BBQ recipe wanted. Sauce or glaze.

Cafe Society
1

This is mostly for Americans with magic touch in the kitchen/by the BBQ. I’ve had ribs in American restaurants a number of times. They’re good. They’re very good. But, when I buy ribs and try to duplicate it over here, with BBQ-sauce I made myself, or even with (American) glaze bought in stores, it just doesn’t turn out the same. What’s the secret? Any Doper with a really good recipe that’ll make my socks roll up and down?

It’s not a problem if it’s complex and takes a lot of time doing. I want it right, not easy.

2

What style of sauce are you looking for? Memphis? Kansas City? Texas? Each one has it’s own distinctive style and flavor.

I can’t personally recommend a good sauce for ribs, but I’ve tried some of the other recipes in this guy’s cookbooks and they’ve all been pretty dang tasty. His *Sauces, Rubs, and Marinades* book has rib sauce recipes from all over the US (and the world) and will no doubt have something that you’ll enjoy.

3

HA!

I’m taking my BBQ sauce recipe to the grave!

4

Well, there are a couple of ways to cook your ribs. . .I assume you’re wanting to grill them?

If you have a smoker, the best way to cook them would seem to be smoking them at about 200 degrees for at least 4 or 5 hours, the longer the better. This makes them extremely tender. I’ve heard of people without smokers (ie regular bbq grills) putting the charcoal on one side of the grill and the ribs on the other to set up the indirect heat, but I don’t know how that’ll work.

An alternative, either if you don’t have a smoker or don’t have the time, is to boil the ribs for about 30-45 minutes, then grill them over the flame like you would grill anything else. You can glaze/season the ribs after they’re boiled. I haven’t actually tried this yet, but I plan to later this week.

As for a glaze, I have read that you may not want to cook the ribs with a BBQ sauce, ketchup, or anything like that applied, as the sugar will burn pretty easily (it’s up to you, I actually kind of like that charred/sweet taste sometimes). Last time I smoked some ribs I tried something different–apply your seasonings (salt, pepper, garlic, basil, whatever you want to put on it), and rub liberally with mustard. The mustard will serve to hold the seasonings on the ribs, and the overpowering mustard flavor will cook away. Like I said, I tried this last time I cooked ribs, and it was pretty great. . .not very “messy” though, but you can always add sauce later in the process if you want it.

You didn’t mention what exactly was “wrong” with your ribs, so I don’t know if these suggestiong would help or if you have already tried some of them, or if they don’t address your particular problem. I think the most common thing people experience when cooking their own ribs is that they come out dry and chewy. Either smoking or pre-boiling (I think they actually call it “par-boiling”) should preserve the tenderness. I watched a show (“Food 911”, or something like that) on the Food Network quite awhile where people described their dry ribs, and wanted help. The solution seemed to be boiling. . .it supposedly worked great. If you decide to smoke them, though, make sure you keep the temperature up and that the meat gets thoroughly heated/cooked. Internal temp should be something like 170-180 degrees, IIRC. . .if you have a meat thermometer a lot of times a guide is printed on it somewhere (or on the storage sleeve), as internal temps depend on the type of meat–I cook pork ribs.

This link seems to have some good info: http://bbq.about.com/library/weekly/aa071099.htm

5

Great ideas so far. Thanks guys. Regarding regional flavours - I simply have no idea. I’ve had great ribs in Chicago and Florida, and in truly local places. Not franchise joints. One place in Chicago had ribs and snowcrabs. I was there in late 80’s or early 90’s, and the memory still make make tastebuds go PING!

Of course I can google for recipes, but I want that… um… personal touch.

Mostly, the things I’ve tried so far is:
Marinating them ribs for 12 hours in the BBQ-sauce*. Wiping them off, so there wont be too much sauce, when thrown on the bbq. I’ve bought hickory chips at my local “All American Food Outlet”, and thrown them on the coals to get that smokey flavour.

They still come out tasting like ribs with tomato-sauce. Not like BBQ ribs.

