Tuesday, June 16, 2009

BBQ Sunday



St. Louis Style Ribs with Smoked Chicken & Sausage Pasta Salad

Here we have St. Louis cut pork ribs that were cooked "low & slow" in the smoker over hickory wood chips. The membrane on the back of the bones was removed along with any excess fat. The ribs were then rubbed with a home-made BBQ spice which included: Chili Powder, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Fresh Ground Coffee, Paprika, Cajun Spice, Kosher Salt & Pepper. The ribs were cooked at 250 degrees for about 4 hours, or until the meat pulls from the bone with a gently tug. They are then left to sit to come down to room temperature or can be placed in the fridge if not being served for a while. It's important to let the ribs cool down before finishing them on the grill- This will keep the meat juicy and tender and won't get over cooked during the final step. After the ribs have cooled, placed the racks on a medium/high heat and baste generously. Flip them 2-3 times while basting and they should be perfect in about 5-10 minutes or so. The meat should not fall off the bone until bitten, then pull away cleanly. Fantastic!


The same rub was used for the Chicken for the pasta salad. Clean a whole bird and rub the BBQ spices generously on the chicken, inside and out. The Chicken and the sausage comes out of the smoker after about 1 1/2 hours or so. The chicken goes in breast down for the 1st 1/2 hour then they're flipped over for the remainder of the smoke. Once finished, the chicken was pulled and the sausage was sliced for the salad and left to cool. Penne pasta was used here, cooked al-dente and tossed with chopped onion, celery, sun-dried tomato & the smoked meats. A quick mustard vinaigrette dressing with fresh basil was whipped up and used to toss all the ingredients together.