Barbecued Ribs on the Grill Done Right (get PDF)

 I'm sure if you grill, you've probably made barbecued ribs. This is one of those recipes where I do things a bit different than most. You may find it interesting, and I love the results.
 I do all of my grilling on a Weber grill with charcoal. For most everything I cook, I put the charcoal only on one half of the grill. The side with the charcoal is my "browning" side. The side without the charcoal is for cooking. This allows you to brown to your likeness, and then finish cooking without burning the food.

1. For this meal I used country style ribs - more meat and less bone. You can use any type of rib. Separate the ribs (if using standard ribs, just divide into maybe 4 rib pieces.

2. Dry ribs well (as you should do with all meat before grilling) with paper towels.

3. Brush all sides of the meat with mayonnaise. Yes, mayonnaise. I won't go into detail, except to say that mayonnaise turns into an excellent cooking emollient, better than oil, and it does not affect the taste because it breaks down and does it's job. It also holds any spices you may put on your meat. It provides for more even browning as well.

4. Grind plenty of fresh peppercorns over all of the meat. (Not enough pepper on the image below! I've got to get an electric pepper grinder!)

5. Place the ribs on the charcoal side of the grill to brown. Turn and adjust as necessary. Make sure you keep the grill lid on at all times (except when you're in there, of course!) This prevents flame flareups which will cause your food to get sooty, or absorb a charcoal
flavor - not good. If you've eaten charcoal grilled food and can taste the grill, it was cooked improperly.

6. After browning to your requirements, move the ribs to the side of the grill without the charcoal underneath. Brush some barbecue sauce on top of each piece. Close the lid and cook for maybe 30 minutes, depending on the thickness of the meat, the temperature of your grill, etc. I'm leaving the timing up to you.

  

7. When the ribs are done, put them in a cast iron dutch oven along with a bottle of barbecue sauce (if you do not make your own). I used Baby Ray's Sweet and Spicy.

  

8. Put the lid on the dutch oven and put on the grill over the charcoal until the sauce begins to bubble. Then move the dutch oven to the other side, keep the lid on, close the grill, and cook for another 40 minutes or so. Again, I leave the timing up to you. The sauce will thicken, and as it does, periodically rotate the ribs and make sure there is sauce evenly on all of the ribs.

9. When done, remove from the grill and serve. Your sauce should be stuck to the ribs like glue, and it
should have a thick consistancy, and be a bit darker in color as well.

  

I hope you give this a shot - it's really delicious!