Low & Slow: Master the Art of Barbecue in 5 Easy Lessons (22 page)

BOOK: Low & Slow: Master the Art of Barbecue in 5 Easy Lessons

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TANGY SEVEN-PEPPER SAUCE

Some people have a “house wine”; this is my “house barbecue sauce.” It’s my answer to all of the cloying, sweet, thick glop served on most competition barbecue. It has a good kick and is the perfect accent for meat coated in my signature blend, Gary Wiviott’s Rub (page 160). You can use Tabasco or any other vinegar-based Louisiana-style hot sauce, but I am adamant about using Búfalo Chipotle Mexican Hot Sauce. It’s very common in Mexican and Latino markets and can be ordered online from MexGrocer.com.

MAKES 6 CUPS

4 cups ketchup
⅔ cup cider vinegar
½ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
¼ pound (1 stick) unsalted butter
2 to 3 lemons, juiced (about ½ cup juice)
4 limes, juiced (about ½ cup juice)
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons dried crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons Búfalo Chipotle Mexican Hot Sauce
2 tablespoons Louisiana-style hot sauce
2 tablespoons Toasted Mexican Pepper
Blend (page 18)

Combine all of the ingredients in a medium nonreactive saucepan. Gently simmer the sauce over medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Store the sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week.

INGREDIENT FINDER: CHIPOTLE HOT SAUCE

Okay, okay. You can’t find Búfalo Chipotle Mexican Hot Sauce, and you don’t feel like ordering it online. Fine. Go to your regular grocery store and buy a can of chipotles in adobo. Pour the whole can in your blender and purée it. Use one tablespoon of the purée in place of the Búfalo sauce. Save the rest of the purée to use in mayo, sour cream, or any sauce, soup, or stew that needs a smoky, spicy kick.

DANNY’S GLAZE

This is a highly regarded recipe from respected barbecue veteran Danny Gaulden. Although undeniably sweet and slightly tart, the main idea is to use it to pretty-up ribs that aren’t necessarily so—for example, on ribs that have overlapped on the cooker and need some cover-up to hide gray patches. This sweet glaze gives the rack the kind of burnished red gloss that many people have come to expect from ribs.

MAKES ABOUT 1 CUP

1 cup brown sugar
¼ cup prepared yellow mustard
¼ cup cider vinegar

Combine the sugar, mustard, and cider vinegar in a medium nonreactive saucepan and stir until the sauce is mixed. Cook the sauce over medium heat until it comes to a low simmer, about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Do not let the sauce come to a full boil. When the sauce has thickened slightly, remove it from the heat.

To apply, paint the sauce on the ribs immediately after removing the racks from the cooker. The heat from the ribs continues to cook and thicken the sauce, turning it into a light glaze.

Store the leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week.

GUAVA GLAZE AND SAUCE

You don’t see a lot of guava in barbecue country, but this tropical sauce fits the island style of charcoal cookery. It puts a typical native ingredient—in this case, guava—to good use, just like a barbecue guy would use a native ingredient like beer.

MAKES ABOUT 3 CUPS

1½ cups chopped onion
4 to 5 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
(about 2 tablespoons)
2 (11.5-ounce) cans guava nectar
⅔ cup guava jelly or red currant jelly
¼ cup dry sherry
¼ cup light molasses
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon cumin seeds, toasted and ground
2 teaspoons dry mustard

Purée the onion and the garlic in a food processor. Combine the purée with all the other ingredients in a large saucepan. Whisk the mixture over medium heat until the jelly dissolves and the sauce comes to a slow boil, about 5 minutes. As soon as the sauce begins to bubble, decrease the heat to low and simmer. Stir frequently to keep the sauce from burning, and simmer until the sauce is reduced to about 3 cups, 35 to 45 minutes.

Store in an airtight container and keep refrigerated for up to one week.

BARBECUE CLASSICS: KANSAS CITY-STYLE SAUCES

SAUCE IS KING IN KANSAS CITY BARBECUE,
and no rack of ribs is considered complete without a pool of it on the plate. There are two distinct styles: the gritty, peppery sauce from legendary Arthur Bryant’s Barbecue, and a sweeter, molasses-based sauce made famous by Gates and Sons Bar-B-Q. Both restaurants can trace their roots back to Tennessee native Henry Perry, who transported Memphis-style barbecue to K. C. and started selling it from a street stand in 1908. Arthur Bryant’s brother, Charlie (who bought Perry’s business when he died in 1940), and Gates and Sons pitmaster, Arthur Pinkard, both worked for Perry.

