Raichlen on Ribs, Ribs, Outrageous Ribs »

Steven Raichlen is America's "master griller" (Esquire). In addition to his bestselling, award-winning Barbecue! Bible cookbooks, articles by him appear regularly in Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, and other magazines and newspapers. He was host of PBS's popular series Barbecue University at the Greenbrier, now out on DVD. Bon Appetit named him Cooking Teacher of the Year (2003). He lives and grills in Coconut Grove, Florida, and on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.

It’s a marriage made in BBQ heaven: America’s foremost grilling guru takes on ribs. Baby backs and spare ribs, short ribs and long ribs, pork ribs, beef ribs, lamb ribs, and more—a passionate, single-subject celebration of meaty, smoky, sweet ’n’ spicy, crowd-pleasing, fall-off-the-bone-tender ribs.

A perfect rib is the culmination of the griller’s art, and nobody’s better at showing how to put it all together—the tastes, techniques, ingredients, recipes, tips—than Steven Raichlen, award-winning author of Barbecue! Bible, How to Grill, Beer-Can Chicken, and other BARBECUE! BIBLE® books with 3 million copies in print. Here are 75 mouth-watering, repertoire-expanding, rib-rocking recipes: Buccaneer Baby Backs with Rumbullion Barbecue Sauce. Lone Star Barrel Staves. Tandoori Ribs. Maui-Style Short Ribs. Jamaican Jerk Ribs. Thai Sweet Chili Ribs. The Original Dinosaur Ribs. Cousin Dave’s Chipotle Chocolate Ribs. But the book is also a rib clinic: It covers the nine methods for cooking ribs, from direct grilling to spit-roasting. The essential techniques for handling ribs. Key ingredients in making homemade sauces, mops, and rubs. And boxes throughout to help take your rib cookery to the next level—even to the competition level, with tips on how to enter and how to win.

Publishers Weekly

Grillmaster Raichlen (The Barbecue Bible; etc.) believes "[t]he rib is surely the most perfect morsel of meat known to man. Most of the world's great food cultures back me on this." To wit, he points to the gastronomy of Argentina, Brazil, Italy, China, Korea and, of course, America. Yet many of the people who attend Raichlen's Barbecue University tell him the thought of cooking ribs intimidates them. While the task isn't complicated, Raichlen admits, a solid grasp of technique, tradition, lore and science can help anyone prepare "the perfect bones." In his casual, friendly manner, Raichlen takes readers through the ins and outs of ribs, with anatomy lessons explaining the difference between various cuts of ribs (like baby backs and rib tips) and instructions on trimming and peeling; seasoning or marinating; and mopping and saucing. He covers direct grilling, smoke-roasting, smoking and spit-roasting (and their variations), with advice on which kinds of ribs are best suited to each method. After an overview of tools and accessories, it's on to the 75 recipes in all their carnivorous glory. From First-Timer's Ribs ("the foolproof recipe that gives you competition-quality bones every time") to Grandpa's Barbecued Pastramied Short Ribs, Raichlen's got ribs-as well as all the necessary sides and sauces-covered. (Apr. 24) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Introduction: The Popular Choice
Ribs 101 (p. 5)
An Anatomy Lesson: Know Your Ribs(p. 6)
Eight Essential Techniques for Prepping & Cooking Ribs (p. 17)
How to Cook Ribs: Six Great Live-Fire Techniques(p. 21)
How to Make Grill-Quality Ribs Indoors (p. 26)
How to Set Up a Grill (p. 29)
What to Cook Your Ribs On: A Quick Guide to Grills and Smokers (p. 39)
Tools and Accessories for Cooking Ribs (p. 48)
Pork Baby Backs (p. 53)
Hands down, this is America’s favorite rib, here cooked to glorious perfection. From the deliciously simple First-Timer’s Ribs to the Maple-Glazed Ribs of Quebec to Chinatown Ribs, Buccaneer Baby Backs, Peanut Butter Ribs, and Porkosaurus Memphis in May Championship Ribs—these are ribs at their finest.
Beyond Baby Backs: Pork Spareribs, Country-Style Ribs, and Rib Tips (p. 143)
There’s much more to pork ribs than baby backs. Fire up the grill and test out Jamaican Jerk Spareribs, Milk and Honey Spareribs, BB’s Rib Tips, and Country-Style Ribs with Chilean Pepper Sauce.
Beef Ribs (p. 173)
Short ribs, long ribs, veal ribs, bison ribs—they’re all here. Feast on Lone Star Beef Ribs, Rabbi’s Ribs, Grandpa’s Barbecued Pastramied Short Ribs, Rotisserie Veal Ribs with Herbes de Provence, and Bison Ribs with Cabernet Sauvignon Barbecue Sauce. All delectable.
Lamb Ribs (p. 221)
Lamb ribs turn up often on the world’s barbecue trail. For a Mediterranean touch, grill Lamb Ribs with Garlic and Mint. And wait until you try them tandoori style with Indian spices, or with ginger, rum, and pineapple as they do in Australia. To really heat things up, serve the North African “Méchoui” of Lamb Ribs with a spicy Harissa, then turn to the Drinks chapter to cool things off.
Side Dishes (p. 241)
Some may wish to feast on ribs alone, but that would mean missing out on Grilled Corn with Barbecue Butter, Smoke-Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Molasses Mustard Baked Beans, and Fennel Slaw—and that would be too much to sacrifice.
Drinks and Desserts (p. 263)
Ribs and beer—what could be better? How about a Dark and Stormy or a Guadeloupean Rum Punch or a glass of White Sangria? Want something a little less high-test? Try Minted Lemonade or Half-and-Halfs. And for dessert, there are Molasses and Spice Grilled Bananas, a Grilled Peach Caramel Sundae, or Grilled Fruit-and-Pound-Cake Kebabs. Perfect!