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“BBQ
MADE SIMPLE”
A MONTHLY NEWSLETTER
From TexasBBQRub.com
For Those That Enjoy Cooking on Grills and Smokers
By popular demand - Smoking or grilling R I B S.
If you would like to subscribe to this newsletter go to www.texasbbqrub.com/join.htm and take a few seconds and subscribe NOW.
Take just a couple of seconds and send this to 5 of
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WHAT YOU WILL FIND IN THIS ISSUE OF BBQ MADE SIMPLE
1. From Texas BBQ Rub – Memorial Day May 30TH – Great Day to Cook some BBQ
2. Cooking Pork Ribs – Spares, Baby Backs, Country Style
3. Recipe of the month – Bill’s Surprise Potatoes
4. Father’s Day is coming up in June and we are going to have a special Father’s Day bonus
5. Information about pits and grills from Ritch – www.gatorpit.net
6. Message Board/Forum – Join us, we would love to have you join in the fun
7. What you will find in future issues of BBQ Made Simple
MEMORIAL DAY IS QUICKLY APPROACHING – MAY 31ST - MARK YOUR CALENDARS
Memorial Day is May 30TH and it is the day to remember our troops who are currently serving in the military or who have served in the military in the past. It is a day to stop and remember all of those military men and women who have given the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our country. So please take a few minutes out of your busy day and say THANK YOU for those that have given so much for us. For many of you this is the last long weekend to spend with family and friends and cook some barbecue for the group. Start your preparations early. Plan on your menu and how many people to feed. The 31st of May will slip up on you faster than you think so start planning now. Order at least 4 pounds of Texas BBQ Rub now so you will have plenty on hand. (www.texasbbqrub.com/shopping.html)
A simple menu might look something like this:
Beef brisket or pork shoulder
Pork ribs (spares or baby backs)
Beans
Potato salad or cole slaw (or try out the special Bill’s Surprise Potato recipe in this newsletter)
Desert – apple pie, cake, etc
Just keep it as simple as you can and invite over a crowd. Barbecue is party food. Cooking, talking, sitting around having a couple of beers with friends is just plain good fun. So go ahead, have a great party on May 31st.
OH! THOSE WONDERFUL RIBS (I’M TALKING PORK HERE)
From Kansas City, to North Carolina, back to Memphis and down to Texas one thing that all barbecue fanatics seem to agree on is ribs are made for barbecuing. Now that is all they can agree on because the way they are cooked, the sauce (if any) used on the ribs while cooking or eating, and the type of rib to use for the best outcome seem to all have a fierce debate going on all of the time. But, in all reality, ribs are a wonderful piece of meat to cook on the grill and they are even better (my opinion) on a smoker. But lets get down to cooking some ribs and licking our fingers.
The styles are different, the ribs may be different but one thing remains the same, ribs are great for smoking and grilling. Whether you like your ribs wet, dry, with sauce, without sauce, baby backs, spares, country style: we all seem to love ribs.
OK the basics. First, we all know that you don’t use a fork to eat a rib. This piece of meat was made to be picked up and eaten with your hands. So it is not the typical meat to cook for a sit down, black tie affair. This is getting your hands nasty and lick them clean kind of eating. The fun begins.
When I talk about ribs, I usually talk about Spare Ribs. But there are many of you who enjoy cooking and eating Baby Backs and then there are those that enjoy cooking and eating Country Style Ribs. So, we are going to spend some time and talk about each of the three “ribs” I have mentioned above. Keep in mind that Country Style Ribs are not really ribs at all…but more on that later. But first…….the single question asked most when it comes to cooking ribs…..
DO YOU REMOVE THE MEMBRANE ON THE RIB OR NOT?
DO YOU NEED TO REMOVE THE MEMBRANE ON THE RIB OR NOT?
The big debate among the rib cookers is whether or not the membrane should be removed from the ribs prior to cooking or do you cook with the membrane on the ribs. Ask 100 people and it seems you will get 50 that say remove the membrane and 50 that say leave it on there.
OK for those of you that don’t know the membrane is a very thin piece of cartilage that is on the bone side of the rack of ribs. You can remove the membrane by peeling it off. Use a sharp knife and slip it under the membrane at one end of the rack of ribs and peal back enough to get a good grip on the membrane. Some suggest using a screwdriver to pry under the membrane instead of a knife, it is much safer. Try gripping the membrane with a paper towel or pliers and then peeling it off the rack. This takes some practice so just keep working at it. Adds time to your preparation so plan extra time to get these off if you so desire.
