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The ultimate Grillin' Guide

Cookin' up a great summer

About 3 tablespoons of the dry rub is applied to both sides of the meat

By Randall H. Harber
CNN

(CNN) -- In the United States, grilling has often been limited to steaks or burgers on the grill on hot summer afternoons. But, as thousands of people around the globe will testify, grilling is so much more.

Steven Raichlen, author of the encyclopedic, 500-recipe "Barbecue! Bible" (Workman Publishing, 1998) spent three years circling the globe and recording how people cook over live fires -- from the simple Bistecca alla Fiorentina in Italy to Kolheeda, walnut stuffed trout cooked in grape leaves in the Republic of Georgia.

"Grilling is the oldest, most widespread and most forgiving method of cooking," says Raichlen, who saw people cooking over everything from coals in a hubcap to elaborate grills to brick-lined pits underground. In the future, he predicts, upscale homes will feature hearths in them so 21st century cooks can use the methods the first American settlers used more than 200 years ago.

We've compiled a Grillin' Guide to help you cook everything from spareribs to fish. We hope it will help you make the most of your cookouts.

Spareribs

Great ribs don't have to be complicated.

Mark Miller, of Vienna, Virginia, created a rub tailored to fit the taste of his family. And, it couldn't be simpler: 2 tablespoons each of ground black pepper, salt, paprika, and garlic powder mixed together.

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The thin, papery skin is removed from the back of the racks of ribs by pulling it off with a pair of pliers or working underneath it with your fingers and lifting it off. About 3 tablespoons of the dry rub is applied to both sides of two racks of pork spareribs (about 6 pounds in all) and the racks are left to sit for up to an hour.

The method for cooking is called indirect grilling -- meaning the coals are on one side of the grill while the meat is positioned over a drip pan on the opposite, cooler side of the grill.

About two cups of hickory chips that have been soaked in water are wrapped in foil. Small holes are punched in the top of the foil package, which is then laid on the charcoal after the briquettes have begun to turn gray with ash.

After positioning the ribs, the grill is covered and the ribs are cooked, turning them about every 30 minutes. Total cooking time ranges from about two hours during hot weather to closer to three hours when the cooler fall weather sets in. After the first hour, you will probably need to add 10 to 12 fresh briquettes to the fire. The ribs are done when the meat begins to pull away from the bones.

If you are using a gas grill the technique is similar. The fire is ignited on one side of the grill but not the other. The wood chips are put in the grill's smoker box or a foil packet of them is laid on the grate over the fire. The flame is raised to high until smoke begins to pour from the smoker box or packet. The flame is then reduced to medium. With either the gas or charcoal method, a medium heat -- around 350 degrees Fahrenheit -- is what you're looking for.

Once done, the ribs need to rest. Mark and his dad, Bobby, use a method Bobby read about in Cook's Illustrated magazine back in 1994. The ribs are wrapped in aluminum foil, placed in a paper bag and allowed to rest for an hour to let the juices flow back through the meat and the flavors to meld.

After that, barbecue sauce -- your own concoction or one of the more than 700 commercially available -- is heated and spooned over the carved ribs.

In Memphis, a town known for its ribs, they save a little of the dry rub and apply it after the cooking to enhance the flavors, and many people prefer their ribs served "dry".

Allowing the meat to rest before applying the barbecue sauce prevents one of the biggest mistakes that grillers make. A sauce that contains sugar will burn if applied before the last 8 to 10 minutes the meat is cooking.

A variation on this method, when you have a party so big that your grill won't handle enough rib racks at one time, is to start them over direct flames until they display the grill marks you are looking for and have had time to soak up some smoke. After that, finish them in an oven, at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

If you are really in a hurry, put the racks directly over a medium fire, turning them every 5 minutes for the first 20 minutes. Then let them rest in a slow oven, 225 degrees Fahrenheit. Again, the ribs are done when the meat begins to pull back from the bones.

Spareribs  |  Steaks, Brisket and Hamburgers  |  Chicken  |  Fish  |  
Kebobs, Shellfish and Vegetables

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