Smoke Signals from AmazingRibs.com ~ November 11, 2009
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Here are the most popular articles on the website with direct links.

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TECHNIQUE
anatomy of a rib

For both the beginner and expert, here are articles on how to get 'er done right.

2-ZONE COOKING

BEST GAS GRILL SETUP

BEST CHARCOAL GRILL SETUP

BEST OFFSET SMOKER SETUP

BEST WEBER SMOKEY MOUNTAIN SETUP

MEAT SCIENCE

THERMODYNAMICS OF COOKING

ARE THEY READY YET?

MEAT TEMP GUIDE


RECIPES
pulled pork
Scores of tested restaurant quality recipes carefully explained so even novices can be great cooks.

LAST MEAL RIBS

RECIPES FOR THE CLASSIC REGIONAL BBQ SAUCES

MEATHEAD'S MAGIC DUST

PERFECT PULLED PORK

TEXAS BEEF BRISKET

ULTIMATE SMOKED TURKEY

HOT DOGS

BOURBON BAKED BEANS

THE ZEN OF SLAW


BUYER'S GUIDES

hotstuff_orange
Unbiased recommendations for the best products for the back yard cook.

Testimonials

Did the The Ultimate Smoked Turkey recipe for (Canadian)
Thanksgiving and it was THE most amazing bird I've ever had!
Mike Daigneault, Timmins, ON

The results have been miraculous. I am still amazed you don't charge for people to use this site. Why aren't you the Next Food Network Star?
Adam Sorum, Grand Forks, ND

I'm addicted to your magic dust.
Bryan Bailey, Knoxville, TN

I am no longer intimidated by ribs.
Mike Saunders, Wetumpka, AL

The instructions are easily followed. Thank you for showing me the light.
Joe Chewning

I have just been dubed the Earl of Brisket in Sheboygan, thanx to your instruction.
Dave Hoffman, Sheboygan, WI

The directions and methods you provided have been clear, concise, and insightful with a good dose of humor. My family was in heaven and the dog never left my side.
Tod Barrett, San Francisco, CA

My son and I are reopening a restaurant and your website has been absolutely wonderful as a source of information.
Bill Van Hook, Mobile, AL

I didn't get a bite. It was history before I got to it.
Gary "Rooster" Pike, Tempe AZ

I was about to buy a new smoker. After reading your article about setting up a horizontal smoker, I decided to try rehabilitating something. Total investment: $100. I figure I saved at least $500!
Coleman Shelton, Calvert City, KY

You're an open pantry, my friend, and the world is always hungry for that kind of person.
David Zent, Bakersfield CA

Hot damn!! I love this site!
Midge, Northwest, USA

Thanks to your site, I have taken my second consecutive first place trophy at my work's annual rib-off!
Aaron Ettlin, OR

Father's Day weekend your "Last Meal Ribs" on my Weber with the Smokenator made my aunt cry she loved them so much.
Mike Lindner, St. Charles, MO

This last weekend I made 3 racks of baby backs using your hosinful 9 dragon chinese ribs. I'm here to tell you they were the best my family had ever had. They actually think Dad can cook.
Larry Sowder, Selah, WA

Last year I read your article about LBJ and Walter Jetton's BBQ. It was the sauce our family always used while living in Texas in the 1960s. Since then I have made a couple of batches of the sauce. I have to say it is pretty close to the memory taste I have of it. Thanks again for sharing the story of Jetton on your website and providing the recipe. It has brought back happy taste memories.
Vanessa Cieslak

Wow!!! Placed 3rd in my first rib cook off! I was against smokers that were worth thousands! And my smokers? Two Weber Kettles!
Deborah, Palm Beach, FL

Several years ago, I decided to ditch brisket. I never could get it tender. Then I found your site. It's amazing how tender and tasty our brisket is now!
Ken Hume, Aurora, CO

My friends who come over to enjoy my grilling think that they love ME but they actually love YOU!?
Christine, Brooklyn, NY

I tried the "Simon & Garfunkel Rub" on chicken breasts. It actually elicited the comment "This is really flavorful!" from my 19 year old son. I had never heard him use the term "flavorful" in my life.
Mark Novara, "Michiana", IN

I also followed your "schmancy smoked salmon" recipe to equal success - my non-fish-eating daughter Hoovered it right up.