There are a gazillion of bottles of pre-made stuff, both European made and American made, in the supermarkets. It still doesn’t taste as the ribs I’ve had in the U.S. I’m confused. And clearly doing something wrong. The idea about smoking them before sounds interesting. I’ve just tried adding smokey flavour (Argh! Liquid Smoke. I’ll never try *that/i] again), but not actually smoking them.

  • Tomatoes, black pepper, garlic, cloves, rosemary, onion, some brown sugar, cayenne, sweet chili powder, cayenne - and a tsp of instant coffee(!) and let simme for about two days.
6

Well, the bottled stuff is to real BBQ what McDonald’s is to real food (a pale imitation at best). If you can give us a better description of the flavor of the ribs you had, someone might be able to come up with a good recipe. Raichlen’s recipes come from mostly family run businesses, or those operated by professional chefs, so they’re better than the bottled sauces by a long shot.

7

You wanting pork or beef ribs? both are damn good, just different to cook.

Anyway the way my mommy taught me took cook pork ribs, since we didn’t have an all day smoker. Make a liquid of water, garlic, a bit of wine whatever spices and whatever else you want. put it in the bottom of the pan, put a rack over it and put the ribs naked on the rack. the liquid keeps them from getting dry, and gives some flavor. Cook like 350-375 ish for 45ish minutes(I’m very approximatewith these cause, I like rare pork, but I’m trying to imagine a fully cooked state.) Then slather in sauce and throw on the grill fairly low(don’t want to carbonize the sauce)with wood chips for about 15 minutes. Slather a couple more times.

As far as your sauce it sounds pretty good, but since you mentioned that your sauce tasted more like tomato sauce than BBQ sauce, you might be thinking of a sauce with vinegar in it. I make a different sauce every time, but I always have some vinegar and honey in it. It’sjust the way I like it, some people get apoplectic when you mention vinegar in BBQ sauce. :wink:

8

As I remember there was a great entry in the internet cookbook regarding BBQ, but I can’t find it.

You want 2 different sauces: 1) is the marinade, no sugar, ribs soak in it and get smoked or grilled 2) is the glaze, has sugar in it, put on after cooking.

9

Pork ribs.

Damn. I’m getting hungry here. My BBQ sauce tastes right. It tastes the way it should taste. It’s the combination with ribs that doesn’t work. So it’s prolly smoke/marinating tham that’s the problem.

I’m gonna print this whole thread when it seems no more suggestions are fortcoming.

10

Wolfman, I think our mom’s are related. But mine makes the baking/marinade from wine, lemon juice, onions, garlic, salt and pepper. You bring this to a boil, pour it over the ribs in the roasting pan, then bake like you said.

Dang it, now I’m hungry too.

11

This recipie is closer to a South Carolina sauce since it is mustard based. I can’t be really specific with the amounts of the ingredients since I never measure them out. Just assume everything is “to taste.” Just add one thing at a time until you get it the way you like it. And I’m also going to assume that you want to use pork. I’m going to get lynched for saying so in the middle of cattle country, but pork is the only “real” BBQ in my book. Beef, while good, just doesn’t hold up to a good pork loin. The following is my derivation on my wife’s family recipie who has been making BBQ in South Carolina since time immemorial.

The first and foremost ingredient is mustard, just plain, boring, yellow mustard. If you want to add some honey dijon, that’s okay too, but don’t get too carried away with it. The second and the most secret ingredient is apple jelly. Just melt some in your sauce pan and add the mustard. You can adjust the sweet by adding more jelly or adjust the tang by adding apple cider vinegar or balsamic vinegar. Once again to taste. Next, add some onion powder, and garlic powder if you must but fresh crushed garlic so much better. Then some Worcestershire sauce. The next ingredient is a shortcut/cheat and that’s liquid smoke. Smells hideous, but really helps the sauce out in the long run. Then add red pepper flakes, cayenne, black pepper, chili powder, and maybe some cumin (but not too much).

