Smoke Signals from AmazingRibs.com ~ June 29, 2015
 
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
 
TECHNIQUE
For both the beginner and expert, here are articles on how to get 'er done right. 
 
 

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

 

 

 


 

 

 
 

 


 

 
EQUIPMENT REVIEWS 
Unbiased recommendations for the best products for the back yard cook. 
DAILY TIPS ON

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A #ForklessFourth & #Riberty For All!

So many of our holidays are associated with family and food, foremost among them Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July.
 It is fascinating that on Thanksgiving we almost all eat  Turkey, and on July 4 we love to cook barbecue and grill.

And I sense a trend: Seems to me more and more of us are forsaking burgers and dogs and cooking ribs on Independence Day.

Well that suits me just fine. I started AmazingRibs.com with a recipe for ribs, and in the past 10 years we have grown to more than 1,000 pages covering all things barbecue and grilling. I  know that if I cooked expensive ribeyes for my party and skipped the ribs, I'd get a ration of complaints.

So I'm cooking Last Meal Ribs. Let's all have a #ForklessFourth with ribs just like we all have turkey for Thanksgiving. #Riberty for all!

Special thanks to the folks at Tony Roma's Ribs for coining the term #Riberty and for the use of their artwork above. If you don't have time to cook from scratch, check out their heat-and-eat hardwood smoked ribs like their 3 pound Extra Meaty Backribs, available from Costco nationwide, or my fave, the 3 pound St. Louis Cut Ribs with the Kentucky Bourbon Sauce, only in the LA Costco.
Last Meal Ribs: The Recipe That Started It All

Here's the first recipe that ever appeared on AmazingRibs.com 10 years ago, and although I have revised and improved upon it several times, it is still the ribs you want tonight if you know it will be your Last Meal.

The best enhancement is the video I did of the method last month, my first serious attempt at quality moviemaking for the small screen. Check it out here.

How about a ribs gallery?


More Ribs Articles, Tips, And Technique

We have done a short video showing the method for Last Meal Ribs and another on CHarcoal, Wood, & -Zone Setup. Check out our new video page. And notice that there are links to several other articles on ribs with lots of useful tips and technique.

And the beautiful blonde? That's Boston TV personality Jenny Johnson, my co-star and savior. Man this video stuff is work and old men like me have trouble remembering our lines. But Jenny saved my bacon more than once. What a pro!
How Much Food To Make To Feed The Gang?

If the hungry hoards are descending on your place like they are on mine, here's a guide on how much to cook and party planning. And, in the immortal words of George Costanza, remember "shrinkage"!
Slow 'n Sear: Better Than The Smokenator Or The Vortex By Far
If you have a Weber Kettle and you have not yet bought a Smokenator or a Vortex, your sloth is about to be rewarded. There is a new product that is better. MUCH MUCH better.

The Slow 'n Sear is an accessory that fits in 22.5" Weber Kettles. It has a bin for charcoal and a trough for water. It allows you to corral your coals all on one side so you can set up a really efficient 2-zone system for low and slow smoking with convection air on the indirect heat side, and red hot searing with radiant heat on the direct heat side.



It beats the Smokenator in several ways. It holds more charcoal so it burns longer. The best technique is to fill one side of the charcoal basket about with unlit coals and the other side with hot coals. You now have a classic fuse system. As hot coals burn out new coals ignite. The sucker burns for hours and holds temps rock solid. This baby is really good at long slow smokes for ribs, pork butt, brisket, whatever.

And by "whatever" I mean, how do you like these brioche hamburger buns Chef Ryan and I cooked on it the first day we had it.



It also holds more water and water is important. Water helps control temp fluctuations, but it also puts humidity in the air and that condenses on the meat, and wet surfaces attract smoke.

Finally, the top of the charcoal bin is open so you can sear. And brother, with a full load of charcoal just an inch below a steak, you can get a superb dark brown maillard crust. This baby is perfect for reverse searing steaks, chicken skins, even potatoes. If you read the stoopid article in the
NY Times this week about laying a steak right on top of hot coal;s, this works MUCH better.



The manufacturer is in danger of selling out his first production run, so get to the front of the line. Click here and get your Slow 'n Sear before the word gets out.

Now the disclaimer. The Slow 'n Sear was invented by David "Pit Boss" Parrish, a moderator on AmazingRibs.com, and manager of the Pitmaster Club. Clearly I picked the right guy!
Press

Seems like the media has discovered us and we've enjpoyed a lot of press lately. Click here to listen to Meathead and Ira Flatow on NPR's Science Friday. Bloomberg Business also did a nice piece on us.



Perhaps the coolest news is our regular appearance on SeriousEats.com. If you haven't discovered this wonderful site, allow me to introduce you. Pay special attention to Kenji Lopez-Alt's articles. We are brothers of different mothers. Max Good did our first  articles for them on grills and smokers. Here' one on the best charcoal grills under $500. And here's one on the best gas grills under $500. 
Second Revision To Our New Design

In late May we released a second new design for the site in three months with a "sticky" navigation bar that stays on the top of your screen whatever you are doing. This should make getting around easier. We're still uncovering and stamping out some minor bugs, so if you find one, please let us know here.

But forgive a cranky old dinosaur for this editorial: Smartphones are just not well suited for browsing the web. We're proud of our design and it certainly is nice having our reviews and ratings with you when you go shopping for grills. And it comes in handy to have the recipe for turkey when you are out back by the grill, but doggone it, the durn thing is so slow and clicking links and typing is such a pain on a smartphone.

Do us both a favor, and try to use our site on a desktop or a tablet whenever possible.
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