NOT ARTHUR
BRYANT’S BARBECUE SAUCE

Generations of backyard cooks have tried to replicate the signature grit and spice of Arthur Bryant’s sauce to no avail. Do dried ground peppers make it gritty? Is pickle juice the secret ingredient? There’s no short supply of theories. This version is a fair likeness. I recommend using half-sharp paprika (page 160) because it lends a perfect balance of sweetness and fiery heat to a recipe. This paprika is made from a pepper that has more punch than the red bell peppers used to make sweet paprika.

MAKES ABOUT 4 CUPS

2 cups water
1½ cups white vinegar
1 (8-ounce) can tomato paste
¼ cup lard
¼ cup molasses
2 tablespoons half-sharp paprika
1 tablespoon celery seed, ground
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon dry mustard

Combine all of the ingredients in a large saucepan. Bring the sauce to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

INGREDIENT FINDER: LARD

Yes,
lard
. I can’t imagine a student devoted to learning the art of barbecue would be squeamish about using a little pork fat. That’s not broccoli juice dripping off those ribs. Lard is stocked in the oil and shortening aisle, and in Mexican markets, it’s labeled “manteca” or “manteca de cerdo.” You can also use bacon grease if it’s been properly stored and refrigerated. If you really want to get gourmet, buy fresh rendered lard from a farmers’ market pork vendor or order it from a specialty butcher or meat market and render it yourself. “Leaf lard” is the finest, purest white fat from the kidneys of the pig. It’s what pastry chefs use in pie crusts. In the lard quality (and price) hierarchy, “fatback” is the next best, then “caul fat.” To render the fat, cube it and place it, skin-side down, in a large, heavy pot. Render in a 200°F oven until most of the fat is liquefied, up to six or seven hours. Tasty bonus: the leftover pieces of crispy, crackling skin.

NOT GATES AND SONS BAR-B-Q SAUCE

In one corner: thin, gritty, and vinegary Arthur Bryant’s. In the other corner: this thick and sugary concoction. When the two heavyweights duke it out in a down and dirty fight, there’s no question where my money is. Sweet and sticky sauce can cover a multitude of sins, and this is the thick, sugary sauce to trot out if you tank the ribs. It is most definitely not to my taste, but this sauce has big fans, including my brother-in-law, John P., who also puts sugar by the tablespoon on Frosted Flakes.

MAKES ABOUT 4 CUPS

2 cups ketchup
¾ cup molasses
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
⅓ cup chopped onion
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 lemon, juiced (about 4 tablespoons juice)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon celery salt

Combine all of the ingredients in a saucepan and, stirring, bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer the sauce, uncovered, for 1 hour, stirring frequently.

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

LOW & SLOW QUIZ: LESSON 3

You are almost there, grasshopper. Two more lessons and you’re on the way to barbecue enlightenment. But before you attempt the next cook, you must pass this test. If you get one wrong, repeat Lesson #3.

1. If you buy “enhanced” ribs that have been injected with saltwater and other flavorings, you don’t have to brine or baste the racks. True or False?

2. The primary reason for using the rub-spiked tart wash is . . .
a. to ensure the meat does not dry out
b. to reinforce the rub and add a splash of flavor
c. to seal in moisture in the first part of the cook
d. none of the above

3. Why should you coat ribs in a light layer of yellow mustard before the rub?

4. When shopping for ribs, buy racks with “shiners”—ribs covered with a thick, solid layer of surface fat. True or False?

5. If the oven thermometer on the grate reads 300°F, what should you do?
a. Nothing
b. Partially close the bottom vent(s) by one-third.
c. Check and refill the water pan or charcoal as needed.
d. a and c

6. Why is it important to face the thickest, fattiest or largest bone side of the meat toward the hot zone on the cooker?

7. To check a rack of baby back ribs for doneness...
a. cut off a rib and eat it. If you like it, it’s done.
b. with a pair of tongs, hold the rack four ribs in. If it flexes and the meat cracks, it’s done.
c. a and b
d. a only