Smoke Signals from AmazingRibs.com ~ June 9, 2010
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anatomy of a rib

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2-ZONE COOKING

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MEATHEAD'S MEMPHIS DUST

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THE ZEN OF SLAW

GARLIC MASHED POTATOES

ULTIMATE CORN ON THE COB

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BUYER'S GUIDES
Unbiased recommendations for the best products for the back yard cook.


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 Barbecue Whisperer, Meathead.

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!
Give Dad a Thermometer
Cooking without thermometers is like driving at night without headlights.

Men grill. It's genetic. Mostly we grill badly. It's not our fault. They say a good craftsman never blames his tools, but in this case it is justified. The thermometer that came on your grill is worthless. I don't care what you paid for your fancy schmancy stainless steel aircraft carrier. I have a $600 grill with a gauge that's off about 80F. How the heck can anyone cook if the oven temp is off by 80F? And how can Dad be expected to bring you a medium-rare steak when he has no idea what temp the meat is?

A good outdoor cook need two thermometers, one for the meat, one for the oven.

thermapenFor the meat. ThermoWorks, maker of the popular $100 Thermapen has come out with a first rate $19 digital thermometer, The ThermoWorks Super-Fast Pocket Thermometer RT600. It gives an accurate reading in just 6 seconds with a very thin probe that will not need a blowout protector to stifle the juices when you pull it out. It is small, lightweight, clips in your shirt pocket, waterproof, dishwasher safe, has a range of -40 to 302F (-40 to 150C). The waterproof part really got my attention. More than once I have left my expensive ones out in the rain. The sensor is a thermocouple, the best sensor there is.

maverickFor the oven. The Maverick ET-73 RediChek Remote Wireless Smoker Thermometer. This cool tool is a digital thermometer and timer combo. There are two probes and cables (I call them each a probe on a rope), one to insert into the meat, and another to leave in your smoker. Both probes plug into a sender module that transmits temperatures to a receiver that you can take into the living room with you and place on the couch next to the beer and chips. That's right, with the Maverick ET-73 you can monitor your smoker and your meat while you watch the game. You can also set the timer to remind you when to start the side dishes or wake you up if the game is really boring. If you can afford only one thermometer, this is the one since it is really two thermometers in one.

Maverick has good tech support. When my receiver began to malfunction, they told me the problem sounded like a bad backlight and told me to ship it back for a replacement. No question about when I bought it.

There is still room for improvement, however. You must turn on the receiver first or else it won't work, and turning on the sender is a pain because you have to remove the battery cover! Also, some of the programming is a bit tricky, so make sure to keep the instructions handy. Unfortunately, the instructions are not well written or organized. The biggest problem is that one of the probes seems to burn out every year or so and need replacement for about $12. My final complaint: The range of the transmitter can be diminished by obstructions (like walls), so it may not reach you in the living room. But I still love mine.

It is important to know that the meat probe is designed to roasts and thick pieces of meat. You may not get accurate readings on steaks, chips, and thin cuts. For those, I prefer the faster, thinner Thermocouples. For discount pricing on the Maverick and direct ordering from Amazon.com, click here.

Click here for more thermometer options and for an article on how they work.
Give Dad a Book
disaster chickenDo Dad's chickens look like this? Don't have to. Cooking outdoors is different than cooking indoors. But there is help. There are a number of good books that can rescue him (and you).

I've added several new book reviews you should know about to my page of Essential Books and Magazines. Among them:

Big Bob Gibson's BBQ Book: Recipes and Secrets from a Legendary Barbecue Joint by Chris Lilly

big bobChris Lilly is the Executive Chef of one of the nation's classic old joints, Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q, in Decatur, AL. He is also the head of the restaurant's much decorated competition team. Surprisingly thin with a pointy chin and piercing eyes, his angularity is significantly softened by his drawl.

Most barbecue chefs have a pretty small repertoire, limited to the classic Southern barbecue canon, ribs, pulled pork, brisket, chicken, sausage, and sides like beans, cornbread, and slaw. Yes, they're all there in this superb book, but Lilly also includes fun riffs on Caribbean Jerk Pork and Bacon Wrapped Shrimp. There is also a version of Big Bob's famous white chicken sauce, but I he clearly felt restrained from giving away the restaurant's secret recipe, and frankly, I think my reverse engineering of the ingredients comes closer to the real deal.

Lilly is a fine story teller, and he shares with us what it is like to work at a small town barbecue joint, as well as the fascinating legend of Big Bob and his family all the way back to 1925.

The photos by Ben Fink are rich and rustic, and it's a shame he is only mentioned in small type in the back of the book. He deserves cover credit. The images really make the recipes look worth cooking and make Big Bob's look like a destination. Likewise the historic images give the reader a real sense of the heritage of the recipes.

I have one other nit to pick, and that's the table of contents, which contains only chapter titles and not a listing of the stories and recipes. If classic Southern Barbecue is your goal, this is the one book you need.

America's Best BBQ by Ardie A. Davis and Chef Paul Kirk

davis bookThis wholly wonderful book is meant as a cookbook, as described in the subtitle "100 Recipes from America's Best Smokehouses, Pits, Shacks, Rib Joints, Roadhouses, and Restaurants". But it is much more. Davis and Kirk probably have visited more barbecue joints than anyone I know, and they know the good stuff from the bad. For this book they have picked some of the best barbecue restaurants, describe them, and share a recipe. Davis and Kirk are not professional photographers, but their snapshots do a fine job of conveying the ambiance of the restaurants, the personalities of the people, and the taste of the food. I have used it more than once as a reference when I hit the road, and they have never steered me wrong.

