Short ribs smokin' on the gas grill
Red, White and Blue Pies
I was on Twitter this morning and read a tweet from bittman, a.k.a. Mark Bittman from New York City. He’d posted some recipes on his blog http://markbittman.com/sunday-supper-4th-of-july-menu as suggestions for a Fourth of July menu. CLICK HERE for Victoria’s Rib Rub Recipe.
I was particularly intrigued by his ribs recipe because they have a good sounding rub, and that it precisely the way Scott likes them. I’d never prepared smoked ribs with a rub, and thought I was up for the challenge.
Mixed green salad with fresh berries and avocado.
Scott grilled some perfect looking brats.
I cut the rack of ribs in half, they weighed about 5lbs. To his rub recipe, I did add a teaspoon of garlic. You see, garlic is one of those mandatory ingredients in our cooking. My mother, when she was teaching me to cook, told me that I should always put garlic or vanilla into everything I cook/bake, but never together. I also used a smoked paprika, because that is what I had available. It added a nice depth of flavor. The New Mexico chile powder I included in the rub was medium spicy which contributed some warmth for the palate.
The wood chips I had on hand were from the Aspen trees in our yard. I don’t think they add much flavor-wise, but the
Scott's plate.
smoke smelled yummy. I think next time, I will try them with some Apple or Oak chips. All in all, the ribs cooked on the grill for about 3 hours. The color on the ribs was really beautiful, and the smell of them was mouth-watering.
I enjoyed making these ribs, and the quality of the finished product was equally on par with the best ribs we have ever eaten. Considering this fact, I would easily try some of Mark’s other recipes in the future.
With our delicious, slightly spicy ribs, we rounded out our menu with some grilled bratwursts, a mixed green salad with fresh berries, red onion and crumbled goat cheese. I liked the way the cool, cream goat cheese soothed our mouths from the spicy ribs. We drank some unsweetened berry ice tea, fresh water melon, and salt Lays® potato chips.
Cherry & blueberry pies topped with vanilla ice cream and blueberry compote.
For dessert, we enjoyed fresh baked individual cherry & blueberry pies with top quality vanilla ice cream and a good drizzle of blueberry compote. With our dessert we all enjoyed a glass of Gysler Spätburgunder Rose Beerenauslese, 2003.
Thank you, Mr. Mark Bittman for the inspiration.
