I'm getting four racks of baby backs for my party this weekend. Three + racks will be done by my competition (family), while I'll take a solitary rack and try to convince them smoking's the way!
Here's the delcious details.
I'll pick them up tomorrow afternoon. In the evening, after dinner, they go into some apple juice concentrate diluted down only enough to sufficiently cover the ribs (I'll cut the rack in half). The concentrated apple juice will I hope bring some sweetness and acidity to the ribs, plus the obvious fruit note.
Twenty four hours later, I'll pull them out and dry them thou roughly and I'm only going to hit them with a light rub; plenty of brown sugar, a dash of Old Bay (my favorite spice/seasoning, you'll see it in 95% of my food), a little mild paprika, thorough ground black pepper and salt. I'm not adding much, as I'd rather have the brown sugar and apple juice come through more then other notes.
If I do in fact end up with a ECB by Saturday morning (hopefully modded for consumption sake), or even my regular Weber kettle, I'll be up before 6:30, since I'm not allowed to touch the smoker/grill after guests arrive, so I want plenty of wiggle room. I'll use Kingsford Blue, some chunks of cherry wood (thanks to thirdeye, go check him out!) and some mulberry logs if needed. I don't know how long they'll take, but I'll probably smoke 'em thoroughly for two hours, baste them in a honey-citrus sauce (described below) and then foil them for anywhere from 45 minutes to two hours. I'll peak occasionally.
When I feel like they are getting close, I'll un-foil and let that sauce carmalize but not char. On the smoker I'll move to the second rack, on the Weber more off to the side. I'll keep basting so the outside is moist and the inside delicious.
I'll need to find a way to keep them warm till the tasting at 5. I'll figure that out later. :)
That's not my only responsiblities. I'll be making potato salad and salsa (famous) the day before, then shrimp n grilled veggies in the morning, on my makeshift pan (An aluminum pie tin with a clothes hanger bent into a handle, glued on, it seriously works!) and then bruschetta.
Busy day coming! And BTW here's the recipe for a very good Honey-Citrus BBQ Sauce
1 Small Bottle of Sweet Baby Ray's Honey BBQ sauce, in a sauce pan. Cut the squeeze to get quicker flow. It's better and cheaper then making it.
2/3 cup of No Pulp Orange Juice, or to taste
1/4 cup of Apple Cider Vinegar
A teaspoon of dried mustard.
Generous, generous, black pepper.
A touch of cayenne, Old Bay, or Tobasco (to taste).
Heat in saucepan till bubbles on sides appear. Stir thoroughly, and serve or cool for later.
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Thanks guys, more coming!
