Week 25 - Andrew - Barbecue

Monday

Ok. People coming over on Sunday. I’m going to make ribs. I have people over, this is going to be great. So I’ll get the ribs, and simmer them for two hours, take them out when the meat is tender - brush them with sauce and stick them on the grill. That’s how I half heard they make it in Chicago. Let me Google it quickly to check temperatures and cooking times.

Tuesday

Yesterday’s Googling threw up some interesting ideas. If i simmer the ribs, all i’m really doing is making stock, and taking the flavour out of the meat. I should be cooking them low and slow. Slow-roasting in the oven. Simmering the ribs is for chumps and cheap Chicago restaurants. That’s a shame, I thought that restaurant was quite good - really enjoyed those ribs. Anyway, the slow roasting is the best bet. I’ll just grab some barbecue sauce from the shops. I wonder if there are any recommendations online.

Wednesday

You guys - do you know about barbecue sauce? There are a lot of barbecue sauces. Did you know there are very different types of barbecue? The most popular types are Memphis, Kansas City and South Carolina. One is dry, one is sugary and one is vinegary. Which type is Chef BBQ sauce? That’s all they had in Tesco? Which is the right one to have? Vinegary? That doesn’t sound nice! Let me quickly check the internet to see what will work best.

Thursday

OK. Only amateurs use store bought barbecue sauce. The bbq forum i was reading last night went into some detail on this subject. I need to get some liquid smoke on the way home from work. I’m not sure i’ve ever seen that. Also - molasses. What is a molass? do they come in a bag? I’ll see if I can pick them up online

Friday

WHAT WAS I THINKING? Liquid Smoke? Also slow roasting? Am I trying to punish my guests for coming over? Amazingribs.org (it’s a non-profit) steered me right. Thankfully, I can fix this easily. I just need a smoker. I can smoke some chillis today, and then start smoking the ribs at 2am on Sunday morning. I’ll have a look online to see if there is anything else.

Saturday

I have not slept in 36 hours. I have ordered a smoker from Amazon. I paid extra for 24 hour delivery. Homebase do not have mesquite. Smoking with any other type of wood is a waste of good pork. That’s what the forums have told me. I also can’t find fresh chipotle chilli peppers. I have to brine my ribs. Do you know what brining is? I do. It’s keeping it in a bag of salt water. for hours. Which is different from my original plan by virtue of temperature. Once I brine it, I have to rub spices into it! THAT’S A THING! I’m going to quickly make sure I have the spice rub. Jesus. That’s twelve hours brining, an hour to trim & do the rub,  then six hours cooking, then an hours resting. Am I in the future?

Sunday

Fuck it. Burgers. I'll see if there's a good recipe online.