Beef Ribs, A Giveaway, & A Party

My neighbor is cooking a prime rib tomorrow which gave me a serious craving for some beef ribs.

We bought a few racks of beef back ribs (not short ribs) and I smoked them for a late dinner.  They were ready just in time for The Ultimate Fighter - Live! (Smoked ribs - broken ribs...what's the difference?)  This isn't a recipe post, just about how I made my ribs last night.

Beef ribs = Steak on a stick

I set up my Big Green Egg for indirect heat (plate setter in, legs up, drip pan, cooking grate) at 250f using coal and 3 chunks of cherry wood.

I removed the membrane from the back of each rack.  For me, beef ribs are a little harder to remove the membrane than pork ribs but here are a few tips.  Use a blunt knife and separate the membrane at the 3rd rib from the short end.  Work a finger underneath and through to the other side.

Work your way to the end, grab that and pull backwards.

It will go easily until the last 2-3 bones where you'll hit a fatty area - be careful there.  Work slowly between each crease and it should come off in one piece.  Then trim off the excess fat with a sharp knife.

I seasoned both sides with cracked black pepper and then liberally with a beef rub.  I used a commercial rub but you can use a mix of salt/pepper/garlic powder in a 2:1:1 ratio.  Smoked them bone side down for two and 1/2 hours.

Then I wrapped them in foil drizzled with butter, agave nectar, and roasted garlic hot sauce.  I cooked them 1 hour that way.   Next I removed them from the foil and cooked them one more hour.  I glazed them with BBQ sauce and let that cook on for 15 minutes.  After a 10 minute rest, we dug in!

I love the tender texture and rich taste of beef ribs, I like them as much or more than pork!  (Blasphemy?)

Giveaway - Steven Raichlen's Best Ribs Ever

Speaking of killer ribs, America's grill master, Steven Raichlen, is releasing his new book Best Ribs Ever - 100 Killer Recipes in just a few weeks on April 25, 2012.  (You can pre-order at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and select online outlets.)

Best Ribs Ever celebrates the ingredient that epitomizes barbecue and inspires passion, obsession, and almost primal lust in griller and eater alike. And there’s no one better than Steven Raichlen, America’s foremost and bestselling grilling author, to preside over the religion of the rib. Here’s a bone-by-bone guide to choosing, buying, and handling ribs. Eight essential techniques for prepping and cooking. The six great live-fire methods, beginning with direct grilling to spit-roasting. Plus rubbing, saucing, mopping, resting, serving.

Even if you don't follow BBQ media like I do, you know who Steven Raichlen is.  You have probably seen his TV shows Primal Grill and BBQU on PBS and his Barbecue Bible books (James Beard awards and New York Times best sellers) are among the most popular around.  I have several of his books and find them to be a great source of information, not just recipes.  I turn to them often for quick references or just inspiration.

Workman Publishing and Steven Raichlen are sponsoring my April giveaway:  An autographed copy of Best Ribs Ever.

How To Enter
Each person can receive up to a total of 2 entries per day as follows:

1. leave a comment below   (NOTE: If you use the "anonymous comment" option, be sure to leave an email or your screen name in the comment so I can contact you if you are the winner. Something like "EggerinFL from the Egg Forum" or "swibirun from the BBQ Brethren forum" is enough.)
2. Mention the giveaway with a link to this post in Twitter and use the hashtag #RaichlensBestRibsEver

The Rules

1. Giveaway entry period begins today, 12:01pm April 7, 2012 and ends April 24, 2012 11:59pm. Winner will be announced on this blog on April 25, 2012.
2. Comments will be numbered by order received and random.org will generate a random number for the winner.
3. Limited to residents of the continental US unless you wish to pay the extra shipping charges.
4. I am the final judge regarding any discrepancies, interpretations, grievances, etc about this drawing.
5. Workman Publishing is sponsoring the prize. They are not responsible for the drawing or the giveaway.
6. Winner must respond and claim the prize within one week of the winning announcement. If a winner does not claim the prize during the specified time, a reserve winner will be drawn from the original entries.
7. Employees, Board Members, pets, indentured servants, and family of Nibble Me This are not eligible to enter.

