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SubscribeSaturday, June 13, 2009
Dr. BBQ’s Famous Baby Back Ribs
Dr. BBQ Baby Back Ribs Recipe
Lots of photos above in the slideshow – we’ll show you how to fold the tin foil to encase the ribs so that the apple juice/honey doesn’t spill out.
You think that a food enthusiast like me and a beef aficionado like my husband would have already dived deep into the black, charred world of charcoal.
But no, I must confess that, until this weekend, we’ve been tethered to an ugly white liquid propane gas tank I’m always scared will explode on the car ride home. So I make my husband drive 20 mph and avoid speed bumps and curbs. Which makes our drive to the market to refill the tank just about as boring and uneventful as the third time ’round It’s a Small World at the Magic Kingdom.
I had never been interested in charcoal because anything that contributes to or directly causes my pile of laundry to increase is a no-no in my home. Just looking at an open bag causes my skin to break out in housewifery hives.
Recently, my good friend, Ray Lampe, aka Dr. BBQ, came over with a nice little present for me: a Big Green Egg. He also lugged in a bag of charcoal and some hickory, but I didn’t whine about the black glitter on the carpets. Nor did I obsessively dab at my husband’s shirt with the bleach pen. When you’ve got Dr. BBQ in your home, you just let him do his thing.
Ray taught us the basics of barbecuing and how to use the Big Green Egg, which looks more like a bomb shelter than a grill. The smoked salmon came out silky with the perfect hint of hickory (though Ray says for salmon, cherry or alder wood chips are best). When it came time to grill our steaks, the flames shot straight up. Oops, that was my fault. I’m used to lubing the steaks with cooking oil to coax some flame action from our regular lame-o grill.
Ray left the Egg for us, and we’ve put it to use every night since. I’m considering spray-painting the darn thing hot pink in case he comes back to get it. I really can’t see that man rolling a Big Pink Egg to championship barbecue competitions.
<– THIS IS DR. BBQ. He knows his shit. Ray has authored these books:
and Ray is the reason I’m 1 degree away from Justin Timberlake (Ray is the executive chef of Southern Hospitality, Timberlake’s restaurant)
<– THIS IS THE BIG GREEN EGG. It’s ugly. I love it.
Dr. BBQ’s Famous Baby Back Ribs Recipe
Featuring the Big Green Egg
3 slabs baby back ribs, membrane on back of ribs removed
2 cups honey
1 1/2 cups apple juice
2 cups of Dr. BBQ’s Sweet and Sticky Glaze (see below)
Dr. BBQ’s rub (see below)
Prepare your cooker for indirect grilling at 275 degrees Fahrenheit, using cherry and hickory wood for flavor. Season the ribs with the rub. Put the ribs into the smoker, meaty site up for two hours. Flip the ribs and cook another hour. Remove the ribs to a platter.
Take a double-thick piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil (big enough to wrap a slab of ribs), and slather about 1/3 cup of honey on each sheet, spreading it where the ribs will lie. Place the ribs meaty side down and add more honey on top of the slab. Now crimp the edges of the foil and pour 1/2 cup of apple juice in the bottom. Do this for all three slabs. Loosely close the packets around the ribs and lay them back in the cooker.
Cook another 90 minutes. Carefully unwrap the packets and take out the ribs. Place the ribs back on the cooker, raising the temperature to 350 degrees. Brush with the glaze or barbecue sauce and flip several times for another 20 minutes.
Dr. BBQ’s rub (combine)
1/4 cup salt
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons granulated garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons granulated onion
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
Dr. BBQ’s Sweet and Sticky Glaze
This is what Dr. BBQ always uses to finish his ribs and chicken at BBQ cookoffs around the country.
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup dark molasses
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon mace
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon Liquid Smoke (Optional)
1/2 cup honey
1 tablespoon hot sauce of choice
Combine all ingredients in a saucepan, stir well, and simmer for 15 minutes to reduce and thicken
Dr. BBQ Cookbook Giveaway
I’m giving away a signed copy of one of Dr. BBQ’s Big Time Barbeque Cookbook. Just comment below and tell Dr. BBQ: GAS OR CHARCOAL? (and why!?) until June 21st to enter. This book can be yours and lovingly signed by the man himself.
My email subscribers get a bonus entry (just enter twice – just type in “I’m an email subscriber” in your bonus entry). Want to be an email subscriber? There’s a signup form on the right in the sidebar.
CONTEST OVER!
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Propane, because charcoal is difficult and messy and we’d end up with charcoal all over the lanai. Well, that’s what my husband said when I asked him.
waa-waa, charcoal is not permitted in our bldg. So we are happy to have gas – better than nada.
Today is a kitchen practice day – we prefer Santa Maria-style BBQ – dry rub and sauce on the side. So today is “practice-sauce-day”.
We prefer Charcoal & Wood for better flavors. Thank you for offering this chance to win a cookbook, and the article from newspaper from Dr. BBQ was fantastic..
We use propane for no other reason than our dads did. And it looks like we will not be switching because we think that something in the charcoal of our neighbors is setting off allergic reactions in our house.
So we use propane.
Plus it is easier…turn switch, light, cook, turn off, done.
Charcoal—I can’t afford a gas grill, thankyouverymuch.
Jaden – I just recently found a Charbroil grill that someone was throwing away. I am not one for passing up a good BBQ body, so I got the truck, and picked er up! Now, the thing is that the burner is discontinued, and it is something to the tune of 80$ Can to get a new one. I say, whatever.
