OT Southern BBQ Ribs

[Daddy Dee]

Seti,

Have you tried Rondezvous in Memphis? What do you think about their ribs?

[Arky]

Last time I was there Dee they had a kitchen fire but the ribs were great.

[Tarheel]

Thanks for the replies. I have used Weber charcoal grills for 10 years.....it was gas before that. I live about 400 feet from a salt water creek that runs into the Inland Waterway and the gas grills always rusted out after 2 seasons. Don't have that problem with the Webers. Mark....I am with you on the social aspect of grilling.....I too like it all... especially the part about having time for a drink or two while you are waiting...first for the coals....then for the meat. Dee....you need to do more of the deer sausage and sell small packages to forum members.

Bluesboy and I are going to cook up some sauces again this weekend. We plan to make a double batch of the Dinosaur Mutha sauce and maybe their mopping sauce. Will let you know how it goes.

Its Friday so what will you be grilling this weekend? After a day of yard work its nice to start the coals....mainade the meat and just kick back. I travel during the week so its nice to stay close to home on the weekends.

Happy grilling[][8][D]

[seti]

Seti,

Have you tried Rondezvous in Memphis? What do you think about their ribs?

I have not and I was just in Memphis and am sad that i missed it : (

[seti]

When I lived up in Syracuse I had both a Weber and a gas grill.  I can remember many a cookout shoveling the snow on the deck to get to the grill. Then, shoveling off the grill and picnic table for some working room.  Loved it actually.  I have lots of pictures of us cooking out in the winter.

When I moved to Georgia 7 years ago I got 2 new Webers and a smoky Joe.....and ditched the rusty gas grill.  I do charcoal for everything.....along with hickory.  We mostly grill only on weekends because charcoaol is definitely less convenient and takes time.  But the whole grilling process is therapy to me these days.  I love everything about grilling with charcoal....from the mess....TO BUILDING THE FIRE, to the sound, to the smell.....the delay that allows some beers to be slung down.....to the better taste.  By the way....I really love fire.....just something about it.

I never tasted anything on my gas grill that was better than on charcoal.  The charcoal always was best.  The gas grill always tasted good and was convenient too.....but not better tasting than charcoal.

Basically, if we don't have the time for a nice cookout.....we eat something else.  But I wouldn't criticize a gas griller.  Just keep grilling no matter how you do it.  I've seen some wild home made grills down here to, both wood fired and gas fired.

Hell yeah shoveling snow to get at the grill  : ) It is getting to that time of year that I dream of snow.

What kind of wood chips and charcoal do you guys use?

[mark1101]

Kingsford / hickory.

I fully admit I don't experiment as much as I should with different woods.....like the fruit woods (apple, etc.) Hickory has worked great for me and I stuck with it. I do know that mesquite can be too heavy for the family. I used to get complaints from the kids of too smoky sometimes. It may have been my fault though because personally mesquite can taste great if done right.

I watch all the barbeque shows on the Food network (in high def). Now that's some serious stuff. I get a lot of ideas from those shows but I tend to stick to what I know works. Hey......it can take a whole day to find out you screwed up.....and then it's been wasted.

Edit: Hey it's Friday....and we are grilling salmon tonight. I do that on the weber with the bottom dampers nearly shut for about 20 minutes (top damper fully open)....no turning the fish. Hickory smoke. I marinade in italian dressing and lemon juice for 45 minutes max. Then brush most of the marinade off when putting it on the grill. You never saw food disappear so quick in your life.

Cornwalls usually go out on the patio Friday evening until Sunday night. Then, I bring them back in.

[seti]

Kingsford / hickory.

I fully admit I don't experiment as much as I should with different woods.....like the fruit woods (apple, etc.)  Hickory has worked great for me and I stuck with it.  I do know that mesquite can be too heavy for the family.  I used to get complaints from the kids of too smoky sometimes.  It may have been my fault though because personally mesquite can taste great if done right.

I watch all the barbeque shows on the Food network (in high def).  Now that's some serious stuff.  I get a lot of ideas from those shows but I tend to stick to what I know works.  Hey......it can take a whole day to find out you screwed up.....and then it's been wasted.

 Edit: Hey it's Friday....and we are grilling salmon tonight.  I do that on the weber with the bottom dampers nearly shut for about 20 minutes (top damper fully open)....no turning the fish.  Hickory smoke.   I marinade in italian dressing and lemon juice for 45 minutes max.  Then brush most of the marinade off when putting it on the grill.  You never saw food disappear so quick in your life.

Cornwalls usually go out on the patio Friday evening until Sunday night.  Then, I bring them back in.

Interesting my GF mentioned the everything was too smokey the last time and that was with kingsford mesquite. I think I will switch to coal and use soaked wood chips and hope that lessons the intensity of the smoke.

HMMM grilled salmon is killer once you get the time right and can tell when it is done as salmon is terribly if cooked too long. I like to take marinate the salmon with super thick teryaki sauce and sesame seeds. I also like covering the bottom of the grill with pineapple and then place the salmon on top of that so it absorbs some of the heat. The pineapple technique really kicks it up a notch imho. The Kaisers wife is a fan of my salmon : )

[mark1101]

Here's a grill out that will knock your socks off for under $10.00. Get 2 whole chickens usually about $3-$4 each (3-4 lb range). Rub the chickens with your favorite rub and do nothing else. Grill on the weber indirect over a pan of water using charcoal and soaked wood chips for smoke. Cook SLOW and keep the bottom dampers nearly closed, top open all the way. Add the smoke chips right away and only for about the first 45 minutes.

