ness

Man, you're quick! Did you cook that in the cast iron? Do tell.

If Giada thinks polenta = cornmeal, I think polenta = cornmeal. And, nobody looks better stirring a pot of the stuff than Giada, FWIW. The overwhelming majority of people using the word 'grits' today, especially in America, are referring to hominy grits, which is what I described above. I will admit that after researching the term, it can be used in the broader context of just meaning ground grain, which could include ground corn. Serve up a bowl of boiled cornmeal to a southerner and call it grits, and you'll probably get schooled. The whole dent vs. flint thing rings a bell with me, but it's not the main point.

Ah -- go make a dang pizza and leave us alone.

That's just wrong. I think.

That's why I stuck that one smiley in there. Here's an extra one, for good measure !

Sorry rps -- and Bob too -- grits are not ground corn. They're ground hominy. That product is simply labeled wrong. Bob's trying to sell more stuff. Salt curing isn't brining. Two different things. I'm sure Wikipedia has an article on salt curing too. If not, I'll write one.

Oh, and while I'm at it -- in my epic ribs post you called the membrane 'silverskin'. Silverskin is a connective tissue that runs within muscle. The membrane on the inside of ribs has a name, but it escapes me. It's the barrier between the thoracic cavity and the ribs.

Well, if you're gonna blow up my thread and start your own, you ought to get things right son. We don't want wrench sitting around a campfire with a Dutch oven full of grits calling it polenta. Polenta is made from corn meal, not corn grits. Cornmeal is boiled in water or some other liquid to make a porridge. If you've had corn mush, it's essentially the same thing, just prepared differently. Grits are made from hominy, which is corn treated with an alkaline solution that dissolves the outer layer of the kernel. It's the same stuff as masa used in tamales. Salt curing is different than oil curing, and I believe Kalamata olives are oil cured. Slow cooking tough meat partially submerged in a liquid is known as a braise. You had blanching right.

There is an ignore function. And, then there's always manual ignoring.

I believe it was sixth grade.

I've never found enough to need to freeze them but I have heard a lot of folks bread 'em and freeze 'em.

Same here -- I love them for who they are.

I spent about an hour yesterday and only found one. Had it on top of some scrambled eggs this morning. I've never earn them that way, but somebody mentioned it (I think in this thread) so I gave it a try. Very good way to enjoy them.

I hear you on that.

Well, deviated a little from the plan. I had to get some things done, and didn't want to tend to the fire all afternoon, so I brought the ribs in and finished them in the oven. After an hour I tool them out of the foil, sauced them cooked them another hour. You really can't go by the clock with these -- I screwed up the last time I did ribs by doing just that. Total cook time on these about six hours. So, here's the final result. I gotta say -- these are very tasty. I don't like these really meaty ribs so much. I'd rather have them trimmed a little closer to the bone. I suppose I could do that myself.

Had dinner at my brother's house last night, and that's always a treat. He did a top sirloin roast on the smoker, but it was roast with a little smoke -- not BBQ. Outstanding, and it was cooked perfectly to medium rare. I don't know what seasoning he had on the outside, but it was great. That's one thing about his stuff -- it's always seasoned very, very well. Before hand he threw together some quesadillas that had a meat and mushroom mixture with just a little of some kind of savory sauce that held it together. There was some fennel seed in there, but I don't know what else. He did those right on the grate over the coals of his offset smoker. Outstanding! Grilled vegetables and a real Ceasar salad, complete with anchovies. Dessert was a 'poke' cake that was German chocolate, with condensed milk and caramel sauce. I'm not a big dessert fan, but that was dang good.

Yeah -- I'll be adding to it. Wanted to post it so I didn't lose it.

