You know we love our ribs around here!

If you were to list the top five legends of barbecue, Ardie Davis and Paul Kirk would surely be on that list. That’s why I couldn’t wait to get my hands on their new book, America’s Best Ribs. When two giants such as these collaborate on a book about ribs, it’s assured to be top notch.

Another assurance is, when two old timers get together there will be plenty of storytelling. That is exactly what happens in America’s Best Ribs. The book contains a few good stories and several from other pitmasters. Although it’s not all play, they do get down to business…serious rib business.

The Rib Basics chapter is well presented. It’s simplistic, yet thorough enough to get a beginner off to the right start. From what to look for when buying ribs and how to prepare them to understanding rubs, sauces and smoking woods, it’s all here.

With that knowledge under your belt, you’ll be ready to cook some ribs. There are recipes for pork, beef and bison, as well as lamb and mutton. I have to say, these recipes sound phenomenal. I want to try them all!

Ardie and Paul don’t just leave you with a great slab of ribs. They have your next backyard barbecue completely covered with two chapters of mouthwatering side dishes and dessert recipes.

Regardless of your experience level, America’s Best Ribs has something for everyone. If you’re just starting out, this book will take your rib cooking skills up a notch, while those who have been cooking ribs forever will find the recipes a great addition to your arsenal.

About the Authors

Ardie A. Davis, PhB, a charter member of the Kansas City Barbeque Society and former three-term member of the board of directors, founded the American Royal International BBQ Sauce, Rub and Baste Contest and the Great American Barbecue Sauce, Baste and Rub Contest. He is also the author of seven barbecue cookbooks.

Chef Paul Kirk, CWC, PhB, BSAS, a charter member of the Kansas City Barbeque Society and member of the board of directors, operates the Baron’s School of Pitmasters. The author of eight barbecue cookbooks, he has won more than 525 cooking and barbecuing awards, among them seven world championships, including the prestigious American Royal Open, the world’s largest barbecue contest.

Need more info, or want to buy it? Click here.

You May Also Like:

Can’t get enough barbecue? These ideas should keep you going.

Grilled Mutton Ribs

From the Book!

Pineapple Coleslaw

Also from the Book!

Planet Barbecue!

What a Book!

 

What’d Ya think?

I’d love to hear your thoughts…good or bad. Leave a comment below and don’t forget, you can stalk me at Twitter or Facebook.

Technorati Tags: american barbecue, best ribs, cooking ribs, rib cooking

Enjoy your ribs and always remember…admire the fire!

Recipe courtesy of Ardie A. Davis and Chef Paul Kirk from their latest book, America’s Best Ribs. If you’d like to read my book review, click…here.

What Ya Be Eatin’ Wit Dem Ribs?

There’s only one thing that needs to be served with a slab of top ribs and that’s a great side dish. If you’re stuck for ideas, here’s a few:

Pineapple Coleslaw

From the Book!

Bacon Wrapped Shrimp

A great starter

Peaches and Rum

The perfect ending!

 

What’d Ya think?

I’d love to hear your thoughts…good or bad. Leave a comment below and don’t forget, you can stalk me at Twitter or Facebook.

Technorati Tags: BBQ lamb, grilled mutton, Kentucky recipes, lamb recipes

Goes great with all types of ribs.

I love coleslaw. It’s oftentimes all I’ll eat for lunch, along with some cornbread of course. This pineapple coleslaw is excellent and so easy to make. It’s a great accompaniment to any type of barbecued ribs.

Enjoy your slaw and always remember…admire the fire!

 Pineapple coleslaw recipe courtesy of  Ardie A. Davis and Chef Paul Kirk from their latest book, America’s Best Ribs. If you’d like to read my book review, click…here.

What Ribs Ya Be Eatin’ Wit Dat Slaw?

There’s only one thing that needs to be served with a good coleslaw and that’s a great slab of ribs. If you’re stuck for ideas, here’s a few:

Champion Ribs

Aren't these pretty?

Jalapeño Glazed Lamb

A little heat is neat!

Korean Beef Ribs

Oh, so tender!

 

What’d Ya think?

I’d love to hear your thoughts…good or bad. Leave a comment below and don’t forget, you can stalk me at Twitter or Facebook.

Technorati Tags: America's Best Ribs, coleslaw recipes, side dish recipes

Gimmick or Fact?

Leave my chips alone! I’ve never been fond of flavored potato chips. I especially despise barbecue flavored. They actually taste nothing like barbecue. I really don’t see the point. After all, what’s wrong with potato chip flavored potato chips?

As luck would have it, I was at Walmart shopping for a lawn tractor battery when out of the corner of my eye I spotted not just a bag of barbecue potato chips, but baby back rib potato chips. That’s pretty specific, I’d say. They can’t even get the barbecue flavor right, yet they’re going to try and convince me that these chips taste like baby back ribs? The package doesn’t indicate what style of ribs they taste like. They don’t mention if they’re Kansas City style or Memphis style or anything. Maybe they taste like raw pork.

Well, of course I had to buy them. Wouldn’t you? It’s the novelty of it all. The humor of it alone made the $2 and some change worth the investment.