If you want a BBQ rub for your meat, take a half cup of brown sugar, half cup of cider vinegar, about a quarter cup of seasoned salt, quarter cup of paprika, then cayenne, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, finely ground savory, mustard powder, little bit of allspice, little bit of ginger, little bit of finely ground thyme. Mix it all together. Lay out your cut of meat out on lots of plastic wrap. Score the meat with cross hatching no more than a quarter inch deep. Don’t get too carried away with it if you want to maintain the meat as a roast. If you are going to be shaving the meat later, then go crazy. Rub the paste all over the meat, wrap it up in the plastic wrap, then let it sit for at least 12 hours. Then you can smoke it over low to medium low heat for about an hour per pound. If you are using pork, you want the temp to be between 150 and 160. Sorry, I don’t I have my Farrenheit to Celcius conversion table nearby. Any thing more is going to be too dry if you want to keep the meat like a roast. If you are going to shave the meat, 160+ is fine, but don’t go over 165. Take the meat out, let it rest for about 15 minutes, then carve or shave to your heart’s content. Serve with the sauce on the side.

Some people might protest the use of sugar and salt in the rub saying it will dry the meat out. It does a little, but since the end result is usually just finely chopped or shaved meat, it doesn’t matter so much.

12

I would go with the boil then grill method that troub posted. However in the water that you boil the ribs in you want to add some spices. Black and red pepper, maybe garlic, onion, some rosemary.

Then grill to get a nice crispy outside and add sauce at the last bit of cooking.

Do you want a sweet sauce or a hot sauce?

13

Not too sweet. And spicy. I’ve survived chicken vindaloo, I think I can handle anything.

14

That is a great book! No need to follow the recipes exactly, I tend to alter them to my own tates and what I happen to have on hand.

15

Have you read his other books? I’ve got the Barbecue Bible, and have only tried a sample of the recipes, but they’ve all been fantastic. Been meaning to get his Beer Can Chicken cookbook. BTW, you do know he’s going to have his own PBS series this summer?

16

No, just the Sauces, Rubs & Marinades book that I have. I bought that so I could get ideas for our electric smoker.

Thanks for the PBS info! I’ll keep an eye out for that.

17

I second (or third!) the parboiling method.

Here is my Daddy’s Texas recipe, to the best of my memory.

Start with a bottle of Kraft Original BBQ sauce, reg flavor, and put it in a saucepan. Quarter an onion, and throw that in. Halve a lemon, and throw that in. Add about 1/2 cup of brown sugar. Add a bayleaf, salt and pepper. Stir it all up and simmer for a while.

It makes a sweet/sour thick sauce. Feel free to doctor it any way you want. (It’s making my mouth water. I can smell it in my mind!)

18

The various sauces and recipes given here are all very fine, I’m sure. Just remember one thing: it’s all about the taste of the meat. If ya ain’t got the meat taste, then all the rest is just a waste. Don’t skimp on your meat, people!

19

Would that be gravlax* or Sveedis Meeetbools? :smiley:

Thanks Zenster and all others. This thread is getting close to poetry. Problem now is where to start with all these great ideas.

*actually - gravlax is very easy to make yourself and if you don’t want to eat it as it is, it’s perfect for BBQ, too.
Holler if you want suggestions.

20

As an alternative to parboiling… I use 4 sheets of aluminum foil (longer than the rack of ribs). Two on the bottom, then the rack of ribs with lots of dry rub, then the other two sheets of foil. Roll together the top and bottom layers of foil on three sides, leaving one end open. Pour about 1/4 cup or so of water or beer into the open end, then roll that end together as well.

Place the foil packet of ribs on the grill (low flame) for about an hour. This will nicely steam the ribs and allow the dry rub to remain intact.

After an hour, remove them from the foil and cook them on the grill for about another 30 minutes turning a couple of times. Ten minutes or so before removing, add the barbeque sauce on the top (meat side) and let grill for about 5 minutes, turn and apply sauce on the bottom side and grill for another 5 minutes. This gives just the right amount of “cooked on” sauce. Turn again and apply sauce to the top and either cook a few minutes more or remove from the grill.

This method always works very well for me, and this way I can feel like I grilled the whole thing (just have a thing against boiling meat).