New Guest Post Series – Smokin’ With the Dutchess

I love guest BBQ posts, because they give me a chance to introduce bloggers I respect and follow to the rest of my readers.  This time, I get to give you all a bit of international flavor with the introduction of Hanneke Eerden, a food blogger from the Netherlands and host of TheDutchessCooks.com.

Hanneke has been rockin’ a Weber kettle charcoal grill since about 2009, and she will be sharing some of her favorite ways to use it as a smoker here on The BBQ Smoker Site.  So, without any further ado, I present to you for your reading pleasure the first issue of “Smokin’ With the Dutchess!”

Smokin’ With the Dutchess – BBQ Ribs

One of my favorite BBQ foods is ribs. Smoked ribs. Juicy, delicious and tender ribs. I know there are many recipes and ways to prepare them, but here’s the way I prepare them.  They come out tasty and finger lickin’ good every time, if I do say so myself!

If you have any ideas on how to tweak this approach, leave a comment below. I’m always open to suggestions.

After all, I’m just a Dutch girl trying to understand the secrets of good BBQ!

Preparing Ribs on My Weber Kettle

I don’t have a “real” BBQ smoker (great start…!), so I’m using my Weber kettle barbeque to make these ribs.  I find that this works.  You just have to pay a little more attention to the cooking process than you would with say, a pellet smoker.

The toughest part for me is still getting the Weber to hold at the right temperature. And when you add the fact to it that I’m kind of an impatient person, well you get the picture! Patience is the magic word! In the beginning, when I first started using my weber kettle for smoking I admit I made (a few) mistakes, but I’m getting better at it.  At least now I know how to work with the coals that I always use. Not unimportant.

At first, my choice was regular charcoal briquettes, but I didn’t like it.  The heat they put out was not always the same, and at that time I didn’t know where to get a good brand over here. Then I tried charcoal made of coconut shells, and these I liked. No more surprises, and one large bag is enough for a few weeks!

But now, back to the ribs.

Lesson Learned – Always Go with Meat You Know

You know what they say “never change a winning team”. I framed that since last time. And I altered it in “never go to another butcher.” For this recipe I went to a different butcher than I usually do. For no reason, and now I know I shouldn’t do that anymore. The ribs I bought weren’t as good and meaty as the ones I normally use. Lesson learned.  When you find a quality butcher you can trust, stick with it.  No matter what process you use to prepare good barbecue, it’s the meat that always matters most.

Do a Little Dance… Make a Little Rub… and Get Down!

Ribs aren’t ribs without a rub. A few weeks ago I received a package from Bandiola Spice, with the whole range of their spice line, including a rib rub. The smell of the rub was very promising, and when I tasted a little bit I knew these ribs were going to be perfect!

I cleaned the ribs and removed the membrane. Why don’t butchers do this? I mean, who’s eating them with the membrane on? Funny, but I remember a few years ago I didn’t know a thing about ribs. I ordered them in a restaurant, and they came with the membrane still on them! I didn’t like that at all.  How was I supposed to know that that wasn’t the right way to prepare BBQ ribs?   Tells you a lot about the BBQ scene over here…

After giving the ribs a nice coating of the Bandiola spice rub, it was time for the cook.  This time I used wood pellets for smoking. Wood pellets with Jack Daniels, that is! It’s so American!  I couldn’t resist! After the temperature of the Weber reached 265 degrees F, I added the wood pellets and the ribs.

After about 90 minutes, the ribs were ready to get a nice bath of apple juice and a splash of Jack Daniels. I wrapped them in foil, and back on the Weber they went! The smell of the Bandiola Rib Rub was already mouthwatering!!

After an hour I unpacked the ribs and mopped them with barbeque sauce. 20 minutes after that, and it was dinner time!!

Don’t they look mighty good?  They tasted really wonderful. The taste was just like I want ribs to be…  a bit sweet, a bit sticky and with a nice deep flavor.  It would have been absolutely perfect I hadn’t gone to that new butcher.  Next time I promise you, they’ll be super! Because I’ll be back at my regular butcher shop.

I’m also going to give this rub another shot, as it was awesome!   If you want to try this too, go visit www.BandiolaSpice.com and see for yourself how good these seasonings are, not only for ribs!!

I served the ribs with fries (yeah! my favorite side dish) and a green salad for a nice picture!

As always ~Bon Appetit!  And be sure to check out the other BBQ Recipes in the Smokin’ with the Dutchess series!

The Dutchess

www.TheDutchessCooks.com

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