So, here I go. This isn't going to be groundbreaking stuff, and I'm not claiming this is the single best way to do it. You'll see I'm not a BBQ purist too. I hope to give folks some ideas, and maybe get a little critiquing going. Also, I'd love to hear what other folks are doing. My brother is a trained chef, and worked at a number of restaurants and country clubs around Kansas City. The chef's life is a tough one -- working every weekend and every holiday, on your feet the whole time. If your sous chef calls in sick on New Year's Eve, well those potatoes aren't gonna peel themselves. He gave it up several years back for an office job, but along the way he became a competition BBQ guy, and he has brought home a lot of ribbons through the years. He has a BBQ catering business (Kansas City Rib Company) on the side and does a few contests each year, including the American Royal. I've gotten most of the technique and a few ingredients from him, but the recipes are mine. ness' BBQ Rub #3 [censored] If I use a tablespoon as a 'part', it makes enough for 2 slabs of baby back pork ribs with some left over. One tablespoon = 3 teaspoons, if you're wondering. I can't do the math on ¼ tablespoon, so I wing it. ness' BBQ Sauce #4 [censored] Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat; simmer 30-45 minutes or until slightly thickened. I get the cryovac packages of ribs. The first thing I do is rinse them off then dry them very well with paper towels. Next, I turn them over to bone side up, and slide a butter knife under the membrane between two ribs, trying to get all the way to the other side without tearing it. Then I cut the membrane, grab it with paper towels and pull it down the length of the rack -- trying to get it all in one piece. After the membrane has been skillfully removed in one piece, it will look like this: I hit them pretty heavy with the rub, and press it in to make sure there is good contact. I've done this the night before, and 2 or 3 hours before on the day of cooking too. I don't really notice much difference. Either way, I give them at an hour or so on the counter so they come to room temperature before going on the grill. Yep, I said grill. I had a Weber Smokey Mountain for years, but when it finally rusted through I didn't replace it. I'm pretty happy with the results using the indirect-heat method on my Weber kettle, so that's all I've done the last couple years. I typically use a combination of apple and hickory chips, but I've also used pecan, cherry and others. About two handfuls is plenty -- one of the first things I learned is there can be too much smoke flavor. Since I'm using the kettle now, I don't have as much room for lump charcoal, so I use briquettes. To maintain the heat at 225 to 250, I only need a few briquettes (say, 10-12) going at the start and I add them 3 or 4 at a time as things move along. I cut each slab in half, and place them in rib racks. I set them perpendicular to the fire, and rotate them every hour or so. After about 3 hours, I take them off and wrap each section in foil, then put them on the grill grate away from the fire. It takes anywhere from 2 to 4 hours to finish them up, depending on a lot of factors like temperature, meatiness, whatever. The ones I've been getting at the store lately are pretty meaty, almost too meaty to my taste, so they take longer. Generally, they're ready when the meat has pulled in from the tips of the ribs, and you can easily twist a bone within the meat. 'Falling off the bone' is over done in my book. I want something to chew. When they're ready, I bring them inside and take them out of the foil. I baste them with BBQ sauce and put them under the broiler for about 5 minutes to get the caramelization I want. Then I pull them and give them a ½ hour rest before slicing them up.

Let's just remake Gone With the Wind, right? Very long and old!

Like the propper!

Found one morel yesterday, had it for breakfast.

'The Devil's Tickets'. A true story of a murder in Kansas City in the 1930s. The characters are prominent Kansas City folks who are connected by bridge, a very popular card game of the time.

Ok, I'm deviating from the stated purpose of this thread. I know, we have high standards here, but screw that -- I've got something to say. 'This is Spinal Tap' is a great movie. My baby boy said he watched it the other day, after years of me recommending/quoting it. That encouraged me to re-watch it. What great dialogue, and the lyrics to the songs are hilarious. He finally understands what I mean when I say ' but, it goes to 11'. It was a touching father/son moment.

$300? Silly, silly boy. Do I need to go over the fishing math again?

I wanted to give you all a head's up so you could clear your calendars. I will be doing the rib thang tomorrow and posting step-by-step instructions complete with recipes and photos. Nothing will be held back. No secret ingredients; no missing steps. It's all gonna be disclosed. You're welcome, in advance.