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Feedback
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to ask me your toughest questions or send me feedback. Here are some nice things readers have said:
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I got first place on my ribs Sunday using your Vermont Maple Glazed Pig Candy recipe!
Steve Triplet
Galatia, IL
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Well my wife just about jumped through her [rear end]. The ribs were fantastic!
Ted DuBose
East Perth, Australia
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I took my leftovers to work and was mobbed when people smelled the aroma from the microwave.
Dale Ray
Wichita, KS
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I have always loved cooking ribs, but with our new gas grill they were never as good as charcoal. Well that all changed last night when I made the greatest ribs I have ever tasted. My wife wanted to know if I bought them somewhere and then claimed I cooked them myself.
Allen Nicley
Mont Alto, PA
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We love your beans. My recipe has our guests tooting for a few days; I bet that yours will last a week!!!!
Peggy Bohl
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I had two ribs and my boyfriend ate the other 3 1/2 pounds. He couldn't stop to talk. He tells me that my ribs have deepened his love for me. Well, fine, but I know that just means he wants more ribs:)
Nancy J. Mostad, Minnesota
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I am in the process of opening a cafe and thought [your simple sweet sour slaw is] an amazing winner. Tested it tonight. All people could say was "More please!!!"
James Murray,
Toronto, Canada
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ABOUT SMOKE SIGNALS
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 Smoke Signals is the "occasional" free email newsletter from AmazingRibs.com and its author, Craig "Meathead" Goldwyn.
Smoke Signals is designed to let you know what's new on my website and in the world of outdoor cooking: Tips on technique, recipes, and tools designed to make you a better cook.
Do me a favor, willya? Send me feedback. Let me know what you think of an article or recipe: If you think it is confusing, if you know a better way, or if I made a mistake. My Daddy taught me that "praise is cheap, criticism priceless."
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DANNY GAULDEN'S GLAZE
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 Danny
Gaulden is the owner of Danny's Place, a destination for barbecue
lovers in Carlsbad, NM. His simple sauce recipe, with only three
ingredients, is legendary among 'cue lovers. With good reason. It rocks!
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idea, he says, was to create a simple glaze that adds a sheen and
brings a little flavor to the party, but not so much as to cover the
other flavors.
While many sauces envelop the slab and hide your
meat and rub, Danny Gaulden's Glaze really lets your rub shine through.
If you have a good rub, this is the sauce to use.
Click here for this simple, but great, recipe. |
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KANSAS CITY CLASSIC SAUCE |
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 When folks say "BBQ sauce", KC sauce is what they're thinking. Classic Kansas City sauces are brass bands with multi layers of flavor, sweets, and heats. There are a lot of ingredients, but they are easy to assemble, and each contributes complexity. Try my recipe and you'll never use the bottled stuff again.
Click here to learn how to make your own Kansas City Classic Sauce. And remember, iffen you don't git it on ya, yer not doin it right.
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| JUST WHAT THE HECK IS BARBECUE EXACTLY? |
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 Just what is barbecue? Who invented it? And where does the word come from? I have tried to get a definitive handle on things. First, let me put on my flak jacket, because some folks think of barbecue as a religion and I am certain to anger someone with this effort. Won't be the first time I've done that!
To learn just what the heck is barbecue, click here.
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BEST SETUP FOR AN OFFSET SMOKER |
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 Offset smokers are among the most popular on the market. Many of the top competition teams use them. But there is a big difference between the pro models and the Cheapo Offset Smokers (COS) sold in hardware stores.
COS are okay for beginners, but they have serious shortcomings that can ruin meals and marriages. If you learn a few tricks and make a few modifications to your purchase, you can turn out some pretty amazing food.
Click here to see how to modify and operate your Cheapo Offset Smoker and save it from the yard sale.
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CHICKEN IN 'BAMA WHITE SAUCE
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 Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Que, in Decatur, Alabama, has been a popular local hangout since 1925. In the past decade the place has achieved national fame on the coattails of the acclaim slathered on Chef Chris Lilly and his competition team.
Big Bob's red sauce has been named "Best on the Planet" at the American Royal Open in Kansas City, but their signature white barbecue sauce for chicken is their most famous because it is so unusual.
Click here for my interpretation of the secret recipe and to learn how they cook chicken in northern Alabama.