My personal preference and the way I cook all
of my ribs is to leave the membrane on the ribs when you cook them.
That being said, I’m sure there are plenty of you out there that remove
the membrane and I have no problem with that either. I just think it is
a waste of time if you are going to cook the ribs over low and slow conditions.
If you are grilling the ribs, then I might have a tendency to agree with
you to take off the membrane.
A Big Advantage of leaving the membrane on the ribs is……...
TIP: The juices
of the ribs are actually held in the meat by the membrane as the ribs
cook:
so they hold much more of their natural juices.
Some argue that spices and smoke cannot penetrate the membrane so you lose some of the flavor you are trying to get into the meat. Not true in the case of low and slow smoking. After a period of time of cooking at say 200 to 225 degrees the membrane will actually start to tear apart. It no longer is in its single piece stage and does not change or hamper any of the smoke flavor or rub flavor you are trying to get into the meat.
If you are grilling ribs, then perhaps the best way to get the ribs to their most tender and best tasting stage is to remove the membrane because the ribs you are grilling are not going to be exposed to the long periods of low heat but rather higher heat for a shorter period of time. I can see the benefit in removing the membrane for grilling purposes only.
So, this decision rest with you. Try it both ways and find out which way you prefer the ribs. Membrane off or membrane on. Now let’s get into the discussion of the different types of ribs.
SPARE RIBS
The Spare Rib comes from the side of the pig, right next to the belly. You ever heard the term “side of ribs” well it comes from talking about spare ribs and where they come from.
You buy spare ribs in the whole “rack”. There are usually 13 bones of ribs in the rack. Try to find racks of ribs that are “3 and under” referring to the weight of the rack. I find that that size rib is hard to find if it has not been trimmed but you should be able to find 3 ½ pound racks fairly easily. There are two distinct sides to the rack of ribs, a bone side and a meat side. The rack will be a little curved. You can buy spares with either the skirt (a extra flap of meat attached to the rack) (sometimes referred to as the brisket) on or the skirt off. Most of the wholesale and supermarkets sell their spares with the skirt on. Just leave it on there and cook it and enjoy.
Spare ribs are a little meatier than baby backs and they are more fatty. But they usually cost ½ as much as baby backs. I don’t cook baby backs just spare ribs. I personally think the flavor of spares just can’t be beat and they are the perfect finger food.
Some folks cut the spare rib rack into what many will call St. Louis cut spareribs. Basically, they cut the bottom of the ribs off in the knuckle and square up the rack. Hey folks don’t waste the time doing this. Serve those whole spare ribs. There is some of the best tasting meat down in the knuckles of the rib. So enjoy them.
BABY BACK RIBS
The Baby Back ribs are sometimes referred to as “back” ribs or Loin Back ribs. The baby in baby back actually comes from the size of the ribs themselves. They are much smaller in nature than the spare ribs, as the rack on baby backs will weight only 1½ pounds to 2 pounds. They are somewhat meatier than spare ribs with less fat. The meat from the baby backs comes from the loin (the back part of the pig, where the better cuts of meat on the pig are located).
Baby backs are generally the most versatile of the ribs to cook. You can grill them or smoke them. They are, in my opinion, the best rib to grill as they are smaller and leaner and will cook in a shorter period of time than spares they are more geared to the high temperatures that grilling is all about. Because of their size they will cook quicker than spare ribs.
If you were grilling baby backs then I would recommend removal of the membrane prior to cooking. They are not going to be exposed to the smoke and fire long enough to break down the membrane by cooking. So spend some time and remove the membrane.
COUNTRY STYLE RIBS
So called country style ribs are not ribs at all. Now don’t get mad because these little gems are cut to look like a rib but they come from the blade side of the loin or in many cases they are a pork butt cut into strips. They resemble fatty pork chops cut into pieces that resemble a rib. These you can get for under a $1 a pound when you find them on sale and they make great BBQ. Nothing wrong with them they just are not a real rib.
The have no membrane and are usually cut in about 1 inch thick pieces about 3 to 5 inches in length. Recommended cooking of these is low and slow. But they can be grilled as well.