Here's the trick. Spray the chickens after about 45 minutes with a fairly heavy spray of apple juice. get 'em wet. I use a small spray bottle. Repeat after another 20 minutes....and again after 15-20 minutes. The total cook time is around 1 1/2 hours or until a meat thermometer says 165.

The apple juice will give no taste. But what it does is form a thin crust on the chickens that seal them shut till you poke the thermometer in there and watch 'em spurt. They'll come off the grill very dark brown to nearly black but not even close to burnt and be super juicy and tasty.....for under $10.00.

[kaiser SET say]

Good call Tar, just recently my wife had me clean out our inground pit, came with my 87 year old home[]

She was wanting some meat with the flovar cooked in instead of sprinkled on like our gas grill and man I made some of the best chix and burgers we have had in a long time for her fathers birthday and now the Charbroil just sits like the maytag repair man[]

Wet soaked Hickory or Mesquite for me depending on the meat[]

[seti]

Good call Tar, just recently my wife had me clean out our inground pit, came with my 87 year old home[]

She was wanting some meat with the flovar cooked in instead of sprinkled on like our gas grill and man I made some of the best chix and burgers we have had in a long time for her fathers birthday and now the Charbroil just sits like the maytag repair man[]

Wet soaked Hickory or Mesquite for me depending on the meat[]

And why wasn't I called to sample grilln's

[kaiser SET say]

That was a test run on family just in case someone fell out! Maybe we ought to be plannin' somethin somethin[]

[dtel]

I have a home made one designed after this, mine it a little bigger .I have a few more things to do on it and it will be done.

[kaiser SET say]

OMG, road trip to dtels[]

[dtel]

It has a fire box, but I want to put gas burners in it so when I want to cook something and don't want to build a fire.

A few more little things then sand it down and paint it (out side only), does anyone know of any paint that can be sprayed with a car spray gun. This thing is big and those little spray cans of high temp paint will not go far, but it's the only real high temp paint I have ran across so far.

It was made out of a long propane tank and a couple sheets of steel, a couple of heavy duty bushhog tires on one end to swivel, and some diy wheels made out of steel pipe on the other end. I don't know what I was thinking you can't roll it buy hand ? I drag it around with the tractor or pick it up with the bucket, it weighs about #1300.

It will outlast me, although that might not be saying much.

When Michael was here he seen it out in the back yard and gave me one of them, are you crazy looks. It could cook a whole pig and another 100 LBS of meat at the same time. The answer is yes I am a little crazy, but I hate to not have enough space when I BBQ and the upright part can be used as a smoker, it's about 5' from the fire box, with its own thermometer. I love the taste of Hickory.

[Daddy Dee]

dtel,

that sounds like a great cooker. Could you post a pic?

[dtel]

dtel,

that sounds like a great cooker. Could you post a pic?

I will try to remember to take a pic of it tomorrow, then I will get Christy to post it.

The one time I tried to post a pic it came out the size of a postage stamp ?

If I ever get around to finishing it. One of the things I have not figured out is I would like to put burners in it for propane so when I want to cook I don't have to light wood or coals. Many times we decide to BBQ kind of late in the evening and it would make it quicker, or if I just want to cook something small.

I was trying to avoid the regular burners they use in most gas grills because they don't last very long before burning out even the stainless ones, and the cast iron ones are small when you are trying to cover a 2 foot by 4 foot area. Thinking about building some out of some heavy SS tubes, not that lightweight moulded ones like in most pits. Or I may look at some commercial burners if the price in not crazy ?

We cook on the grill at least once or twice a week, year round. One of the reasons I wanted to build a bigger pit/smoker is for some occasions we BBQ, Mothers day, July 4 th, and many more, where others are invited, besides the 9 that live here ! So when I have stuff that takes a while to cook like chicken breast or pork loins that can fill a pit and take a long time, holds up stuff like hamburgers and hot dogs and sausage.

Edit: It put *** where I put b r e a s t , I was talking about chicken.[:$]

[Daddy Dee]

dtel,

Allright! a work in progress!

[Tarheel]

DTEL.....Very nice.

Mark.....I am going to buy a spray bottle and apple juice today and try your tip. Like you I watch the Food Channel a lot and have my favorites. I like to watch Bobby Flay when he challenges other chefs to cook offs. I like to watch Sandra Lee especially when she wears something provocative[] read low cut.

Wife is out of town so its just me and my 14 year old lab Kate here. May go to the Harris Teeter and have then cut a 2" thick sirloin and marinate that for a while in soy, fresh ground pepper and fresh garlic. I will grill some asparagus along with the steak while enjoying a drink or two. Mark I agree the grilling ritual is therapeutic.

Chuck

[mark1101]

Dtel,

Now that's what I'm talking about. That's a cooker for sure. My wife's uncle is a caterer and has something like that. That would be a dream cooker for me. I hear ya on the weight though. I would have to find the right spot and just park it. You are right it would probably outlast all of us.

What I noticed about my wife's uncle's cooker is that there is a flavor that comes out of that thing like I could never get on my little webers. It's hard to describe but it's a more subtle aroma and smoother flavor. I suppose since it is all seasoned up that plays a large role as well.

Congrats on that thing.....get 'er done.

Tarheel, sounds like you are having a nice cook out tonight. Our salmon came just like usual. It's all gone.

[dtel]

Never took the pic yet but here is a good link..................http://www.thesmokering.com/