Barbecuing has become an important part of our holidays and summertime traditions. Outdoor cooking became popular after WWII when Americans began to build patios and decks, associating cookouts with recreation and relaxation. Lyndon B. Johnson was the first president to throw a cookout at the White House, where he served Texas-style barbecue ribs.
If you’re new to barbecuing and grilling, don’t worry! We’ve got six tips from Outdoor Kitchen Design Center to ensure that you’ll become a grill master in no time:
Use seasonings and marinades to add flavor. It can be as simple as using salt and pepper or preparing a basic marinade to add flavor to the meat.
Focus on the cut. Burgers and steaks need to be a uniform thickness to grill evenly.
Wait until the grill is hot. Use a thermometer to make sure the grill is at the desired temperature before adding the meat.
Make your mark. Only flip meat once during grilling and align it at 10 am and 2 pm to leave professional grill marks.
Enforce the 15 second rule. After placing meat on the grill, don't move it for 15 seconds so water in the meat can be released. Then, baste it with butter and flip to preserve grill marks.
Put the knife down. Don’t be tempted to cut into the meat to check to see if it’s done. Use a meat thermometer for chicken and beef, but for fish use a fork to see if the meat flakes off easily on the edges.
Now that you know how to grill like a pro, try the following BBQ recipe from Southern Recipe Small Batch pork rinds and enjoy the savory results.
BBQ Pork Ribs with Buttered Pork Rinds
Ingredients:
Southern Recipe Small Batch Sea Salt & Cracked Black Pepper Pork Rinds
1/2 rack Baby back pork ribs
1/4 cup Chinese five spices
1/4 cup Chicken broth
1/4 Tbsp. Chili powder
1/2 cup Ketchup
4 Tbsp. Honey
2 Tbsp. Molasses
3 Tbsp. Butter
1/2 cup Sweet onions, chopped fine
1 cup Hickory barbecue sauce
1/2 cup Unsalted butter, melted
1 cup Extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp. Ground cinnamon
4 Tbsp. Grape jelly
5 Tbsp. Black pepper
2 Tbsp. Garlic power
2 Tbsp. Kosher salt
1 Tbsp. Ground cumin
1/4 cup Apple cider
1/4 cup Pomegranate juice
2 Tbsp. Onion powder
4 Tbsp. Cajun hot sauce
Directions:
To make Sticky Cajun BBQ Sauce: Heat a medium saucepan on high heat with butter and onions. When butter begins to melt, stir in the chicken broth, grape jelly, ketchup, honey, molasses, hickory BBQ sauce, apple cider, hot sauce and pomegranate juice. Cook for 15 minutes, whisking occasionally. Lower heat, cover saucepan and simmer sauce for 10 minutes. Remove sauce from heat and set aside.
Preheat the grill to 325 °F. To marinate the ribs: Rinse ribs in clean water, and pat ribs slightly dry with paper towels. Then, pat dry rub seasonings (Chinese five spices, garlic powder, chili powder, cinnamon, Kosher salt, black pepper, onion powder and cumin) onto both sides of the meat. Place two 14-inch pieces of aluminum foil on grill grates. Brush a generous layer of olive oil on the top layer of foil. Lay ribs onto foil, bone side out, meaty side down. Cover ribs with two additional 14-inch pieces of foil and roll edges tightly to seal with bottom foil layers.
To cook the ribs: Place ribs on grill and cook for 1 hour. Remove from heat, apply equal amounts of BBQ sauce onto ribs. Reseal foil layers to cover ribs. Return ribs to the grill, continue to cook for 30 minutes. Rotate and turn ribs. Cook for another 30 minutes on the grill. After ribs have cooked for a total of 2 hours, remove them from the grill. Rotate and turn ribs once more, brushing on more BBQ sauce. Return ribs to grill, unsealed. Heat ribs for 10 more minutes. Remove ribs from heat and allow 7 minutes to cool. Serve with a bowl of Southern Recipe Small Batch Sea Salt & Cracked Black Pepper Pork Rinds topped with melted unsalted butter. Enjoy!