[markbarnes19]

I picked up a really neat tip from my wife's uncle last summer. He is a wonderful cook and a true grill master. He was making ribs on the grill, and someone asked how he cooked them to keep them moist. He said, aside from the special marinade, he gets the grill very hot, then he turns off one side and places the ribs there and slow cooks them for about 30 minutes. I tried this with chicken, and it worked beautifully. Anyone have any other grilling tips?

[cocotbo]

I have always loved making ribs. Actually, I do the preparation and my husband does the grilling. (Some man-fire-grunt-grunt thing.) I managed to get the recipes for Chili's Baby Back Ribs and Tony Roma's Ribs and the secret to doing them well always seems to be slowly precooking them in sauce in a foil packet before grilling them. The meat practically melts in your mouth.

[beth]

More than anything that comes OFF the BBQ, is just the sheer SMELL of the BBQ cooking away. It doesn't really matter to me what is cooking, the smell is really the best part. Especially the onions. Of course, if a neighbor within a one mile radius is cooking BBQ, well, there is no greater torment in the world! When I was a kid there was a particuarly nasty gentlemen who used to crank up the BBQ on Good Friday. He lived next door to a Catholic church. While all the parishoners were packed in for the service (and meat-deprived to boot) this guy would start laying on the sausages and steak. Sheer cruelty!

[sfharper]

Originally Posted by beth

When I was a kid there was a particuarly nasty gentlemen who used to crank up the BBQ on Good Friday. He lived next door to a Catholic church. While all the parishoners were packed in for the service (and meat-deprived to boot) this guy would start laying on the sausages and steak. Sheer cruelty!

That's funny! We lived next door to the Fire Dept. when I was in college and the fireman always snuck up on us when we were walking down the street in their fire engine (you don't hear them until they get past you) and then would honk, scared the living daylight out of us. They threatened to take our food and shut down our barbecue on the 4th of July -- funny, funny. We sometimes just use Italian dressing as a marinade -- works really good.

[beth]

Originally Posted by sfharper

That's funny! We lived next door to the Fire Dept. when I was in college and the fireman always snuck up on us when we were walking down the street in their fire engine (you don't hear them until they get past you) and then would honk, scared the living daylight out of us. They threatened to take our food and shut down our barbecue on the 4th of July -- funny, funny. We sometimes just use Italian dressing as a marinade -- works really good.

Not sure whether the Italian dressing works well as a marinade or against marauding firemen! Guess both is useful!!

[workingdad]

Originally Posted by beth

More than anything that comes OFF the BBQ, is just the sheer SMELL of the BBQ cooking away. It doesn't really matter to me what is cooking, the smell is really the best part. Especially the onions. Of course, if a neighbor within a one mile radius is cooking BBQ, well, there is no greater torment in the world! When I was a kid there was a particuarly nasty gentlemen who used to crank up the BBQ on Good Friday. He lived next door to a Catholic church. While all the parishoners were packed in for the service (and meat-deprived to boot) this guy would start laying on the sausages and steak. Sheer cruelty!

Probably an ex-Catholic. Or, given the saugages, a formerly orthrodox Jewish man!

[beth]

Originally Posted by workingdad

Probably an ex-Catholic. Or, given the saugages, a formerly orthrodox Jewish man!

And definitely a sadist!

[heritagemom]

You people must be stopped! It's 11:00 at night and I'm DYING for ribs!!

I saw THE coolest thing on Amazon.com and it had RAVE reviews! It's an "indoor" stainless steel smoker and you use it in your oven! Supposedly it does NOT release smoke into your house (any more than opening the patio door does all summer anyway) and it comes with finely shredded woods you soak and then place in the bottom of it. I read through some of the feedback and people LOVE this thing and if I remember correctly, it's even under $50! I hinted (obnoxiously too) for one for Mother's Day but found a reciept for ROSES (phhhhhhhhhhhhtttt....flowers....sigh...GRIN) the other day and I'm pretty sure the smoker is going to have to be a "family" purchase for MOM this year!!!

I spoke to the chef at a place here called Famous Dave's (oooooooh can I just say rib HEAVEN!!!) and he said the same thing posted here...that precooking the ribs in an oven or pressure cooker with sauce PRIOR to being grilled is the secret to "fall off the bone" perfection.

I'm going to go gnaw off my leg now......

[writerchick]

I love a good barbequed hunk of meat as much as the next person, but I also love vegetables done on the barbeque, especially asparagus and artichokes. Check out my blogs on how to do both of these here for asparagus and here for artichokes.