Blogger Party

Our third annual blogger party is coming up.  We always have fun lakeside at Larry & Bev's home in Greenback, TN.  

The East Tennessee Worldwide Blogger Party

Hosted by Katherine Aucoin,  Larry Doolittle, and Chris Grove

Date: May 27, 2012 – rain or shine

Time : Noon – til everyone leaves, eat at 1:30

Who: Any fellow bloggers who are willing to make the trip and significant other, or not.

Food: We will be serving crawfish/shrimp boil or Cajun pork BBQ Po Boys for the non- seafood fans.

Drinks: We’ll provide tea and soft drinks but feel free to BYOB

Donation: We’ll be asking for a small donation ($10 or so) to help with the food cost, but we won’t know what it will be for sure until we know the attendance.

RSVP: We need to know if you will be coming by May 6 so we can order the fresh seafood. Let Larry know at grandpop1@yahoo.com.

Grilled Pork Pie with Creamy Creole Coleslaw

First order of business, as many of you had guessed, the Kingsford Hickory Infused Propane announcement was an April Fools prank.  You just can't replace the flavor that charcoal grilling adds to food, "specially designed infuser plate" or not. 

I kind of feel bad about pulling your leg.  To make it up to you, here is a recipe created by world champion pitmaster, Chris Lilly, on behalf of Kingsford Charcoal.  It was a perfect way to use up some of the leftover pulled pork in the freezer.  My notes are at the end.

Grilled Pork Pie with Creamy Creole Coleslaw

Reprinted with permission from Kingsford Charcoal

Pitmaster Note: In the South, barbecued pork could be its own food group. This recipe takes a modern spin on the most popular barbecue cuisine, by filling a crisp pie pocket with barbecued pork, grilling over hot charcoal and topping it with a creamy creole coleslaw.

Makes: 8 single serving pies

Prep time: 1 hour

Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

Dough

• 2 sticks butter
• 1/2 cup cold water
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Soaking Sauce

• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• 1/2 cup cola
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon molasses
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon hot sauce
• 
  
• 3/4 pound chopped barbecued pork

Creamy Creole Coleslaw:

• 5 cups green cabbage (1/2head shredded)
• 1 tomato, diced
• 1 cup purple onion, finely diced
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced
• 2 tablespoons celery, finely diced
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

Dressing

• 3/4 cup mayonnaise
• 2 1/2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
• 2 tablespoons Creole mustard
• 4 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon hot sauce

Instructions:

Cut butter into 1/2 inch cubes and refrigerate. Measure the water and refrigerate. In a small mixing bowl add flour and salt and mix well. Add in the cold butter until the mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs. Slowly add water, mixing continuously, until a dough ball is formed. Seal the dough ball in GLAD® Cling Wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight.

Sprinkle countertop or cutting board generously with flour. Remove dough from the refrigerator and place onto the floured prep area, roll out to a thickness of 1/8 inch. Cut the dough into five to six inch diameter circles. Removing extra dough from the prep area to re-roll and make more pie shells. Immediately peal, lift and flip the dough circles making sure they don’t stick. Yield should be eight pie shells.

In a small sauce pan combine the soaking sauce ingredients and stir well. Bring the sauce to a light boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove the sauce from the heat and set aside.

Preheat the grill using Kingsford® charcoal, until the internal temperature reaches 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Combine the chopped pork and 1/2 cup of soaking sauce (reserve the remaining sauce) in a medium bowl and mix well letting the pork soak-up the sauce. Spread three tablespoons of sauced pork onto one-half of each dough circle, but make sure the outer edge of the shell is uncovered. Lightly moisten the edges of the dough with water. Fold the dough in half creating a half moon with filling. Gently press the pie edges together and crimp them with a fork.

To create the creamy creole coleslaw, combine the cabbage, tomato, onion, bell pepper, celery and sugar in a large bowl and mix well, until the sugar dissolves. In a separate bowl combine the dressing ingredients and mix. Pour the dressing over cabbage mixture and stir together. Chill until ready to serve.

