Sean H
TVWBB Pro
I went to a friend's wedding in Memphis a couple years ago, and ate at the Rendezvous while I was there. While they're definitely not for everyone, I loved the ribs. They're not smoked, but roasted directly over charcoal, and basted with a mixture of vinegar, water, and dry rub. Needless to say, I was pretty stoked when I found the Rendezvous recipe online: http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/recipe?id=6905590
I also made a recipe I found in Big Bob Gibsons BBQ Book for grilled potato salad. http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/grilled-potato-salad-10000001898485/
Coals fired up. I used about 3/4 chimney of Kingsford. I think there were a couple pieces of lump and some pecan wood in there, too (leftovers from a previous outing):
Bottom grate in place, with no heat deflection:
Start off with bone side down. I basted about every 15 minutes or so:
About halfway through the ribs' cook time, I got started on the grilled potato salad:
Time to flip the ribs, about 40 minutes after I put them on:
Meat side up again to finish cooking. The recipe says they're done when the meat is too hot to touch. I prefer using the tear test and the bend test, so I left it on for about 15 more minutes:
Here's the finished product. Baby back ribs in under 2 hours. I hit it up with some more of the basting liquid, and sprinkled some of the dry rub on top:
Plated, with my grilled potato salad and some green beans:
This was really tasty. The ribs were perfectly tender, and the outer surface had a bit of crispness to them. The vinegar/rub baste added some nice flavors to the mix as well. There's really no smoke flavor to speak of, other than the minor amount supplied by the charcoal, so if that's a deal-breaker, this recipe isn't for you. Otherwise, it's a delicious and interesting way to prepare ribs (on that note, I would not recommend this method for spares).
I also made a recipe I found in Big Bob Gibsons BBQ Book for grilled potato salad. http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/grilled-potato-salad-10000001898485/
Coals fired up. I used about 3/4 chimney of Kingsford. I think there were a couple pieces of lump and some pecan wood in there, too (leftovers from a previous outing):
Bottom grate in place, with no heat deflection:
Start off with bone side down. I basted about every 15 minutes or so:
About halfway through the ribs' cook time, I got started on the grilled potato salad:
Time to flip the ribs, about 40 minutes after I put them on:
Meat side up again to finish cooking. The recipe says they're done when the meat is too hot to touch. I prefer using the tear test and the bend test, so I left it on for about 15 more minutes:
Here's the finished product. Baby back ribs in under 2 hours. I hit it up with some more of the basting liquid, and sprinkled some of the dry rub on top:
Plated, with my grilled potato salad and some green beans:
This was really tasty. The ribs were perfectly tender, and the outer surface had a bit of crispness to them. The vinegar/rub baste added some nice flavors to the mix as well. There's really no smoke flavor to speak of, other than the minor amount supplied by the charcoal, so if that's a deal-breaker, this recipe isn't for you. Otherwise, it's a delicious and interesting way to prepare ribs (on that note, I would not recommend this method for spares).