COOKING RIBS – EASY AS 1-2-3
When you signed up for the newsletter you should have received by return email our Tried and True Championship Recipes. If you did not get it by e-mail then send us an e-mail at texasbbqrub@hotmail.com and we will see you get a copy by return email. We use these recipes every time we cook and we did not leave any thing out of them. The recipe for cooking Spare Ribs is there. I usually don’t cook Baby Backs but the same recipe will work for any of the ribs talked about above. Simply rub down the rack of ribs you are cooking with Worcestershire sauce and apply Texas BBQ Rub to the ribs. On spare ribs about ½ cup of rub on the bone side and ¾ cup on the meat side of the rack. Baby backs it will be about ½ of that amount, so roughly ¼ cup of rub on the bone side and about ½ cup on the meat side of the rack. For country style ribs you will have to do each “rib” separately by adding just a little rub to the “rib” after you cover with Worcestershire sauce.
Place the ribs on the grill or pit with the bone side down.
For indirect smoking/cooking, cook at 200-225 degrees for about 6 to 8 hours for spare ribs and 3 ½ to 4 hours for baby backs. No need to turn them over they will be fine. No sauce needed let Texas BBQ Rub take over on the cooking and just keep the fire at the right temp. The ribs will be done when you see them pulling away from the top of the bone about ½ of an inch or so. You can also pick them up and twist the ribs to see if you see the meat start tearing away from the bone. Take them off the pit and enjoy.
To add a great finishing sauce to the ribs try Texas Pepper Jelly (my personal favorite is pineapple habanero). You can order some by visiting their web site at www.texaspepperjelly.com and type in the word “rib” in the discount code section and you will receive a fabulous 15% discount on your order. (by the way this special is only available for 14 days. Some will add a finish sauce of honey. There are plenty of finishing sauces available on the Internet. I personally just eat them as they come off the pit. No finishing sauce, no BBQ sauce just tender juicy ribs.
For grilling you can cook either baby backs or spares over direct heat. Prepare the ribs the same way as before except this time you will be cooking directly over a very hot fire. I would add some smoke flavor to the ribs by adding some wood to your fire. See our website at www.texasbbqrub.com for a discussion on adding smoke to the gas or charcoal fire. The ribs will need to be turned over to expose both sides to the fire. Watch the ribs carefully as to not burn the coating of rub or sauce you have on the ribs. Rubs and sauces all have some sugar in them and sugar will burn at a little over 300 degrees so keep turning the ribs to avoid the burn. Cooking time for the back ribs on the grill will be about 30-45 minutes and for spares about 1 hour to 1 and ½ hours. Finish off with a BBQ sauce or finishing sauce if desired.
Order Texas BBQ Rub right now so you will have it in the pantry for that next time you cook ribs. You can order it at www.texasbbqrub.com/shopping.html . Trust me you will love it and our 100% money back, no questions asked guarantee is the best in the industry. You owe it to yourself, so go ahead and order some now. You have nothing to lose, if you don’t like our rub, just send us and email and we will cheerfully refund the money you paid for the rub.
THIS MONTHS RECIPE – BILL’S SURPRISE POTATOES
OK this is the start of a new section to our newsletter where each month we will give you one of our recipes. And if you have a recipe to share with us just send to it me and we will get it online for you.
I have cooked this potato recipe for about two years now. It is a great substitute for potato salad and it fits right in with cooking on the pit. These potatoes were such a great hit for more than 800 people who ate them at the Houston Rodeo Cook Off; I want you to have the recipe.
I am going to give you the recipe for a full aluminum-serving pan of potatoes so if you want to cook a half-pan then cut the recipe down to half these amounts.
What you will need:
1 full size aluminum-serving pan – this will serve about 50 to 75 people
10 pounds of whole potatoes (I have used Idaho’s, russets, and others)
1 family size can (27oz) of cream of mushroom soup
1 family size can (27oz) of cream of chicken soup
2 cups of sour cream
½ cup of Texas BBQ Rub
¼ cup of paprika
3 cups of shredded cheese (use cheddar or a blend of Monterey jack and cheddar)
¼ cup of granulated garlic (use this to your flavor liking)
Alt. Ingredient – your choice of chopped meat (brisket, butt, sausage)
First cut the potatoes in half (this will speed up the cooking time) and I leave the skin on the potatoes. In a large pot, boil the potatoes. Cooking time on the potatoes is about 30 to 45 minutes. When the potatoes are done, drain off the water and pour them into the serving pan. While the potatoes are still hot, crumble the potatoes into pieces. Add both cans of soup, the sour cream, Texas BBQ Rub, and the granulated garlic and mix into the potatoes. Now add about ½ of the cheese and mix that into the potato mix. Spread this out in the pan and top with a large portion of cheese and then sprinkle with the paprika. Cover with aluminum foil and you can heat this in the oven at 225 degrees for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours (till all the cheese melts) or I stick mine on the pit and melt the cheese on the pit. Note: it is best to work with the potatoes when they are hot but you need to wear some thick heat protective gloves (like the ones we sell on our site).