Prep the charcoal grill grate with a grill brush and a light coat of oil. Transfer the pies to the grill and cook at 400 degrees Fahrenheit over direct heat for two to three minutes on each side, or until the dough turns a crispy golden brown. (Note: Do not use the grill lid when grilling the pies.) Remove from the grill and serve topped with creamy creole coleslaw and drizzle with remaining soaking sauce. 

My Notes
I completely messed up the first time I made these and the outside of the dough was burned before the inside was done cooking.  I made two mistakes to cause this.  I had the coal tray raised rather high on the Smoke Hollow charcoal grill, there needed to be more distance.  I also closed the grill lid instead of leaving it open like they recommended.  Color my face red.

So the second time I made two batches.  One batch I cooked on my Smoke Hollow grill with the charcoal tray lowered all the way down giving maximum distance between the coal and grill grates.  The second batch I cooked indirect at 350f on my Big Green Egg (platesetter legs down, spacers, then a pizza stone).   Both worked this time.

Spreading the chopped pork mixture.

Crimping the edges.

Direct method.

Indirect method.

The indirect ones had a smoother texture.  I put them on the direct grill just for a minute for the marks.

The direct grilled had a more rustic appearance but the dough was crispier.

Saturday Miscellaneous

Just a few odds and ends.

Final Fire Day Friday

I posted my last guest post for Fire Day Friday at Our Krazy Kitchen last night and it was a good one.  I simple grilled chicken sandwich with a creamy red pepper sauce that was to die for.  I can't believe how easy but great the sauce was.  I'll be reusing that spread for other things for sure.

Gas Leak

One of the great things my blog has given me is the chance to work behind the scenes on product development with great companies.  The down side is that I'm often not at liberty to talk about those things until they come to fruition on the market.  

Right now I have a grill grate prototype that I can't show on my blog because it's in development and a new line of beans that I have known about for while but can't write about until next week.  But we have finely been given the green light to "leak" info about a new Kingsford product that is coming out this Memorial Day - HICKORY INFUSED PROPANE.  The official campaign starts mid-month but apparently the info got out on a BBQ forum so Kingsford has decided to let the test group go ahead and blog about it.  Here is Clint Cantwell, editor of Grilling.com and pitmaster of the Smoke In Da Eye competitive bbq team, talking a little bit about it.

UPDATE:  Yeah.....this was an April Fools prank :) :) :)

BBQ Central Show

Greg Rempe of the BBQ Central Show has shown his usual bad judgement and invited me back for another segment on the BBQ Central Show for Tuesday, April 10th.  Not sure of what time yet but the show runs 9pm to 11pm EST.  The weekly show is about all things BBQ and grilling, from competition cooking to the back yard grill.  

Greg makes the show not only informative but entertaining.  BBQ Central interviews some of the biggest and hottest names in BBQ & grilling, be it comp teams, sanctioning bodies, celebrities, manufacturers or even back yard hacks like myself.  There is a lot of good natured ribbing but also a lot of tips are shared.  It is available live (with video and chat room) or podcast (audio only). 

Tune in for my interview but stay for the whole show and see what BBQ Central is all about.  Get in the smoke!

Okay, I'm off to do some work around the house.  Have a great weekend everyone!

Grilled Ribeye Steak with Front Yard Butter

One of the good things about the very mild winter is that the fresh herbs in our front yard are already in full production mode.

Sage, thyme and tarragon in my front yard.

On the other hand, so are the critters. 

• The good - I've already seen the first lightning bug of the year,
• The bad - I've also already seen my first flying vampire - a mosquito,
• The ugly - this little dude was hanging out in our driveway

Tiny little guy, about 6-7" long.

I didn't know what kind of snake it was but I was glad that I let it live.  It was a Northern water snake, non-venomous and beneficial (unless you're a bug or small furry critter).  In fact, of all the 23 types of snakes in East Tennessee, only 2 are venomous. 

Enough snake, more steak!

