From Denny: How often can you get a renowned grill master, a barbecue world champion, to walk you through the steps to successful and perfect ribs? Here's your chance. Good Morning, America invited him on to the show to show us his way of making the most delectable mouth-watering ribs. This is July Fourth and we sure think ribs for this holiday.Mike Mills has managed to parlay his love of cooking ribs into creating seven national restaurants - from four in Illinois to three in Las Vegas. This is really amusing: He is the only barbecue pit master with top-security clearance to board Air Force One. Mike is also the only barbecue pit master who’s been featured in Vogue magazine for a total of four times.
Of course he was also inducted into the National Barbecue Hall of Fame in 2010. You have to read his bio and list of appearances and accomplishments. The man has been quite busy for the past twenty years!
I took the time to find his various sites. There are links for his cookbook on Amazon, his link to his bio and list of accomplishments that will make you smile and a link to his restaurant site with several locations. Mike Mills is big on teaching and holds smoke seminars and consults too. What a guy.
Mike Mills in the middle, of course
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Apple City Barbecue Grand World Champion Ribs
From: Mike Mills (check out this bio and list of appearances), 17th Street Bar & Grill.
Adapted from Mike Mills' book: Peace, Love, and Barbecue.
Servings: 4 - 6
Difficulty: Easy
Cook Time: 30 - 60 min
From Mike Mills: People are mystified about how to cook ribs properly. I'm going
to walk you through every step of the way as though you're using
a basic charcoal grill. Obviously if you have different or more
high-tech equipment, you'll need to modify these procedures. If
you're setting up your backyard charcoal grill for indirect
cooking, you'll want to use a disposable aluminum pan to capture
the grease as the fat renders while cooking. Some people add
water to this pan to add moisture to the cooking environment.
to walk you through every step of the way as though you're using
a basic charcoal grill. Obviously if you have different or more
high-tech equipment, you'll need to modify these procedures. If
you're setting up your backyard charcoal grill for indirect
cooking, you'll want to use a disposable aluminum pan to capture
the grease as the fat renders while cooking. Some people add
water to this pan to add moisture to the cooking environment.
Let me caution you right up front to mop the ribs with sauce no
more than 10 minutes before you take them off the grill. Saucing
the meat too early is a mistake many people make when smoking or
grilling. Virtually all barbecue sauce contains sugar, and your
meat will have a burned crust around the outside if you use sauce
too soon in the process.
Ribs are readily available in most grocery stores. When selecting
ribs, try not to buy ones that weigh less than 2 pounds. A true
baby back rib weighs about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds; they are very
fragile and dry out quickly. This recipe calls for a meatier rib.
A loin back rib is preferable; they're easier to cook, less
fragile, and have more meat.
Once you start smoking ribs, you can't leave the smoker
unattended for any more than about 20 minutes. You'll need to
continually check that the temperature in the grill remains
between 200 and 210 degrees at all times. If it gets too hot,
open the lid and allow some of the heat to escape.
Coals that appear to be glowing red will cause a hot spot. Don't cook the
ribs directly over the hot spot; move the ribs to a different,
cooler part of the grill. If the temperature dips below 200
degrees, move the ribs to a hot spot for a while. If the
temperature gets too low, add some more coals.
You'll need about 4 cups of apple wood chips to be authentic; you
can use hickory, pecan, sweet maple, or cherry, but the ribs
won't taste as sweet. You'll also need a chimney starter or
another small covered grill or bucket to keep extra hot coals.
Apple City Barbecue Grand World Champion Ribs
Ingredients:
4 racks of ribs (about 2 pounds each)
Magic Dust (see recipe below) or your favorite dry rub
4 cups apple juice in a spray bottle
Apple City Barbecue Sauce or your favorite dry rub
For the magic dust:
1/2 cup paprika
1/4 cup kosher salt, finely ground
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons mustard powder
1/4 cup chili powder
1/4 cup ground cumin
2 tablespoons ground black pepper
1/4 cup granulated garlic
2 tablespoons cayenne
Magic Dust (see recipe below) or your favorite dry rub
4 cups apple juice in a spray bottle
Apple City Barbecue Sauce or your favorite dry rub
For the magic dust:
1/2 cup paprika
1/4 cup kosher salt, finely ground
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons mustard powder
1/4 cup chili powder
1/4 cup ground cumin
2 tablespoons ground black pepper
1/4 cup granulated garlic
2 tablespoons cayenne
Directions:
Trim any excess fat and remove the membrane from the back of the
ribs.
ribs.
Sprinkle the ribs liberally with Magic Dust, coating both sides.
Put them in a shallow pan or on a cookie sheet and cover them
with clear plastic wrap or a lid. Refrigerate them until you're
ready to use them. I recommend letting them marinate for at least
an hour. At the restaurant, we dust the ribs up to a day in
advance.
Start your fire using Royal Oak charcoal.
Soak the apple wood chips in water for half an hour. Drain.
Remove the grate and arrange the medium-hot coals in a grill or
smoker. If you are using a grill, it must have a lid. Set an
aluminum pan next to the coals as a drip pan. Spread out the wet
wood chips on the coals. Replace the rack, close the grill, and
check the temperature. It should be between 200 and 210 degrees.
If the temperature is too high, open the lid to allow some heat
to escape.
wood chips on the coals. Replace the rack, close the grill, and
check the temperature. It should be between 200 and 210 degrees.
If the temperature is too high, open the lid to allow some heat
to escape.
Notice that the meat on a rack of ribs is on the top. The bottom,
where you removed the membrane, is called the "bone side." Once
the temperature is steady, place the ribs on the rack, bone side
down. You want to cook them bone side down as much as possible.
Turning them dries out the meat. If necessary, you can cut the
racks of ribs in half to comfortably fit your grill.
Cover and smoke the ribs for about 4-6 hours or until the ribs
are done and tender. This is not an exact science; we're not
baking a cake.
You'll want to check the ribs every 20 minutes or so. Examine
them to see if the surface of the meat looks dry or moist. Ribs
"sweat" about three times during the smoking process. The pores
of the meat open, and this allows moisture to escape. This is
when the seasoning from the dry rub and the smoke itself are
reabsorbed into the meat.
When they're sweating, mop or mist them with some apple juice
and sprinkle them with a little more Magic Dust. Opening the lid
will lower the temperature; add more coals and wood chips as
needed to maintain the temperature.
About 10 minutes before you remove the ribs from the pit, mop
them with the sauce. When you take them off the pit, mop again
with sauce and sprinkle some more Magic Dust on them. Serve
immediately.
For the magic dust:
Mix all ingredients and store in a tightly covered container. To
make it a little more hot and spicy, increase the mustard powder
and black pepper to 1/4 cup each.
Makes: about 2 1/2 cups.
Show your love for America!
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