More Ribs

We're still enjoying the backs and spares I smoked up a few days ago but I wanted to try something different for the July 4th holiday. Inspired by Steve Raichlen's beef back ribs Gaucho style, I got some beef back ribs from Wheaton Meats. My next stop was Valli Produce and they had been back ribs as well, and on sale. So I got some more. The rack from WM was the whole one and weighed in at 4 ¼ lb and the ones from Valli at 1 ¾ lb.

These will not be smoked. Raichlen roasted them spitted next to an open ground fire Fogo de Chao style. Instead, I will use a large kettle and cook using indirect heat. I'm firing my weber with Mesquite lump and will throw some Apple and Hickory chips on for some smoke. I'm starting out with all vents wide open. Seasoning for the beef is coarse salt and fresh cracked black pepper. (One of the few times I'm cooking meat with no garlic!)

Before I put the meat on, I roasted three peppers right on the coals to make a Middle East inspired roasted pepper dip.

Meat went on the grill about 4:15 PM. by 4:30 the temp had stabilized at about 270° F. I'm happy with that. I could go a bit higher, but the thermometer is directly above the meat so it's probably reading just a bit on the low side.

45 minutes and the meat was pulling back on the bone, but I saw some blood when I turned them so I guess they're OK. Better hurry with the veggies! At one hour temp had dropped off about 10° which was just fine. Temperature continued to slowly drift down and at 6:00 PM it was down to about 250° when I took the meat off.

As good as these look, man does not live by meat alone. My most recent addition to my Weber collection is a small gasser that's great for grilling vegetables without heating up the house.

I have a pretty decent cast iron grate for it that has a flat upper surface and bars about 3/4" top to bottom. With a little preheating it puts great grill marks on the food.

The result was a delicious dinner. I toasted some whole wheat pita on the gasser (brushed with some EVOO and sesame seed) and we had that with the fire roasted red pepper dip while the ribs rested. I did manage to eat two of the ribs, but should have stopped at one. After all, each rib is over half a pound. Yukon Gold potatoes brushed with some EVOO and sprinkled with slat and black pepper made a great complement to the ribs.

I should add a couple of notes about the roasted red pepper dip. I tried to copy one of Steve Raichlen's preparations from hus BBQ U series. It starts with peppers roasted directly on the coals. That way they peel easily once cool. I used:

4 red peppers
1 can garbanzos (chickpeas)
7 oz Feta cheese
2 cloves garlic
(Blend these and add)
juice from one lemon
1/4 C EVOO
salt
cayenne
black pepper

We served the dip on whole wheat pita toasted with a bit of EVOO and sesame seeds. The dip was very tasty but a bit runny. Next time maybe drain and rinse the garbanzos. I just drained them this time.