One of the things I like to do with grilled steaks is serve it with a compound butter.  Tonight I just used some tarragon, parsley, and thyme from our front yard.  Plus....a secret ingredient that makes your butter better.  

Grilled Ribeye Steak with Front Yard Butter
Source:  Nibble Me This

Ingredients

• 4 ribeye steaks, left at room temperature for 1 hour
• Steak seasoning* to taste
• 8 Tbsp butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon fresh tarragon, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp fresh thyme, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp parsley finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 tsp anchovy paste*

Instructions

1. Pick your herbs from my front yard.  Just watch out for my guard snake.  
2. Mix the softened butter, herbs, garlic and anchovy paste together thoroughly.  Form into a log or roll and refrigerate for 1 hour.
3. Preheat a charcoal grill to 500f (high heat) and just before grilling, make sure the grates are clean and lightly oiled. 
4. Season the steaks and then grill until they reach an internal temp of about 130f for medium rare, about 4 minutes per side.  
5. Remove steaks from the grill and let rest for 5 minutes.
6. Place each steak on a warm plate*, top with a scoop of the compound butter, and serve.

Notes

• Quantity - This makes almost twice as much butter than you need but you'll find other uses for it. 
• Steak seasoning - A simple rub of salt/pepper/granulated garlic (2:1:1 ratio) works fine.  Tonight I was testing out a friend's new beef rub that is about to hit the market.  
• Anchovy paste - I know, I know.  I HATE fish!  But slipping a little of this in your compound butter gives it a umami flavor that goes great with steaks and NO ONE will ever guess it's in there. 
• Warm plate - a cold plate makes the butter and steak juices congeal faster, not pretty. 

We splurged on a whole ribeye last week.  Hand trimmed it into 14 steaks.

Not blurred for witness protection program...I'm testing out a prototype grill grate for someone and can't release pictures just yet.

Served with a steak side classic - creamed spinach.

The creamed spinach that I served with it was one of the better ones I have ever had.  You can find that recipe at Chef John's site, Foodwishes. 

Pimento Macaroni and Cheese

I guess that I forgot to mention that I was going away for a week on a fishing trip with Trevor and my father in law in Florida.

Gone fishin' ......

Actually, I didn't forget, I just didn't want any of you folks to steal our two Big Green Eggs while I was gone, (not that I don't trust you - wink).

When Trevor and I got back, I was craving some good barbecue so I uncovered the grill and smoked a rack of pork loin back ribs (aka "baby back" although these were 2 1/2 down instead of 2 1/4 down).

Gratuitous rib shot.

I won't go into the details because I used a version of the method I learned in George Ewart's Hands On Rib Class at Dead End BBQ last year.  George is repeating the class next month [details here] and I would highly recommend the class.  Whether you are a beginner wanting to learn to BBQ or a seasoned competitor, you will learn a lot.

Alexis made a batch of her pimento mac and cheese to go with the ribs.  Mac and cheese is a perennial BBQ side dish and let's be up front, it's not health food.  I'd rather do an extra 20 minutes on my work out than eat "lite" mac and cheese.

The recipe can be made in the oven but we also like to do it on the grill in a stoneware pan.  I like the way stoneware cooks on the grill, it acts as a heat sink and helps cook evenly.  The particular pan used here is a deep dish pie pan (11" x 2") from the Family Heritage line at Pampered Chef.  Many people often ask me about the durability of stoneware on the grill.  Almost all of the stoneware you see used on my blog are at least over 6 years old, some 10 years old.
 

Served with Bush's  new Sweet Mesquite Grillin' Beans.

