From the ArcaMax Publishing, Recipes Newsletter:
http://www.arcamax.com/news/recipes/s-207843-853714
We celebrate America's Independence Day today, July 4th.
It is a wonderful holiday for this wonderful country. We may have our
share of problems here but we are still the land of the free and the
home of the brave. Traditional celebrations include families and
friends getting together for cook-outs and fire works.
For this menu, we feature smoked barbecued baby back ribs. We have
included instructions for smoking the ribs with either a charcoal
grill or a gas grill. For either method the secret to this style of
preparation is indirect cooking where the smoke actually cooks the
ribs rather than the direct heat of the fire. There is a certain art
to this preparation that depends in large part on the heat of the fire
and the amount of smoke generated by the hardwood chunks. It is best
to leave the lid on the grill as much as possible to trap the smoke
and allow it to cook the ribs. If you notice that the smoke is dying
down, then lift the lid. The addition of the fresh air should spark
the hardwood and increase the heat. Then when you replace the lid the
smoke should increase as well. You can also add additional hardwood
chunks to the fire whenever necessary.
Under slow cooking conditions with only indirect heat and smoke
cooking the ribs, it may take up to 2 hours to complete the smoking
process. However, if the fire is hotter or the ribs closer to the
direct heat, then the ribs will cook faster. You need to keep an eye
on the ribs but, since you are using indirect heat, it is not as
critical to continuously check the ribs in the same way as if you were
cooking directly over the coals. With a little practice you will
master the subtle methods to control the heat and smoke. The end
result is fabulous smoked ribs that everyone will love. This menu
serves 6 to 8.
We hope you enjoy this menu from a previous July 4 edition. Happy
Independence Day, y'all!