4th of July Menu

Happy (Belated) 4th of July!  So Caitlin and I had some people over on the 4th so we could show off the patio we built and as an excuse to make a bunch of stuff in my smoker.  The smoker I got has pretty much turned into the best thing ever.  I've only used it 3 or 4 times, and already, it's just awesome!  So for our party I made a whole chicken and 2 racks of baby back ribs in the smoker.  Let me tell you, my spice rub, combined with that smoker, made those two things unbelievably delicious!  Here's what you'll need for each:

Whole Smoked Chicken

6 or 8 hours or so before you want to eat, take the chicken out of the fridge and brush it with about 1/4 cup each of apple cider vinegar (or red wine vinegar) and Olive oil.  Set it on a broiler pan or a large plate and shake or rub the entire surface with spice rub and set in an unheated oven until 4 hours before dinner time.  This is to allow the spices to soak in and flavor the skin and also to allow the chicken to warm up to room temperature.  A little tip is that a chicken at room temperature is better for roasting than a cold chicken.  Get your smoker going at about 275 degrees and set the chicken on the rack and let it go for about 3 to 3 1/2 hours.  Check it with a meat thermometer, you want the internal temperature on the chicken to be at least 150 degrees in the smoker.  Turn on the grill to medium or your oven broiler and put the chicken under the high heat for 10 or 15 minutes to crisp

Smoked Baby Back Ribs

Take your rib(s) the day before you want to cook them up and remove the white membrane along the back with your fingers and a paper towel (it helps you hold onto the membrane).  Lay out a piece of heavy duty aluminum, enough to completely cover each rib rack.  Then brush with a half and half mixture of apple cider vinegar and olive oil and then rub on a coating of rub my patented spice rub and wrap tightly in foil and put in the fridge overnight for the spices to work their way into the ribs.

The next day, get the smoker going to about 250-275 degrees and cut the rib racks in half (so they'll fit in the smoker better) and place into the smoker.  Let it smoke for about 2 hours and then remove from the smoker and re-wrap in foil and let sit for about 20 or 30 minutes so the ribs will effectively braise.  Then, about 15 minutes before you want to eat, throw the ribs bone side down on a grill on medium heat and brush with your favorite barbeque sauce and let them crisp up.  Then right before serving, shake on another coating of rib rub and serve!

Oven Baked Barbeque Spare Ribs

So we're down in Florida visiting the Brother and Sister in law, and we wanted something easy to make, delicious, and barbequed.  We had some ribs at Busch Gardens and they were well. . . underwhelming.  So we thought some ribs were in order.  Now, they don't have a grill, so I had to make do with my oven baked recipe, which is about 90% as good (and if you've never had the grill/smoked version, well, that 90% is still awesome).  Here's what you'll need:

Baby Back Pork Ribs
or
Beef or Pork Spare Ribs (with or without the bones)

Seasoning:
I'd recommend using my Spice Rub but if you don't have that, you can mix together 2 tbsp each of:

Crushed or Chopped Rosemary
Thyme
Oregano
Garlic Powder
Black Pepper
Salt
Paprika
Chili Powder (if you want some heat on the ribs!)
and/or
Chipotle/Ancho Powder

Or just go to the store and buy some rub, I know McCormick's makes a couple different varieties as do many others.

So, to start out, if the ribs have bones still in them, make sure the membrane on the back side has been removed (butchers usually do this, but not always).  If you can see an opaque white membrane on the back side of the ribs, use a knife or a spatula to peel this off.  This will allow the meat to cook and absorb moisture from the back side more easily, which will result in much softer ribs.

First off, pre-heat the oven to 325°. While that's heating up, take out your baking sheet or broiler pan and cover it with foil.  This will help with the cleanup later.  Make sure the whole pan is covered by foil so that the drippings can't get below to the pan (this is where it's handy to buy the larger size foil roll at the store. . . ).  Lay the ribs out on the pan and gently rub on you seasoning mixture to both sides of all the ribs.

Once the oven reaches 325°, put the ribs in for about 90 minutes and then baste them with your favorite sauce (like Kraft or KC Masterpiece) and put them back in for another 20-30 minutes so the sauce can work its way in and thicken up.  Then, sprinkle any remaining rub/spice on top of the sauce and turn the oven to broil and let it broil for 5 or 6 minutes to help turn the spice and sauce into a nice crust.

You should end up with some delicious soft oven baked ribs with a little kick of flavor!  Serve with your favorite sides and a beer or two (and some wet naps!) and you're good to go, easy as pie.  If you really want to feed a ton of people, serve with my beer can chicken (though that may require 2 ovens. . .)