Pimento Macaroni and Cheese
adapted from Kelli's Creamy Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients

• 16 oz Velveeta, cut into 1" cubes*
• 4 Tbsp butter
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 18 oz large elbow macaroni, dry
• 2 cups colby jack cheese, shredded
• 1 tsp McCormick's Smoked Paprika
• 3 Tbsp roasted red pepper*, diced

Instructions

1.  Pour the cream and milk into a medium sauce pan over medium heat.  Add the Velveeta and allow to melt, stirring occasionally.  Add the butter and melt.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.
2. Cook the pasta according to directions.
3. Place the pasta and half of the shredded cheese in a pan that will hold the pasta about 2-3 inches deep.  Pour the cheese sauce over the pasta.  Top with the other half of shredded cheese.  Sprinkle with smoked paprika.
4. Bake at 350f on charcoal grill (indirect heat) until the top is golden and bubbly, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Notes

• Yes, Velveeta.  Don't judge me.  The Bible says it's okay. "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:  A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to use Velveeta."  I swear it's in there.  Trust me, don't go look it up.  I'm quoting the Bible, would I lie?
• I find that roasted red pepper gives much more flavor than jarred pimentos, which are often lacking in the flavor department.
• Served with Bush's New Sweet Mesquite Grillin' Beans (Black beans simmered with onions and red pepper in a sweet and smoky sauce).  Helps make up a little bit for the mac and cheese since a serving of the beans has only 1 gram total fat.  But I still have to do extra workouts today because of the mac and cheese!  It was worth it....

Ran out of hickory chunks so I used 2 small hickory splits from my offset smoker, then buried them in more coal.

Like I said, went easy route and used Dead End BBQ rub...

And Dead End BBQ sauce.

 

George's rib technique is meant for spare ribs but works on loin backs too, if you adjust the time.

Don't worry if you have a little "over-bubble-itivity"

 

Proper!

[Standard Disclaimer] Bush Beans - I have a paid business agreement with Bush Beans for this year but have used their products for long before.  McCormick/Lawry's - I had a recent paid post with McCormick's and received a box load of free samples.  Pampered Chef - I paid full price for the Pampered Chef stoneware mentioned.  Dead End BBQ - I pay full price for their food and classes.  I just like to promote them because George and his crew do a great job. 

FISHING TRIP
If you were born before MTV, you probably remember family and friends get togethers where someone would break out the carousel slide projector and share vacation pictures.  Here is my modern version of that.

There were 4 dozen other boats fishing "the Pass" at Pensacola on day 1.

We cruised the coastline 10-20' deep, site fishing for cobia.  Dolphin in the foreground.

Me standing on the seat, searching for the elusive cobia. We didn't find them....

 

But we did find and track a large school of black drum for 45 minutes.

We hooked up a half dozen times while paralleling the school.

The drum were all big hogs! 

Trevor (12 y/o)  getting practice at the helm.  He is going to get an operators license this summer.

Yeah, I've had mornings where I'm slow and need this sign too.

Fishing at Pensacola Pass on Day 2.

Lunch at the Sunset Grille was always a favorite.

Trevor working a plug at Marker 28.

Me pulling up anchor on our last day of fishing.  Time to go home.

 

Just a funny pic - Forget Madison Ave....we "rednecks" know how to market and advertise!  Sign near a roofless abandoned building off of US 331 in Alabama.

Marsh Madness: Fakin' Bacon and Eggs

Nibble Me This is a blog about my serious study of errr...misadventures in all things related to live fire cooking, such as; barbecue, grilling, cold smoking, "stir firing", and stuff like that, right?

So how in the world did I get involved in Marsh Madness - a contest in which 16 influential food bloggers (well, 15 and then there's me) from all over the country compete in regional brackets to create the most original marshmallow based on Shauna Sever's outrageous new book Marshmallow Madness?   

I guess I just have a hard time turning down a challenge!   Just the same, this was a fun departure from my usual stuff.  

I won't lie, I was intimidated by the thought of making marshmallows.   But Shauna's book is very easy to follow and lays out an easy game plan for making your own.  In fact, it was so easy, we made a second batch just for fun.  These aren't boring, white, Sta-Puft marshmallows.  These are wild colored, interestingly flavored, and creatively shaped bundles of sweet.  I couldn't believe how many ideas she packed into one book about marshmallows.  Who knew you could do all of that?  Marshmallows could be the "cupcake of 2012". 

So the challenge - most original marshmallow and how do I fit that into the theme of my blog.  

