Raichlen - Project Smoke

It gives me great pleasure to thank all the people on team Project Smoke.

Editorial and Production: Sarah Brady, Kate Karol, Suzanne Fass, Barbara Peragine, and Claire McKean

Design: Becky Terhune

Photography: Anne Kerman, Matthew Benson, Nora Singley, Sara Abalan, Bobby Walsh, Angela Cherry, and Lena Diaz

Publicity and Marketing: Selina Meere, Rebecca Carlisle, Jessica Wiener, and Lauren Southard

Sales: All the members of the great Workman sales team

Website: Molly Kay Upton and Joanna Eng

Recipe Testers: Rob Baas, Chris Lynch, Denise Swidey, and Ashley Archibald

Project Smoke TV: Matt Cohen, Gwenn Williams, Richard Dallett, Ryan Kollmorgan, John Pappalardo, Patrick Shea, Jillian Kuchman, Michael Orsborn, Jon Nichols, Paul Stapleton-Smith, Emily Belleranti, Michael Cottrel, and John Dietz

Maryland Public Television: Steven Schupak, Jay Parikh, Stuart Kazanow, Frank Batavick, and Donna Hunt

Additional Support: Chuck Adams, Ron Cooper, Sam Edwards, Ole Hansen, Patrick Martini, Matthias Messner, Helle Mogenson, and Nathan Myhrvold

Gear: All-Clad, BBQ Guru, Big Green Egg, Bradley Smoker, Camerons Products, Carolina Cookwood, Hasty-Bake, Horizon Smokers, Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet, Kai USA, Ltd. (Shun Cutlery), Kamodo Kamados, Kingsford, Landmann, Lodge Manufacturing, Maverick Housewares, Memphis Wood Fire Grills, Nordic Ware, Weber, The Pit Barrel Cooker Co., Polyscience, Royal Oak, Smoke Daddy, Spitjack, ThermoWorks, and Yoder Smokers

Food Companies: Alaskan Seafood Marketing Institute, The Green Grape Provisions, Heritage Foods USA, Melissas, Strauss Brands, Tecumseh Farms, and Trivento

Finally, a huge Project Smoke thanks to my indefatigable assistant, Nancy Loseke, my extraordinary editor, Suzanne Rafer, and my amazing wife Barbara, whos behind all the good things that happen in my life.

A uthor, journalist, lecturer, and TV host, Steven Raichlen is the man who redefined modern global grilling. His 30 books include the international blockbusters The Barbecue! Bible, How to Grill, and Planet Barbecue. He hosts the popular PBS TV shows Steven Raichlens Project Smoke, Primal Grill, and Barbecue University. (He also hosts two French language TV showsLe Maitre du Grill and La Tag Barbecue.) Raichlens books have won 5 James Beard Awards and 3 IACP-Julia Child Awards, and been translated into 17 languages. He has lectured on the history of barbecue at the Smithsonian Institution and Harvard University, and founded Barbecue University at the Broadmoor resort in Colorado Springs. An award-winning journalist, he has written for The New York Times, Le Journal de Montral, Esquire, GQ, and the major food magazines. In 2015, he was inducted into the Barbecue Hall of Fame. Raichlen holds a degree in French literature from Reed College in Portland, Oregon, and studied medieval cooking in Europe on a Thomas J. Watson Foundation Fellowship. He and his wife, Barbara, live in Miami and Marthas Vineyard.

The Barbecue! Bible

Barbecue! Bible Sauces, Rubs, and Marinades, Bastes, Butters & Glazes

How to Grill

Beer-Can Chicken

BBQ USA

Indoor! Grilling

Barbecue! Bible Best Ribs Ever

Planet Barbecue!

Man Made Meals

Miami Spice

S omewhere between Red Hook in Brooklyn and Studio City in Los Angeles, smoky beef went viral. Notice I didnt mention Texas. For if the Lone Star State gave the world barbecued brisket and beef ribs, a new generation of pit masters now smokes everything from strip steak (using an ingenious technique called reverse searing) to beef tenderloin (accompanied by horseradish whipped cream). From home-smoked pastrami to big bad beef ribs. From reverse-seared tri-tip to smoked prime rib served withyou guessed itsmoked jus. This chapter celebrates beef in all its smoky awesomeness.

Yield: Makes 3 ribs, enough to serve 3 really hungry people

Method: Hot-smoking

Prep time: 10 minutes

Smoking time: 8 to 10 hours

Resting time: 1 hour

Fuel: Tradition calls for oak, hickory, or mesquite, or a combination of the threeenough for 10 hours of smoking (see ).

Gear: An aluminum foil drip pan; instant-read thermometer; an insulated cooler (optional)

Shop: Youll need to order beef plate ribs from a butcher. Tell him or her you want full plate short ribs, cut into individual bones. (Or cut them yourself.) They come three to a plate.

What else: This salt, pepper, red pepper, and smoke treatment works great for ribs of all sorts, including pork and lamb.

T he new sparerib? Thats one way to describe the beef plate rib, aka the biggest, baddest rib on Planet Barbecue. (Brisket on a bone is another.) Billy Durney serves it at Hometown Bar-B-Que in Brooklyn. So do Hugh Mangum at Mighty Quinns Barbeque in New York and New Jersey and the folks at Butcher and the Boar in Minneapolis. And youre about to dish up these bigger-than-life bones hot from the smoker at your home. Big? Each meaty bone tips the scale at 2 to 2 pounds. Seasonings? Keep them simple: salt, pepper, and hot red pepper flakes. Focus on the meat and smoke.

Ingredients

3 full beef plate short ribs (rack is 6 to 7 pounds)

3 tablespoons coarse salt (sea or kosher), plus extra for serving

3 tablespoons cracked black peppercorns

2 tablespoons hot red pepper flakes

Beer (optional)

1 cup beef stock (preferably homemade)

Cut the rack lengthwise into individual bones and place them on a rimmed baking sheet.

Place the salt, pepper, and hot red pepper flakes in a small bowl and mix well. Generously sprinkle the rub on the ribs on all sides, including the ends, rubbing it into the meat with your fingertips.

Set up your smoker following the manufacturers instructions and preheat to 225 to 250F. If your smoker has a water pan, fill it with water or beer to a depth of 3 inches. If it doesnt have a water pan, fill a disposable aluminum foil pan with water or beer to a depth of 3 inches and place it below the rack on which youll be smoking the ribs. (Note: You dont need to do this on a ceramic cooker.) Add wood as specified by the manufacturer.

Place the ribs in the smoker fat side up, with at least 2 inches between ribs. Smoke the ribs until darkly browned on the outside and very tender inside, 8 to 10 hours. If working on a smoker with the firebox at one end, shuffle the ribs a couple times so they cook evenly. To test for doneness, insert a metal skewer in the largest rib (through one end and parallel to the bone); it should pierce the meat easily. Another test for doneness is to insert an instant-read thermometer parallel to but not touching the bone; it should read 200F. (Check the ribs to make sure all are done.) When done, the meat will have shrunk back from the ends of the bones by 1 to 2 inches.

Transfer the ribs to a large foil pan with the beef stock. Loosely cover the pan with aluminum foil and place it in an insulated cooler. Let the ribs rest for 1 hour before serving.

Just before serving, season each rib with a light sprinkling of salt.