BBQgeek

The BBQ Song

Weber Rotisserie Ribs - Raichlen's Primal Grill meets the BBQgeek

So, I've been a fan of Steven Raichlen for a long, long time now.  Yes, on camera this guy is as wooden as the Burning Man, but damn the guy knows his BBQ.  I've got all his books and my favorite is BBQ USA.  This year marks the 10th anniversary of his book, The Barbeque Bible, and he's celebrating it with a new series called Primal Grill.  I caught a few episodes in the past weeks on my DVR and the standout recipe was his take on rotisserie ribs.  I thought to myself, "What's this little hairy dude smoking besides hickory?  You can't do ribs in an hour on a rotisserie!"  And with that a great blog post was born.

To follow along properly with this post, you are going to have to do a little homework.  First off, you need to set your DVR to grab all the available episodes of Primal Grill.   You need the "One Good Turn" episode to follow along with the play by play. Then you need to go out and grab Steven's recipe (we are going to modify it, but don't worry about that right now.)  Beyond that, you need to go sign up with www.americastestkitchen.com and pull down their recipe for Kansas City BBQ sauce.  It goes without saying that you need a charcoal or propane grill equipped with a rotisserie in order to do the dirty work.  Now you are are ready to run with the big dogs.

Disclaimer - this is not a recipe or a technique that is going to yield fall-off-the-bone, smoked baby back pork ribs.  What it will yield is a tasty alternative that can be accomplished in less than two hours from beginning to end.

Here is how you do quick and dirty, smack-your-mama, tasty rotisserie ribs.  Get yourself a rack of baby back ribs.  Pull the membrane.  Make a inch or so thick cut every two or three ribs, cutting from the backside to the front.  Rub the the ribs with a standard sort of pork rub on the top and bottom sides of the rack.  Thread the rotisserie rod through the cuts you've already made, creating sort of a rib sine wave on the rotisserie rod.  Prepare the grill for rotisserie.  For extra flavor, throw in a smoke box with some hickory or apple wood chips.  Place the rotisseried ribs on the grill with a series of drip pans underneath the ribs.  Turn the rotisserie motor on and cook for an hour to an hour and a half depending on the thickness of the ribs.   The internal temperature of the grill should be between 350 and 400 degrees.

Spray the ribs down every fifteen minutes with a spray bottle filled with apple juice.  Once you start noticing the meat pulling back from the rib bones, you want to be considering your end game strategy.  About 10 minutes before you plan to pull the ribs, glaze them with the America's Test Kitchen Sticky Ribs Sauce (or your favorite substitute.)  Pull the ribs off the grill and let them rest for five or ten minutes.  Remove the ribs from the rotisserie, cut them for service, and EAT.  Simple.  Delicious.

 

Rod's Rubs Review - Steak Out!

At this point in my BBQ career, I've tried dozens upon dozens of homemade rub recipes and all but given up on commercial blends.  In fact, the only meat that I really give thought to applying a rub to these days is pork.  Beef, fish, shellfish, and lamb all get the same dash of kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper before they hit my grill.  That all changed with a chance encounter at a local BBQ club meeting.  That fateful Sunday I ran into a guy named Rod who just so happened to have a trunk full of custom made rubs bouncing around.  Before I left the parking lot, Rod had loaded me down with his steak rub, Steak Out!, and his blackening rub, In the Black!.   He promised that the distinguishing aspect of his rubs were a carefully thought out and tested balance of flavors.  I rolled home eager to give them a try but fully prepared to be disappointed.

It took a good five or six days before beef made its way onto the home menu, but when it did I decided to give Steak Out! a try.  I had a couple nice looking ribeye steaks and  I loaded them down heavy with Steak Out!  I was more than nervous about laying the rub on so heavy, but I really wanted to get a sense of what the rub had to offer.  I could tell from sight that this wasn't another variation on Montreal Steak.  There way far too much red stuff (Paprika?  Cayenne?) and I could make out little green bits of herb (oregano?  thyme?)  So, it was with trepidation and a bit of excitement that I let the steaks hit the Weber.

Confession time -  While I was grilling the steaks, I performed my traditional poke test to determine the doneness of my steaks.  When I jammed my index finger into my mouth I was surprised to not taste salt.  Most steak rubs lean HEAVILY to the salt side of things.  This time around I was greeted with a delicious mixture of flavors.  I took the steaks inside and quickly got to work plating them, eager to taste what was going on.  What I learned was that Rod may have stumbled on bottled lightning.  Since that first night trying out Rod's Rubs, I have played extensively with both rubs.  I've tried them on grilled shrimp, fish filets, veggies - you name it.  This stuff really lives up to the tag line of "What can't you rub it on?".  My personal favorite is the Steak Out! rub, but don't overlook In the Black.    I really hope you'll take the time to visit Rod's Rub website and order some for yourself.  I've had the opportunity to speak at length with Rod since trying his rubs and from my perspective he is taking a shot at this business for all the right reasons.  He's earnest, likable, and genuinely knowledgeable about what makes good BBQ.