May 30, 2008
Four Foods on Friday #31
I wanted to post my Four Food on Friday questions and answers yesterday. I couldn’t. We’re dealing with a very serious subject this week, and that requires some groundwork on my behalf. I haven’t finished my preparations, but I’m far enough along to do what needs to be done. I hope to add a couple of extra pictures after I finish preparing my dinner tonight. Today we’re talking about barbecue. I hope that the subject will encourage some men to join in on the fun, because we all know that men love to grill!
#1. What is your favorite food that is cooked on the barbeque?
Meat. Any kind of meat.
#2. What veggies, if any, do you cook on the barbeque?
I love to roast corn on the cob over a fire. I’ve been known to do kabobs with potatoes, onions and mushrooms sandwiched in between chunks of meat. Oh, and pimentos! I’m not a big tomato fan. The pimentos add color and flavor.
#3. Tell us a little about your barbeque habits. Who grills, how often, what months, etc.
Who? Me, of course! How often? As often as possible! What months? Year-round. Don’t you wish you were me?
#4. Share a barbeque recipe.
I quit using bottled sauces and commercialy-prepared rubs a while back. It’s easy to make your own and you can control the flavor better when you pick and choose the ingredients. I’ll be having spare ribs tonight (with lots of leftovers to get me through the weekend.) Here’s how:
Skeet’s Special Ribs
Put meat in a shallow dish and cover with balsamic vinegar. Turn the over and around a few times to coat evenly. Cover tightly and put in the fridge. You can marinate for a few hours or even a couple of days. Turn every couple of hours.
When you’re ready to cook, mix up a rub. Mine is slightly different each time, depending on what I see when I open the pantry and what mood my stomach is in. I’ve already made my rub for tonight:
Measure out enough brown sugar to coat all of your meat. This time I’m using about a cup. Add your favorite seasonings. Above you see: one tablespoon each of garlic powder, minced onion and onion powder, a half-teaspoon of dry mustard, three or four tablespoons of chili powder and a half teaspoon of hot red pepper. Amounts are approximate because I don’t actually measure. Work it gently with your finger to break up the brown sugar lumps and mix thoroughly. You’ll end up with a grainy rub.
While the fire is getting ready or the grill is pre-heating, rub your seasoning mix all over every surface of the meat. Place the meat on the grill over a medium flame. I try to keep my meat slightly to the side of the fire to avoid flares when juices start dripping. How long the meat needs to cook depends on the temperature of your grill and the type and thickness of the meat. I’ll try to remember to watch the time tonight so I can tell you how long my spare ribs take. Ooops! Forgot, but it was about twenty to thirty minutes, I think. Felt like a few hours because I was really hungry.
Cheat: if the weather is not cooperative and you want to have barbecue flavor year-round like I do, you can use the same preparations to cook in the oven. Drizzle a few drops of liquid smoke in the bottom of your pan, put the ribs in it and cover tightly with foil. Cook at 350 degrees for about an hour or until done. This method will give you very moist meat with lots of sauce.
While my ribs were cooking I picked a few fresh herbs to toss in some pasta for a side dish.
I added a couple of small pieces of garlic bread and my dinner was good to go. It was pretty good, even if I do say so myself!
There’s still time for you to play Four Food on Friday if you hurry. Answer the questions in a post on your blog, then give Val your link in a comment on her post. She’ll do a round-up later and you’ll get some good linky-lovin out of the deal. Join us?
Technorati Tags: barbecue, barbecue recipe, food, grilling, meme, recipe, spare ribs
Posted by skeet @ 12:48 pm • Food and beverage, Meme
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May 30th, 2008 at 1:47 pm, Elle Says:
Hey!
I’m a year-round grillin’ girl too! Those ribs sound delish. Ooh balsamic what a great simple (heavenly) marinade!
May 30th, 2008 at 5:06 pm, valmg Says:
Emeril was on the food network making rubs when I started going through everyone’s answers. Yours looks like his did!
Thanks for playing FFOF!
Stumbled.
May 30th, 2008 at 5:06 pm, Fun, Crafts and Recipes | What I learned from Four Foods On Friday #31 Says:
[…] Skeet shared a recipe for Skeet’s Special Ribs. Another great post complete with pictures. Skeet’s favorite barbeque food is meat. […]
May 30th, 2008 at 7:08 pm, Tina Kubala Says:
Hubby does ribs in the oven since we use a public open style grill at our apartment complex. When we can have our own little kettle grill, we’ll cook ‘em slow and low over coals. I’ll be trying your rub for the next batch of ribs.
May 31st, 2008 at 1:45 am, corrin Says:
oh how i wish my basil looked like yours!
May 31st, 2008 at 12:06 pm, Anele Says:
Great, I just short circuited my laptop drooling over your ribs!!
Those look soooo good!! Mmmmm.
June 1st, 2008 at 12:53 am, chili queen Says:
Can I come over for dinner, Skeet? Those ribs are doing strange things to me…(LOL)
June 1st, 2008 at 10:28 am, kelly Says:
im jealous, i’d love to be grilling year round! i Do you always do a dry rub, or have you had any luck with an old fashioned bbq sauce?