviewed, only Charlie Vergo went into really specific detail, which I memorized on the spot. What follows is largely based on his instructions. I have posted this recipe elsewhere only to have someone come back and start an independent thread about how these were the best ribs they’d ever had. So, I must be doing something right. On with the show and a happy Rantburg Ramadan™ to all of you.
Barbecued Pork Ribs
Authentic Memphis Style Ribs
Submitted by Zenster
Ingredients:
5-10 Pounds Fresh Corn Fed Pork Spareribs (frozen if fresh is not available)
1-2 Quarts Apple Cider Vinegar
3-4 Gallons Filtered Water
1 Pound Barbecue Dry Rub (recipe pointers to follow)
1 Quart Barbecue Sauce (recipe pointers to follow)
Optional:
7 Pounds Ice
1 Sixpack Beer (or more prn)
Preparation:
1. Buy the meatiest ribs you can find. They should have a fair degree of streaking to them (i.e., fat). Avoid frozen ribs as they can be very dry from the freezing and thawing process. If you really want to throw your money away, buy "baby back" ribs. The concept of parboiling or oven roasting the ribs is for crude beginners and will not be discussed further. I still shiver to think of my beginner days when I would cut up the slabs and simmer them off in Chris and Pitts' tomato based garbage sauce before grilling them over an open kettle.
2. Per The Rendezvous, I soak my ribs overnight in a bucket of water and apple cider vinegar. If spoilage is a concern, toss in a sack of ice. Somewhere around 10-25% by volume cider vinegar is required, depending on if you will be using ice and how long the ribs marinate. Use more vinegar with more ice. Be sure to stir the tub every so often, as the vinegar will settle and chemically cook those ribs on the bottom. Better yet, every few hours, turn the ribs in the tub, moving the bottom ones topside. Be sure to save the marinating mixture for mopping and humidifying the ribs during cooking.
3. In the morning, get the ribs out of the tub and completely dry them off. Be sure to get under the flap meat as well. I usually lay out the ribs on a slit open (unused) garbage bag. Massage the ribs by hand to loosen up the connective tissue. Get out your dry rub and sprinkle it all over the ribs. Get a good coating in place as the meatÂ’s moisture will dissolve a thin dusting. Cover the racks with plastic if you are concerned about hygiene or bee bugs. About this same time, place a generous handful or two of hardwood chips in a bowl of water and weigh them down with another plate or bowl to keep them submerged. Hickory and apple wood are some of my favorites.
4. Get outside and light off your briquettes. For superior results, use real 100% mesquite. Be sure to pile all the charcoal to one side of your kettle. If possible, avoid using starter fluid. I just shave up some wood and start it all with crumpled newspaper. Electric charcoal lighters work just fine. If you are in a hurry, use a hair dryer or heat gun to fan the coals. Yeah, you look a little silly styling your kettle, but you'll have coals in less than a half an hour. Put the grill over the coals to burn off any encrustation from the previous use. A wire brush can also help with this.
5. Before starting the ribs, place a clean tin can full of the marinating mixture on the grill over the coals. This will provide a moist environment for your barbecue. If you have a small kettle or a large quantity of ribs you may want to have some more coals ashing up in another grill to restock the main one during the cooking process. If you are using a propane rig start both sides on high to warm up the entire grill. Let the burners run for at least ten minutes. Before placing the ribs on the grill, turn off the burners on one side and crank down the others to low. Then place the ribs over the unlit section. The placement of the coals to one side and having one end of your propane grill unlit both accomplish the same thing. You want INDIRECT heat to cook over. If you want to serve charred and crusty inedible crap on your table, go ahead and cook directly over the coals.
6. If needed, oil the grill ahead of time. Be sure to wait for any flare-ups to die down before proceeding. Place the ribs bone side down on the grill. ALWAYS barbecue your ribs bone side down for the entire duration of the cooking period. Only if you are in a dreadful hurry should you ever flip your ribs over to the meat side. I usually just stack about three or four slabs on top of each other. Be careful not to scrape off a lot of the dry rub when placing the ribs on the grill. If needed, patch up any bare spots with a sprinkle or two of dry rub. At this time add a small amount of the soaked hardwood chips to the coals. Check to make sure the tin can of marinade is topped off and place the cover on your kettle. Choke off the kettle's airflow so it allows a bare minimum of ventilation that will keep the coals burning and watch or listen carefully for any flare-ups. If flare-ups do occur, use a spray bottle to douse them. DonÂ’t try to fan or blow out any flames, youÂ’ll just scatter ashes all over your prize ribs.
7. Every so often, check the stack of ribs and rotate the bottom slab to the top. If you have a fancy propane rig with the middle and top racks, use them for excellent results. Rotate your ribs between the racks and the grillÂ’s cooking surface every 15-30 minutes. Again, be careful not to break off too much of the dry rub crust when rotating the slabs. Once the crust has set well, you may occasionally mop the slabs with some of the marinating liquid. Always check the tin can and top it off whenever required. Use tongs to avoid piercing the meat and drying it out. Remember to add some more of the hardwood chips periodically in between beers. Start warming up your barbecue sauce somewhere around this time.
8. The ribs are done when the meat pulls back from the ends of the bones by about Œ"- œ". There should be a nice tawny glaze on them and they should be moist and tender. Cut off one of the tiny end ribs to check. The end rib should be thoroughly cooked with almost no pink so that the larger ones will be at the perfect state of tenderness. It is at this point that the fistfights can begin. All of you pantywaists can feel free to apply some sauce during the last stage of cooking (about 10-15 minutes). Adding the sauce any sooner will allow it to burn and create a bitter carbon crust from the scorched sugars. Any sufficiently prepared ribs will not benefit from this. You will merely mask your splendid dry rub and stop your guests from appreciating the magnificence of a dry rubbed rib. ‘Nuff said.
9. As you bring the slabs to your table, prevent any guests from charging at you by using pepper spray or a Taser. Singulate the ribs and dispense them with the righteous and regal air that you deserve. Try and remember to have some sauce on them, but be sure that your guests try a rib or two without any sauce so that they understand the culinary magic that has been woven in front of them. Take a bow and keep your recipe well hidden from prying eyes.
10. If this does not make for the finest ribs you've ever had. I will personally refund every penny you paid for these pointers.
PS: Some people remove the underside membrane, also called “silver”, from the racks of ribs. This is not my own practice, but it might yield an even more tender and smoky product. I may even try it sometime.