I ripped the old burner out of there, and put in a charcoal grate, then I used charcoal. You know what? I am NEVER going back to gas. Never. Okay, maybe as a bun warmer or something. No sense wasting charcoal on that!
J finally got her BGE!!!!!!!!!! I knew you’d love it!
Charcoal! Lump charcoal. Of course Dr BBQ will agree because Ray knows how silly it would be to try to use the Egg with propane. Enter me in the contest, this is one I want. Ray is the shit in the world of the BGE. Plus his autographed book would go nicely with the one I just got from Chris Lilly.
Just in case Ray forgot to tell you about “burping” the egg and flashback, go read this:
http://www.nakedwhiz.com/flash.htm
Heck, read the whiz’ whole site on ceramic cooking. It’s a treasure trove of tips, techniques, and recipes for cooking on a ceramic cooker like the Egg. It’s generally regarded as an authoritative source by Eggheads.
Welcome to the club, you are now an Egghead!
It’s an imperfect world for some of us grillers and smokers. Charcoal is best; you can just not quite duplicate the flavor with gas. But I live in a townhome with a wooden deck, so charcoal also is a real fire hazard. So I make do with gas. Gas barbecue is better than none at all.
Have been using a Weber propane but will be getting a BGE ASAP – I wondered why all the owners were fanatical – joined a forum and have learned a lot – so lump charcoal is the answer. Thanks for all the info.
Gas – it takes too long to get the charcoal hot! Plus, it is much easier to control the cooking temp with gas.
We do charcoal with one of the chimney starter things. Not bad to get the fire going, and the taste is so worth it.
I so want a BGE, though!
I think charcoal produces better flavor. In the old days, we used to light up the charcoal the traditional way. Burning up pieces of wood, not lighter fluid or anything. To me gas is just like cooking on the stove but we do use a gas grill with briquettes.
Gas is quicker and you just cut it off. Done deal!!!
I love cooking on charcoal, but hate the mess, so gas it is!
Both! We use gas for everyday cooking and do the charcoal/hickory chips thing for special holidays. It just wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without a big golden charcoal grilled turkey!
Charcoal, because it is what we have.
If you ask me what is more convenient? I will tell you gas. If you ask me what tastes better? I will tell you charcoal. So, for BBQ aficianados, charcoal wins. But for fast, no-fuss grilling, you can’t go wrong with a good gas grill…even Bobby Flays uses one!
Gas because it’s what we have. Now if only we had a gas stove in the kitchen too!
Oops, sorry, meant Bobby FLAY, not Bobby Flays! My bad.
Love charcoal but you can’t control the heat and it’s a lot of work. We’ve since bought a propane Weber and haven’t regretted it!
Charcoal. It just makes food taste better. I love the smokey flavor that charcoal and wood bring to BBQ.
CHARCOAL! amazing smokey flavor!
Gas! My dad worked for the gas company growing up, so that was the only option.
Gas when in a hurry…charcoal when not!
Can’t beat the taste of charcoal!
I use gas most of the time – easy since we have a direct hook-up to the gas-line from our house. Can’t beat charcoal for true bbq-ing… then, there’s the smoker that we are still trying to learn to use… now that’s amazing flavor!
I prefer charcoal. I’m not sure why. I guess it seems more traditional to me.
I’m an e-mail subscriber. Yay!
I’m an email subscriber!
As much as I love Hank Hill, I gotta go with charcoal, for the superior flavor.
I’m an email subscriber
I love BBQ! It is my total comfort food!
Gas – it’s just something that I’ve always used, but I’ll have to give charcoal a try soon.
GAS! Charcoal is icky.
Charcoal, because it’s cheap! And I like lighting things on fire!
I’m an e-mail subscriber.
Charcoal: Learning to control the temperature and using it to cook directly/indirectly with charcoal makes you a more hands-on and intuitive chef/cook/whichever. It’s also my opinion that it imparts a far more… rustic?… flavor to meats and even vegetables (marinated zucchini, anyone?).
Charcoal-the only way I’ve ever known!
I’m a Steamy Kitchen email subscriber!
That’s the way to bbq man- clean with the charcoaly flavour! Beautiful. Wish you can send it over to Aus! haha. And i am a steamy kitchen email subscriber..
Charcoal certainly tastes better, but I grill more often with the speedy access to propane.
“I’m an email subscriber”
Charcoal! In Germany most people prefer charcoal. I see rarely people using gas.
Both….gas in the traditional grill and charcoal in the smoker. We switch between the two depending on what we are cooking…just a personal preference. (and sometimes time constraints)
I am an email subscriber!
I’m an email subscriber!
While I still use a gas grill, I have to agree with Dr. BBQ that charcoal is best for barbecue and smoking. I have a book called Peace, Love and Barbecue by Mike Mills that is absolutely fabulous. They are championship barbecuers too, Dr. BBQ may even know them 
Anyway, would love to be entered for the book, thanks!
“I’m an email subscriber”
charcoal and/or when we can get them, with hickory chips
Propane only way to go. Fast and easy.
Hardwood lump Charcoal!!! Why bother with gas? All it does is make pretty marks on the food, it adds no flavor! You mine as well just get a grill pan and do it all inside. For the mess obsessed, if you have a pair of tongs, your hands & clothes will stay nice & clean. Try the hardwood lump charcoal & some woodchips & you will never go back to gas!
I am also an email subscrider
Thanks!
Gas. I know that charcoal tastes better but gas is much quicker. It enables me to grill veggies (& steaks) quickly & without a hassle in winter. With the smoker boxes & cedar planks, it comes closer to the taste of charcoal.