If you would like to make it a total meal in itself add about 3 cups of chopped meat to the mix and you have a total meal. The kids and grown ups love this stuff. They will go thru it quickly so make plenty to have the next day.
FATHER’S DAY PROMOTION – COMING NEXT MONTH JUST FOR SUBSCRIBERS TO THE
NEWSLETTER
Father’s Day is June 19th and we are going to have a special promotion for Father’s Day. This will be limited to the people who are on our newsletter mailing list. We will send out an announcement on this at the end of May or in the next newsletter.
PITS AND GRILLS
SPECIAL GUEST WRITER – RITCH ROBIN – THE GATOR PIT MAN
I would like to again introduce everyone to Ritch Robin. Ritch is the owner of one of the premier BBQ pit building companies in the State of Texas and the United States. You can check out his pits at www.gatorpit.net If you are looking for a pit or grill give Ritch a call and tell him you read his article on the Texas BBQ Rub newsletter. (I personally recommend his pits to everyone who ask).
Ritch and I are mutual friends who share a lot of the same ideas and beliefs in cooking BBQ. I thought it would be great for him to write us a series of articles on BBQ pits and this is the tenth of the series. This time Ritch is going to start a discussion about what to look for in a BBQ Pit or grill. Remember he will continue this discussion in the next newsletter so if you have any questions you want him to address send him an email. You will find his email address on his web site.
A
Word from the Gator Pit Man – Ritch Robin – www.gatorpit.net
If you are looking for a grill or smoker your list of questions is obviously a long one. My suggestion is to take your time and do your homework and choose a pit or grill that is both in your price range and will do the job for you.
Your questions could look like this:
Grills-
- Charcoal or gas
- What kind of material is it built with
- What is the best kind of material to use in the grill
- What about the finish work on the grill itself
- What is the best material to build the cooking grates with
- How big of grill should I buy
- How thick should the exterior metal of the pit be to do a good job
- Should I be able to cook in different zones on the grill
- Can I do offset smoking with this grill
- How easy and what do I have to do to maintain the grill
- Are replacement parts easy to find and relative inexpensive
Smokers (offset smokers)
- What is the pit made out of
- Is it portable
- Is it large enough to serve my needs
- Typically, there are cheaper smokers and then there are custom smokers. What is the difference?
- How thick should the steel be in the smoker
- How large of smoker box do I need to keep a good fire going
- Think about the handles, are they made out of a product that will last and be cool to my touch
- Where can I find the wood to cook with once I buy the smoker
- What about the maintenance of the pit, painting and cleaning
- How long should the pit last
- Where can I find good replacement parts when needed
- What about the thermometers on the pit, location and how good are they
- If I buy a large pit where do I keep it and how do I keep the weather from hurting it
Wow and the list goes on and on. We will spend the next couple of monthly newsletters talking in detail about Grills and Smokers so we can cover all the bases. It is enough right now for us to sit back and think of what learning we will need to do in order to make a wise decision and one we can live with for a long time.
Next month we will focus on Smokers and then in June we will concentrate on Grills.
Send me your questions so we can address them in the upcoming newsletters. Or give me a call and we can talk about what your experiences have been and I will answer your questions.
Ritchey L. Robin
President
Gator Pit, LLC
11161 West Little York
Houston, Texas 77041
Call toll free 1-866-869-5166
Houston area 713-896-0144
TEXASBBQRUB.COM – MESSAGE BOARD/FORUM (Your BBQ Information
Source
on the Internet)
We have a message board/forum on our web site. The link is www.texasbbqrub.com/phpBB2/ and we want and need each of you to come to the message board and join us in the fun. This is a great place to learn. Our family on the forum has grown to well over 575 people and it has been called the best BBQ forum on the net. We would love to hear your questions, comments, suggestions, and just talk BBQ with all of our members. If you have not already done so, please click the link above right now and join in the fun.
Don’t be shy. All questions are good questions
and we have a lot of pros to answer you questions or make suggestions
for you. Remember we will all learn from each of your comments. That is
what we are all about here, learning how to BBQ or passing along our thoughts
to others. Whether you are just beginning to learn how to Q or you consider
yourself a pit master come visit our forum today. We need everyone to
jump on in there. It is FREE to join and takes just a few seconds to
get registered, so do it now. We all will be happy you did.
