The Perfect Rib Guide

One of the joys of summer is barbecued ribs. There's nothing like sinking your teeth into juicy, well seasoned meat. Yet prepping and grilling them takes some skill. Luckily there's a quick guide for rib lovers.

Steven Rajchlen , the famed PBS chef of such shows as Project Smoke, Project Fire, Primal Grill and Barbecue Grill wrote this must keep article in today's New York Times Food section. He gives six steps in which even the novice griller can produce juicy, flavorful ribs. The first step is selecting the right ribs. Keep in mind that one pig provides four different kinds of ribs. There are baby backs, sometimes referred to as top loin, spare ribs, rib tips and country style. Chef, Rajchlen recommends using the baby backs. They have the most marbling and the tenderest meat making them the quickest to cook.If possible buy them  from a heritage pork breed like Berkshire or Kurobuta or Mangalitsa. They do cost more but they have the best and most intense pork taste  For more bite it's then layering flavors.Start with a slather of Dijon mustard brushed on both sides. Next comes a rub. Chef Rajchlen uses a blend of brown sugar, celery seed, salt, pepper and chile powder. The third layer comes from apple cider which is spritzed on halfway through cooking., (Get a spray bottle for this). This keeps the meat moist. For the fourth layer or varnish, use a chipotle bourbon sauce. All these layers are featured in the article.

The third step is grilling over indirect heat.It's cooking the meat over charcoal. Chef Rajchlen gives the how to for different kinds of grills. Most home chefs have the basic barbecue where you put the meat in tin foil to catch the fat. Step four is applying the smoke. wood smoke is the unami of barbecue. What wood to use? There are several that would impart a good flavor. Think cherry,apple or hickory. Many go for mesquite because it has a strong earthy flavor that goes well with the pork. Soak the chips in water first to slow down the rate of combustion so the chips smolder and smoke. This prevents them from catching fire. if you have a pellet grill, the flavor and smoke are already built into the pellets. You can smoke ribs in your oven and they will turn out fine. As this is going on it's time to cook the sauce. Namely it's slathering on a homemade one on the meat the last twenty minutes of cooking. Move the ribs right over the fire so the brown sugar in the sauce caramelizes and sears it into the meat. The last step is knowing when the ribs are done. The sign is when the meat shrinks from the bone. A quarter to half inch of bone should be showing at the end of the rib. You should be able to pull the meat apart but there should be some resistance.

This is rib season. Make a delicious flavorful rack that chewy and tasty. It's easy with this simple and helpful guide.