Don Scott, Tampa, FL

The only problem is that now I am asked to make ribs all the time.
Brian Espy, Bloomington, MN

Your Website is the most helpful and informative site PERIOD. This is like the Holy Grail of Bar B Qing! Thank you soooo much for providing determined backyard cooks the information needed to take their skills to the next level.
Randy McVay, Lodi, CA

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Click here for more testimonials and pix from readers
Show Me Yours
I've been getting wonderful emails and pix from you. Man, you folks know how to party! Send me pix of your versions of my recipes or your party and I might publish them on my site.

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About Smoke Signals

meatheadSmoke Signals is the free email from AmazingRibs.com and Hedonism Evangelist Craig "Meathead" Goldwyn. Please send me feedback, especially if you think an article or recipe is confusing, if you know a better way, or if I made a mistake. Daddy taught me that "praise is cheap, criticism priceless." If you like my website, please click here to forward a copy of this to a friend. And remember: No rules in the bedroom or the kitchen!
The Ultimate Brined and Smoked Turkey
turkey before You can make the best turkey you ever tasted on your grill.

Here's everything you need for the best Thanksgiving ever. A large article that teaches all you need to know about turkey, how to buy it, defrost it, brine it, season it, make the skin crispy, match it with wine, and leftover ideas.

Unbelievably juicy and tasty. You'll never go back to oven roasted, and throw out the deep frying gizmo.

Click here for the recipe for the best bird ever and read what the converted say.

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By the way, that's Sunshine, a Yellow Lab we raised for Leader Dogs for the Blind. I've mentioned her before here. We've just learned that she graduated last week and is dragging her new master around in Spain!
A Thanksgiving Divorce
TurkeyA man in Phoenix calls his son in New York two days before Thanksgiving and says "I hate to ruin your day, but I have to tell you that your mother and I are divorcing. Forty-five years of misery is enough."

"Pop, what are you talking about?" the son demands.

"We can't stand the sight of each other any longer. We're sick of each other, and I'm sick of talking about this, so you call your sister in Chicago and tell her."

Frantic, the son calls his sister, who explodes on the phone. "Like heck they're getting divorced," she shouts, "I'll take care of this."

She calls Phoenix immediately, and screams at her father, "You are NOT getting divorced. Don't do a single thing until I get there. I'm calling my brother back, and we'll both be there tomorrow. Until then, don't do a thing, DO YOU HEAR ME?" and hangs up.

The old man hangs up his phone and turns to his wife. "Okay," he says, "they're coming for Thanksgiving and paying their own way."

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So how are you celebrating Thanksgiving? Take a few minutes and fill out the short questionnaire I put together on Huffington Post.
My Interview with Bobby Flay and his Turkey Recipes
Flay Bobby Flay's Tandoori Style Whole Turkey Breast
Turkey breast may just be the biggest pain there is. Undercook it and you can get a bad tummy ache or worse from salmonella. Overcook it and it is cardboard. Here's a technique Bobby Flay, the restaurateur, author, and celebrity chef, shared with me when I interviewed him last week on video. Watch him make turkey breasts and print the recipe.

Bobby Flay's Turkey Fajitas
The Tex-Mex fave, fajitas, is a rolled up sandwich with a tortilla instead of leavened bread, and it is usually made with grilled skirt steak. Watch Flay demonstrate how he makes fajitas with leftover turkey.

Bobby Flay's Grilled Turkey Cuban Sandwich
Flay's a big sports fan and he loves to settle into the couch with a big turkey Cuban Sandwich.
Some Side Dishes for Thanksgiving
potatoes

Classic Bread, Butter, and Sage Stuffing

Simple Bread Stuffing

Drunken Cranberries

Soused Apple Slices

Warm French Potato Salad

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Crunchy French String Beans

Italian Vinaigrette Salad Dressing

Swedish Gl�gg
I Did Not Kill Gourmet Magazine!
GourmetGourmet Magazine, the beloved 68 year old grande dame of culinaria, died on October 5, 2009. And the obits say I killed her.

Jennie Yabroff's autopsy in Newsweek blames Gourmet's elitism and people like me: "Perhaps the rise of food blogs means we're hungry for writing about food the way we actually prepare and eat it, crumpled paper napkins and all."

But I didn't do it. Click here to read the real reasons Gourmet is gone and how I debunked Yabroff's claim.
Stop The Basting!
no mop Some bastes can add flavor, but the tradeoff of this small amount of flavor is negated by the bad things that can happen by basting.

Yes, I know that part of the ritual of working the grill is standing with the brush and periodically, like the great artists we are, painting the food with a magical liquid.