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| MY MOST VALUABLE TOOL |
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 The Thermoworks ThermaPen is the most valuable barbecue tool I own. It is a great digital thermometer that reads really fast, has large easy to see numbers, and a long probe for getting into the center of a steak, chicken breast, or even a big clod of meat like a ham.
 The probe is thin so it will not open a gusher when you pull it out. The heat sensor is extremely small, so you know you are reading just where you put it and not a lot of the meat around it. For this last reason, it makes a good probe for ribs, too. This is an easy winner of the coveted "Meathead's Hot Stuff Award."
For current pricing and direct ordering from Amazon.com, click here.
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THAI CUCUMBER SALAD |
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 One of the simple pleasures of dining in a Thai restaurant is the lovely delicate cucumber salad they serve as an appetizer. My wife and I like it so much, we make a big batch and serve a big scoop as a side dish with barbecue. The delicate piquancy of the mild rice vinegar is a great counterpoint to the sweetness of a classic Kansas City sauce. And the best part is that, unlike so many other cucumber salads, there is no oil in this recipe!
Cukes are in season, so click here for this great side dish.
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THE ULTIMATE CORN ON THE COB |
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 Radio Hall of Famer Garrison Keillor says that, when it's in season, sweet corn is better than sex. And sweet corn is in peak season, so quit screwing around and start the grill. Yes, the best way to cook corn is on the grill, and I have a few tricks that you can use to make the Ultimate Corn on the Cob. This corn is so good, it should be illegal.
Click here and you'll never boil corn again.
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GRILLED JALAPENO POPPERS
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 My jalapeno bushes are bending under the weight. So I've come up with a great way to grill their output: One-Eyed Jalapeno Poppers.
While the jalapeno poppers you get at a restaurant are usually breaded and fried, the outdoor version are much more flavorful. This appetizer is a big hit with anyone who likes a little bit of heat in their food. And I show you how to remove most of the heat to accommodate wimps.
Click here for the recipe for One-Eyed Jalapeno Poppers.
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HOME-MADE BOURSIN-STYLE CHEESE SPREAD
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The recipe for the my One-Eyed Jalapeno Poppers (above) calls for Boursin cheese spread. If you haven't tasted Boursin (TM), you're missing something. It is a cow's milk cream cheese flavored with garlic, black pepper, and herbs imported from France. It's also great as a spread on a crusty baguette, on crackers, or dolloped on a hot steak, asparagus, or even mashed potatoes. Here's how to make it at home for a fraction of the cost.
Click here to save bucks by making your own Boursin-style cheese.
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FUNNY FOOD AT MOTO
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 I have just had some of the most amazing smoked pork I have ever tasted. And it was not served at a barbecue competition or served on butcher paper in a rickety joint south of the Mason Dixon Line. It was at a sleek, cutting edge restaurant with a Japanese name in Chicago: Moto.
Chef Homaro Cantu is a leader of a new food movement that is called "Molecular Gastronomy" and he has appeared on the covers of Gourmet, New Scientist, Fast Company, the Los Angeles Times, and more. Trained at Le Cordon Bleu and under Charlie Trotter, he beat Morimoto in an Iron Chef America battle in 2006, with beets as the mystery ingredient.
Molecular gastronomy is an assault on the senses and this gastronome's definition of cooking. Sometimes called "Post Modern Cuisine" or "Culinology", proponents deconstruct food and put it back together, prep it with lasers and liquid nitrogen, cook it at 140F for 24 hours in a vacuum pouch, dye it, and practice other innovations and experiments on its hapless molecules.
Although we did not leave Moto hungry for food, we left hungry for answers. The experience raised a multitude of questions.
Click here to read about the most unusual, and funniest, food I have ever had.
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ALL THE DIFFERENT CUTS OF RIBS DEFINED
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 In June I published an article on my site that defined all the different cuts of ribs with illustrations. I have continued refining the article. I have even added a definition or two, like baby front ribs (shown at right).
Click here to see the article that clears up all the confusion.
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Hope you found something useful here. If so, please click the link below to forward this to a friend who might enjoy it.
Remember: No rules in the bedroom or the kitchen,
Craig "Meathead" Goldwyn
AmazingRibs.com
Click here to contact me |
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