WTF Wednesday and Flashback Friday- rolled into one post. With ribs.

 

 

Fun fact: last week for the first time ever- every one of the 50 states was below freezing. Yup, even Hawaii. We understand not all parts of the country have prime grilling weather right now; but in the Arkansas Test Kitchen it's always a good time to prepare ribs. Any time it's above 40 degrees, Doug is ready to fire up the smoker. The first and most important part of grilling is to find the cutest sous chef to assist:
 

Now it's time for the recipe:

2 racks of ribs
Your favorite barbecue rub (I like Strawberry's Shake-On-Bar-B-Que Seasoning)
Apple juice

1. Cut off any additional meat from the ribs, save for later.

2. Remove the membrane off the back of the ribs. This may sound difficult, but it's actually pretty easy. Use a butter knife or a spoon and work it in between the membrane and the ribs until you are all the way through. Using a paper towel pull the membrane off the ribs.

 


3. Sprinkle a good portion of the rub onto the ribs and the meat you initially removed.

4. Wrap the ribs and meat in plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator for a minimum of two hours. Cool Dads tip: the ribs taste best when refrigerated anywhere from four hours, to overnight.

5. Remove the ribs and meat from the refrigerator one hour before placing them on the smoker / grill.

6. Fire up the smoker / grill. Remember this is barbeque and should be cooked low and slow. Again: LOW AND SLOW. Say it with us, kids: LOW AND SLOW. Roughly translated this means low temperatures for a long period of time.

7. Once the charcoal has turned white, place a few pieces of wood on top, until they start smoking.

8. Pour a slight amount of apple juice into a drip pan, and place it underneath the ribs and the meat you had initially removed from the ribs.

9. Check the fire / wood every 30 minutes to make sure the wood is still smoking.

10. It's important to check the fire, but just as important to check the ribs and occasionally mist with apple juice

11. After an hour and forty five minutes, check the internal temperature of the ribs. The temperature should be approximately 155 - 160 degrees.

12. Once the ribs have reached 155-160 degrees, take them off the smoker / grill and wrap them in aluminum foil for 30-45 minutes

13. Cut into individual ribs and enjoy!

 

 

Are you still able to grill in January? We're looking for our Grilling Gladiators- the dads willing to grill in all temperatures. Let us know some of the craziest weather conditions you've grilled in.

Stay Cool,
The Cool Dads Crew