WE WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU
Remember this is your newsletter, so we want you to send us any suggestions or comments you have about the newsletter. If you think we need to add another section let us know and we will work on it. We want you to be a part of this. It is for YOU. So keep us informed.
If you are interested in a particular topic for future newsletters send me an email at bill@texasbbqrub.com with your suggestions. We want to hear what ya’ll are interested in hearing about.
TESTIMONIALS FROM OUR CUSTOMERS
We here at Texas BBQ Rub want you to cook the best tasting, juiciest BBQ you have ever cooked. We have spent the last 8 years developing a system to make BBQ’ing the easiest it can be. We want to save you time, money, energy, headaches, and heartbreaks.
We have the easiest method of preparing BBQ ever revealed. It is tried, it is tested, and it works. It works on every kind of meat. It just does not get any better or easier than this.
And on top of all of that, This Simple 3 Step Method produces the finest BBQ you or your friends, neighbors, and relatives have ever sank your teeth into. The link to our order page is www.texasbbqrub.com/shopping.html so go there right now and order the best rub in the market.
We here from customers every month about what they thought about Texas BBQ Rub and here are a few of the comments we received last month.
“All I can say is, this rub is to die for!!!! This is the best rub I have ever used or tasted anywhere.
Your simple 1-2-3 method makes it so easy and the results are fantastic. Thanks.”
A. A., San Diego, California
“Everything was great. Your BBQ Rub is the shit! (Sorry for the language). It is that good.
Thanks
again and when I run out, I’ll be ordering some more.”
Augie C., Lake Stevens, Washington
“Hi, just wanted to respond to your e-mail. So far I’ve used your rub on pork chops, pork ribs, ”
and steaks. The results have been excellent. I don’t know how you did it. I’ve lived in southeast
Texas my whole life. I’ve been exposed to every mixture of spices that you can imagine. Everyone
seemed to lack a certain something. You’ve seemed to make a mixture of sweet and sassy that is
very rare. Don’t change a thing.”
Happy Grilling, Richard P., Orange, Texas
“Just wanted to let you know what a great rub you have. Best ribs I have ever cooked.”
Barry L., Pineville, Louisiana
Find out what thousands of people have already found
out. We have shipped Texas BBQ Rub to all 50 states, Canada, and overseas.
So order TexasBBQRub. Order it right now. The link is www.texasbbqrub.com/shopping.html
. Don’t put it off any longer, and remember you will be the talk of the
pit. So go ahead and order NOW. Memorial Day is coming May 30th so order
some rub right now to use before and on Memorial Day, better yet order
4 pounds so you will have enough for the entire party.
If you have a comment or want to send us your testimonial please feel free to do so. Send it to Bill@texasbbqrub.com and we will feature you in an upcoming newsletter or on our site.
A GLANCE AT THE NEXT ISSUE OF BBQ MADE SIMPLE
Well that ends this month’s newsletter. As we begin the get BBQ season we want to talk pork again next month. We will talk about pork tenderloins and pork loins and even a surprise pork dish. By the way I am getting ready to go serve ribs to 600 people this week and we will also be serving them Bill’s Potato Surprise.
Ritch will start answering all of our questions about BBQ Smoker Pits.
SOME FINAL THOUGHTS
Remember that we still have many of our troops in
both Iraq and in Afghanistan protecting our freedom and helping others
achieve their own freedom. Keep them in your prayers and hearts for the
many months to come. They are there serving us and our country.
Cooking is a great way to get the family interested in doing something together. Kids make great helpers around the grill and let them feel like they made a difference. Always include your children when cooking (if they are old enough). They will grow to love it and they will always want to help you out. Ask them to help and give them important jobs to do, like rubbing the meat, be the fire attendant, or running errands for you. PASS ON THE ART OF COOKING TO YOUR CHILDREN…..YOU WILL BE GLAD YOU DID AND SO WILL THEY.
That concludes this month’s issue of BBQ MADE SIMPLE.
Do me a favor and pass this along to 5 of your friends right now. They
will thank you for it and I will too.
Keep on Cook’ in
Bill
You can contact me at bill@texasbbqrub.com if you should have any questions or comments.
Contact Information:
Bill Cannon
BBQ Made Simple
Real Texas BBQ Rub, Inc.
10701 Corporate Dr., Suite 295
Stafford, Texas 77477
Phone – 281-240-7110
Fax – 281-240-7111
Email addresses: bill@texasbbqrub.com
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