Ribs

My first foray into the world of real barbeque was Saturday.

Using the advice of a friend at work, I slow cooked two racks of pork ribs over charcoal and was pretty pleased with the results. I bought all my equipment the night before, unfortunately forgetting to buy a thermometer, which made me especially nervous considering my lack of experience. The ribs were tender and not overcooked, which satisfied my main goal the first time out. The fun comes in learning as I go and continuing to improve until I come up with something truly exceptional.

The key to cooking the meat is using indirect heat, which sounded strange to me at first. I have a small roasting pan that I filled with water and put on one side of the grill, with the ribs on the grate over that. On the other side I put the charcoal. I was surprised at how intense the heat was inside the grill. It took about three and a half hours to cook the ribs. I had soaked some mesquite wood chips overnight and threw them over the coals periodically throughout the whole process. I actually used the entire bag, about the size of a loaf of bread, because it was so much fun and because the smell was incredible. The mesquite smell is exactly the smell of Dinosaur BBQ. One of the things I will change next time is use about half as many wood chips. The smoky flavor overpowered the rub and the sauce I used. The second thing I will change is cooking under lower heat. I probably should have waited another fifteen minutes to put the meat on, and I probably should have put fewer additional briquettes on the fire halfway through. I think the combination of the high heat and the smoke put a chocolate-colored crispy layer on the surface of the ribs that wasn’t very enjoyable. Temperature can also be regulated by using the air vents, and in that respect I was flying in the dark because I didn’t have a thermometer. I hate the idea of regulating the temperature too precisely as if I was using an oven, but it would be nice to have some idea what the temperature is. There is really no way to guess.

Just yesterday I read an article in the Rochester D&C about home barbeque, with the tired theme of “man conquering fire.” Not only is this a clichéd and belittling notion, it’s not accurate. There is something very pure and basic about it, but it’s also a very social thing. It’s an event. It reminds me of something that the great Jackie Martling said once about drinking beer. If you pull a beer out of a cooler, it’s a party. If you are cooking outside, it’s a party. And when you put the beer and the cooler and the grill together outside, it’s just about perfect. I think I’ve reached the old age where I have the patience to try different things on the grill and maybe not have it turn out perfectly the first time and then give it another go. I also think that with two small kids, things have hurried up to the point that I can really start to appreciate slow. Maybe home brewed beer is next.