Made by Herr Foods out of Nottingham, PA, I was curious of what ingredients could possibly produce a chip that would resemble the flavor of baby back ribs. Besides several oils, there was sugar, salt, onion powder, molasses, tomato powder, garlic powder, paprika extract, smoke flavor and a bunch of other unknown crap. Wow, those ingredients are similar to what we might use to make our own barbecue sauce and rub, minus the unknown crap of course.

The aroma from the bag was good. It smelled similar to a mild meat rub with a minor flavor infusion of potato chips. Now comes the taste test. I have to admit, they do taste like baby back ribs, although the power of suggestion may be playing a key role.

Whether these chips really taste like baby back ribs is up to you…and your imagination. They’re not bad for a flavored potato chip. If you’re into barbecue flavored chips, you’ll like them. They didn’t leave all that red stuff on your fingers, either. My only complaint was the ability to find a whole chip. Maybe my bag was just mishandled, but most of the chips were half chips at best.

Although tasty, they’re not enough to convert me away from my love for regular potato chips. I think I’ll hold out for spare rib flavored.

Technorati Tags: barbecue snacks

Many of the barbecue “Bibles” entail 500 pages or more and while great resources, they tend to overwhelm the beginner rather than teach. Ray’s book contains just a bit under 200 pages. I’m more skeptical.

After a foreword by Famous Dave Anderson, of Famous Dave’s Barbecue, Ray gets into the basics. The Art of Barbecue was a great read. In two pages, he explains all that is barbecue. It was short and sweet, but conveyed the theory quite well.

The tools and techniques chapter covered just about everything in a very simplistic manner. In addition to the basic tools and the various styles of cookers, he explains charcoal and gives you a complete rundown of the different types of smoking wood. If you’ve never fired up a grill in your life, this chapter will have you brimming with confidence.

The backbone of great barbecue is spice. It doesn’t matter how good your sauce and rub recipes are, they must play nice together. This is a concept that many beginners fail to grasp, yet it is so important. Chapter one not only explains this critical, yet often ignored process, but then gives you enough rub and sauce recipes to keep you busy for quite some time.

“The trick is using ingredients that compliment each other and getting the ratio just right. Like any other cooking, it’s all about balance.”

Ahh, the meat part. It’s all covered. From ribs and pork to beef and birds, I have to say that most of the recipes look pretty darn tasty. If I failed to mention that each meat type begins with a brief overview of the animal itself, it’s because I delved into the recipes. Oh look…pulled barbecue beef. I’ve only had pulled pork.

Man can’t survive on meat alone. OK, maybe we could, but a great barbecue sure is better with some side dishes. Yep, it’s also here. How about some Smoked Stuffed Baby Bellas or a Carolina-style Coleslaw? The Cheesy Mac and Cheese sounds heavenly! Look no further for side dishes. By the time you get through all these, you’ll have learned enough to begin creating your own.

If you’re a beginner looking to expand your cooking skills into the fine art of barbecue, Slow Fire will surely set you in the right direction. The book is not intimidating in stature, but complete in guidance. I firmly believe Ray Lampe can teach you to barbecue with just one book.

For experienced barbecue cooks, Slow Fire is a great resource. In addition to some great recipes, Ray can help you perfect an area that you may be weak in. Brisket for instance, is my weakness. I’m convinced that Slow Fire will help me improve upon my brisket cooking skills.

The problem I have with Slow Fire are these recipes: Barbecue Champion Ribs, Competition-Style Pork Butt, Competition-Style Beef Brisket and Competition-Style Barbecued Chicken Thighs. Teaching a person to barbecue is one thing, but championship barbecue is another. Is it possible that a beginner can crank out competition quality barbecue right from the outset? That’s quite a bold claim!

Before I criticize, maybe I should take Ray’s challenge. As a certified barbecue judge, I know championship level barbecue. I’ll remove my pitmaster hat and pretend I know nothing about cooking barbecue. Let’s follow the recipe to the letter and cook up some ribs…after all, this is a rib website. We’ll see if Ray can guide me into a high score at the Judge’s table.

I’ll be the first to acknowledge my mistakes. Yes, the Doctor did indeed walk me through the creation of a championship quality rack of ribs. I would have scored it a 9 on taste and texture if they were presented to me as a judge. Next up…Competition-Style Beef Brisket !

If you’d like to learn more or want to buy the book…and why wouldn’t you? click here.

Meet Ray Lampe

Ray “Dr. BBQ” Lampe has been barbequing professionally for more than 20 years. A multiple cook-off champion, he’s also been a chef, cooking teacher and the writer of the column “Ask Dr. BBQ” for Fiery-Foods & BBQ magazine. He has written five cookbooks, including The NFL Gameday Cookbook and Ribs, Chops, Steaks & Wings. Dr. BBQ has been featured in numerous magazines and on TV shows for his expertise and passion for barbecuing. Although he frequently travels around the country, he resides in Florida. Learn more about Ray at www.drbbq.com.

Enjoy your ribs and always remember…admire the fire!

If you’d like to check out the Barbecue Champion Rib recipe that I cooked up, click…here

My Recommended Ribmaster Essentials

GAS SMOKE BOX

RIB RACK

A GREAT READ

THE BEST RIB SMOKER

 

What’d Ya think?

I’d love to hear your thoughts…good or bad. Leave a comment below and don’t forget, you can stalk me at…

 

 

Technorati Tags: barbecue books, beginner's guide to BBQ, Ray Lampe