Plan A: was to make a layered sweet/savory marshmallow colored like a barbecued rib and topped with a caramel bbq glaze.  Problem: my colors were a bit off.  Instead of a dark outer crust and a smoke ring, we ended up with something that was light brown and pink.  *$(#)%!  

Plan B:  Hmmmm, it's made of mostly sugar, I could use a torch to caramelize the top like a creme brulee to give it a barbecued looking crust.  Problem:  It worked PERFECTLY and I got a nice crust, looked like a rib and smelled like a toasted marshmallow....for about 10 seconds until the carry over heat from the torching melted the sublayer and it oozed out with the colors mixing together to form a purple color that looked like someone made a smoothie out of Barney The Dinosaur.  Well *$(#(@!

Plan C:  As I sat there looking at the half slab of layered marshmallow sitting there, I said, "That doesn't look like ribs, it looks more like a slab of..."

"BACON!" Alexis chimed in.

So we made some fakin' bacon and eggs.  But the trick up my sleeve was hickory smoking the "bacon"

Everything on this plate is marshmallows.  Breakfast of champions.

Fakin' Bacon Marshmallows

Source:  Adapted from Marshmallow Madness

Ingredients

For the bloom

• 4 1/2 teaspoons unflavored powdered gelatin
• 1/2 cup cold water

 For the syrup

• 2/3 cup pure cane sugar
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 tsp salt

For the mallowing

• 1/4 tsp BBQ rub*
• 1/4 cup finely chopped candied bacon
• 1/2 cup classic coating*

Instructions

1. Whisk together the gelatin and cold water in a small bowl for at least 5 minutes.
2. Stir the sugar, syrups, water and salt in a medium sauce pan.  Bring it to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently.  You are wanting to cook it to 240f.
3. In the mean time, microwave the gelatin until complete melted about 30 seconds.  Pour into a stand mixer with a whisk attachment and start on low, leaving it running.
4. When the sugar mixture hits 240f, carefully and slowly pour it into the mixing bowl.  Increase the mixer speed to medium for 5 minutes.  Increase to medium high and beat 3 more minutes.  Add the BBQ rub in the last minute
5. Pour half the mixture into a second bowl.  Add pink gel coloring and chopped bacon to one bowl, folding in well.  Add brown gel coloring to the other bowl and mix.
6. Pour 1/2 of the brown marshmallow into a greased 8 x 8 pan and spread evenly with a spatula.  Pour all of the pink marshmallow into the pan and spread out even with a spatula.  Pour the rest of the brown mixture into the pan and...yeah, spread out even.
7. Sift some of the "classic coating" onto the top and allow to cure in a cool, dry place for 6 hours.  
8. Use a metal spatula and free the sides from the pan.  Top the pan with plate, invert and allow the marshmallow to drop onto the plate.
9. Use a pizza cutter rubbed with some of the classic coating and slice the marshmallow loaf into 1/4" slices.  
10. Dust the slices with more of the classic coating.  
11. Optional:  For an extra touch, do a quick hickory cold smoke of 20 minutes using a home made smoke generator or a Smoking Gun.

Notes

Since it didn't turn out to be ribs and was bacon instead, we made up a batch of the Classic Vanilla Marshmallow from the book to make "fried eggs" to go with the bacon.  For each egg, I took 1/4 cup of the marshmallow mix and poured it onto a greased surface so it could spread out in it's own shape like an egg would.  For each "yolk" I took about 2 Tbsp of the mix and added yellow gel coloring and put into a 1/4 cup silicone cup.  We let that cure for 4 hours and it was ready.  I inverted the "yolk" onto the "fried egg" and then shaved some sweet chocolate over it as the "pepper".  

Any recipe that has pig candy as an ingredient has got to be good!

I was worried when it first started off as a sugary liquid but it thickened up exactly as the book said it would.

Since bacon is often hickory smoked, I put strips of the "bacon" on a plate under a large container and then used a Smoking Gun.

Where'd the bacon go?  I can't see it in the smoke!

Sometimes, failures turn out to produce some awesome results.