It allows us to inhale the aromas (ahhh it smells sooooo good), check on the progress (almost done, honey), look at the hypnotic flames (me like fire), and act like we know what we are doing. Well here's what we are really doing.
GrillGrates: The Best Thing to Happen to Beef Since Salt

Grill GratesHere's a killer Christmas gift for your griller:

This is the best new product I have tested in years. The concept is so very clever on so many levels:

GrillGrates are sold in interlocking sections and sit on top of your current grill's grates. The hard anodized aircraft grade aluminum rail tops are flat and wide and make perfect dark crunchy grill marks where the contact the food and cook by conduction. The base can get very hot and distributes the heat evenly across the cooking surface eliminating hot spots and amplifies the radiant heat cooking.

This is the same concept behind the new expensive infrared cooking systems on the market. The heat also wraps around the edges creating convection.


The base blocks flareups and helps prevent burning. As a result, meats brown beautifully, and you get really crispy chicken skin without scorching. Juices drip into the valleys between the rails where they are vaporized and the vapors penetrate the meat enhancing flavor. The holes in the base allow some juices down and smoke and combustion gases up to reach the food adding more superb flavors. I have made my best steaks and burgers ever with Grill Grates.

grate scienceGrillGrates are unbelievably easy to clean with a wire brush when hot. Heck, almost all the carbon flaked off when I hit a hot grate with a hose. They are easy to move from your charcoal grill to your gas grill, and they are cut to fit several popular cookers.

The sturdy stainless steel custom designed spatula's fingers slip between the rails and lift even the most delicate pieces of fish with ease. I have even thrown wood chips and pellets into the valleys between the rails and they begin smoldering quickly and impart a delicate wood smoke flavor. In this picture you can see a couple of T-bones on GrillGrates sitting on a Weber Kettle. They that have darkened from use. I have seen them go over 700F with a single layer of briquets. Them's steakhouse temps. Notice the beautiful crispy grill marks.

The company also makes another surface called RealEase, a porcelain enamel hybrid coating that is more non-stick and easier to clean. But the standard anodized aluminum surface releases the meat nicely when it is ready, especially with the custom spatula, and you can easily spray or wipe it with oil if you want. I love my GrillGrates. A lot! Click Grill Grates for discount pricing and direct ordering from Amazon.com.
Latkes: Secrets from the Rabbi
latkes

Hanukkah starts on Friday, December 11 at sunset. Although Jewish cooking is historically peasant food, latkes rise to the highest level. In my book they are the absolute most perfect use of potatoes, better even than French fries. They are potato pancakes, with crunchy mahogany edges, crispy golden midsections, and tender, rich, meaty interiors. They are hash brown on steroids.

Latkes have been traditionally fried in December for the Hanukkah for centuries. December is also when potatoes, onions, and olive oil are fresh.

Hanukkah celebrates the expulsion from Jerusalem of Syrian-Greek occupiers by freedom fighters called Maccabees in 168 BCE. Legend has it that when the main temple was recaptured, there was only enough olive oil to keep the holy lamp burning for one day. That small amount of oil kept the lamp alive for the eight days it took to harvest, press, and purify more oil, a miracle. Hanukkah became the eight day holiday to commemorate the miracle of the oil, when Jews eat foods fried in olive oil and exchange gifts.

There are thousands of recipes, but this simple version, given to me by a rabbi and modified only slightly, is by far my favorite. I've also listed the tricks to make your latkes memorable. You can use the oil more than once, but don't try to make it last eight days.
Chestnuts Roasted on an Open Fire
chestnutsChestnuts are in season now, and in a few weeks they will be going bad. So get some ASAP. Warm fresh chestnuts are soft, fleshy, sensuous, creamy, and sweet.

They are best served nekked with a glass of port or a mug of hot gl�gg and, on the bearskin rug, in front of the fireplace, with Nat King Cole in the background.

Chestnuts are grown on trees, harvested in September and October, and they keep a few months if refrigerated. Problem is, most grocers do not refrigerate them. So they get moldy, especially in December and beyond. Problem is you usually cannot see the mold until you peel them. If you buy chestnuts in late December or January, you run the risk of 1/3 or more being inedible.

Here's everything you need to know about chestnuts, how to buy them and how to cook chestnuts on the grill, in the oven, in the microwave, as well as steamed and boiled.
Great gifts for the barbecue fan
t-shirtVisit the AmazingRibs.com Gift Shop for a chuckle. There are now more than 30 steak-themed designs, about 20 hotdog-themed designs, and more than 30 wine-themed designs. Order aprons, hats, shirts, sweatshirts, intimate wear, and other apparel for men, women, kids and pets, beer mugs, posters, and other tschotschkes.

anatomy of a rib
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