The narrative is folksy and personal. Here they are discussing pig snoot sandwiches: "Ardie hasn't made it through a whole snoot sandwich yet, even after downing a shot of Pig's Nose Scotch first. Paul downs them with gusto reminiscent of a New Yorker eating clams or oysters on the half shellArdie says they taste like bacon fat with barnyard rub. When he gets to the whiskers, he stops and orders a tenderloin sandwich or a cheeseburger." Yes, they offer a recipe that even Ardie will eat.
Give Dad a Gadget
gloves You and my wife may call these things gadgets or toys, but I call them essential tools:

Why not give Dad the best barbecue gloves on the market so he can pick up meteorites?

How about a griddle for diner style burgers, pancakes, and eggs and a serious spatula so he can flip them like a pro?

A silicone grill brush so he express the painter in him?

Fish Tongs so he can serve the fish in one piece for a change?

A great cheap filet knife like the one I use for everything because I like it better than my expensive German chef's knife?

The best GrillGrates ever made?

The Smokenator and Hovergrill for Weber Kettle so he can really get smokin?

A chimney starter so you can get rid of that smelly charcoal fluid?

A butane side burner to keep him out of the kitchen altogether?

A grill brush so you don't have to pick last weekend's carbon off this week's chops?

Check out the details on my BBQ Accessories page.
A Deeply Disturbing Video
ross sistersMy recipe for Mom's Potato Salad has been a big hit, but recently I stumbled across a video of the Ross Sisters of Texas singing and dancing a song about Potato Salad. It was filmed in the 1940s, and one can imagine that it was a biiiig hit with the GIs overseas during WWII. You've gotta see it to believe it. Click the link above. It's 3 minutes 44 seconds, and it starts getting weird at about 1 minute 30 seconds. My friend, Brigit Binns or Roadfoodie.com called it "A Deeply Disturbing Video." What do you think?
Braggin and Bawlin
Boca loves BBQ

Meathead is blushing as pink as a smokering after reading a lengthy rave from Tricia Grindley of the Boca Raton Examiner. I had to shorten it otherwise I would never fit in my red ballcap:

"This Memorial Day, it is PARAMOUNT that you visit amazingribs.com to get a host of serious barbecuing tips! Otherwise, you'll sadly miss out on a site that's packed with key pointers on how to get the best out of your outdoor barbecuing experience... the flow of BBQ related information on this site is endless, truly. The author's passion reverberates throughout the bright orange page that is absolutely stuffed with content focused to what you swiftly begin to believe is the most necessary and rewarding culinary process, outdoor barbecuing."

She goes on to say things like "truly a BBQ mecca... down-home recipes... comprehensive information... dynamic, packed with energy and vivacity... extensive... endless... you need to check it out and get that grill fired up and ready to try out these absolute marvels... you WILL have fun...

"All in all, amazingribs.com is the passionate work of one man who ADORES anything to do with barbecuing. His energy comes out of every word that's printed on the site but the greatest achievement of this entire project is that the information is useful and it inspires us to not only barbecue, but barbecue well." Mom? Are you writing under the name Tricia Grindley now.

"Website of the Week" in DC

On May 26, AmazingRibs.com was selected Website of the Week by WTOP-FM in the Nation's Capital: "The most dedicated backyard grillers are like wine snobs. They are concerned with every element, when they cook: taste, aroma, temperature. The recipes and tips at Craig "Meathead" Goldwyn's site, AmazingRibs.com, should satisfy the fussiest griller, while helping the occasional cook get exceptional results with minimal (but well directed) effort. Looking for Kansas City Classic BBQ Sauce, East Carolina Mop Sauce, and Eve's Apple Butter Pig Paint? You'll find it here."

They like BBQ in SF too

On May 24, the San Francisco Chronicle discovered a barbecue website whose "cool factor" is that it "has everything you might want to know about the world's oldest cooking method, including barbecue recipes, cooking tips and techniques, and a buyer's guide to grills, smokers and accessories."

And the winner is: Somebody else

In April Meathead was honored to be one of 10 websites nominated by a jury of more than 50 eminent industry professionals around the world for a Golden Ladle Award for the Best Food and Drink Website in the Le Cordon Bleu World Food Media Awards. I bragged about the nomination here. On May 3, it was announced that the winner was the website of The Good Food Channel on UKTV in England, a television network.

Still, Ian Parmenter, Chair of the awards, called all 10 nominees "among the highest achievements in this field."

Meathead's response to losing was "UKTV is to be congratulated, it's a great site. But it should not rest on its laurels. I intend to tell my massive staff of one to work harder next year. We're coming after you with a slingshot Mr. Bigshot TV Network!"
Letter of the Month
davis bookSteve Marktay wrote to tell me about his experience with my Tennessee Hollerin' Whiskey Barbecue Sauce for which I recommended Jack Daniels:

"Early in the recipe you said to sample the whiskey to make sure it was good. I tasted it, bout 3 ounces, but wasn't sure so i asked my friend. He tasted it and reported a certain taste and convinced me to try it again to see if I could detect what he thought he did. We could not agree so we called his cousin over to help. He has lots of experience in tasting whiskey. Not only did he come but he brought several brands of whiskey so we could compare them and pick just the right one. The comparing went on all afternoon into the night. We tested lots of whiskey the only problem is we don't remeber which we liked the best so i quess we'll have to start the process over again. i promise to stay after this until i get it just right and will report back later."
More 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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