New Kamado Accessory: Rib Rack

When you think of barbecuing one of the foods that you first think of is...RIBS! So we, or I should say my wonderful father, has designed a new Pin Cushion Rib Rack.

Unique Features:

• Adjustable to any height, as the pincushion slides up and down on the hanging rod. Same system as the adjustable grill
• Rotates 360 degrees (like adjustable grill). Nice feature when basting.
• Pincushion rib racks slide on the adjustable grill rod. Depending on the model Kamado there can be as many as three, maybe four total can be slid on the #9 Kamado hanging rod. On the #7, two maybe three. #5 two and #3 only one.
• The Pincushion Rib Racks are interchangeable with the present Adjustable grill and uses the same rod and hanging system.
• The Rib Rack does not have to “Hang” (as on the adjustable grill) but can sit on the ledge in place of the regular cooking grill or on the regular cooking grill.
• The Rib Racks or addition cooking grill are stackable by a rod on the rack or grill through the tube (same as the adjustable grill). The height of the grill/rack can be adjusted and held in place by a screw “stopper”.
• Drip pan usually used on the Lower Bracket.
• Remarkable uniform cooking temperatures are retained by the heavy ceramic walls (thermal mass) when the temperature stabilizes at the desired (lower) cooking temperatures. Very little temperature change results in same cooking times whether ribs are placed in center, outer, upper, lower close together or apart.
• Astonishing amount of ribs can be cooked at one time. Depending on the type of ribs and the size of the Kamado or BGE, one rack of 5 pounds or 75 pounds or more. More practical uses would be the using the grills or rack for cooking the entire meal items.

Now I have a confession to make...

We have never really BBQ'd Ribs or done a "low & slow". I know! :) We have our style of BBQ'n that we call "Fast N Furious", which consists of hamburgers, pork chops, chicken, pizza, etc. Now we use our Kamado more than 5 times a week, and we always enjoy the meals, but we don't take much time to prepare our meals and is something that I really want to make more of an effort to do. So, when my father designed the Rib Rack we decided that it was time to learn how to do Ribs.

For Mother's Day we did 2 racks of Beef Rib's and a rack of Pork Ribs.

First of all, I had NO idea how hard it was to remove the membrane!! It seems like such an easy thing to do...boy, were we wrong! Richelle & I split the work and I must have spent an hour just on the one rack of pork ribs.

After discussing my membrane issues with one of our great customers, R. Kim, he informed me on the tip of using a paper towel to grip the membrane.

We then poured some Balsamic Vinegar & Olive Oil over the ribs and then added Salt & Pepper and a dry rub. Put them on the Kamado, with the temperature set at 250 for roughly 3 hours.

And Viola!
















































They were delicious!! Another handy tip that R. Kim told me about was the 3-2-1 Method for cooking Rib's. Which is a method I should have known about with the wealth of information from our forum members at the Kamado Forum, but now that I have found the love for ribs I will certainly try it on my next Rib adventure.

Lastly, two family member's that always enjoy good BBQ:

Al Roker's 5 Rules of Barbecue

1. Never Touch Another Man's Grill. I will be the first to admit that when it comes to cooking, I'm a bit of a control freak. I love folks hanging out in the kitchen while I cook, but I don't want any help. The same holds true at the backyard grill. Don't ask to help me cook. I would never think of touching your grill. I know that every inch of soot-and-grease-encrusted metal has been lovingly and patiently created by you. It's one of the manly arts. Ever heard of the old saying, "Too many cooks spoil the broth?" Here's another one: "Touch my grill or any of my utensils, they'll be calling you 'Stumpy'!

2. Do Not Use A Fork To Move Your Meat Around The Grill. Use tongs. If you pierce the meat with a fork, all those wonderful juices will run out onto the coals, cause some wonderful flare-ups, and leave you with grilled shoe leather. While your friends "Oooooo" and "Aaahhh" at the flames, you're ruining your meat and run the risk of setting your facial hair on fire.

3. Don't Keep Moving Your Meat Around The Grill. Once you slap it on the grill, just leave it, unless it either: (a) starts to burn and you have to move it to a cooler spot or (b) there's inclement weather and you are threatened by floods, locusts, lightning, or all of the above. It may be very satisfying to flip your burger and push it down on the grill. Know what that does? Causes flare-ups and dries out the meat. See Rule 2.

4. Do Not Wear An Apron That Says, "Kiss The Cook." If you want to invite ridicule, scorn, and derision, then by all means, wear something like the aforementioned apron or like attire. By the same token, I always love those pictures of barbecues in the glossy food magazines with people wearing designer sweaters tied around their necks and khaki slacks or skirts. Who are these people? What kind of barbecue are they at? They probably eat ribs with a knife and fork! Me, I love grilling in an old T-shirt and shorts. In fact, I usually wear those sport shorts that are good on land and water. If things get a little hot, I take a break from grilling and jump in the pool. But not for long, lest somebody think the grill needs tending. See Rule 1.

5. Don't Take It Too Seriously. Enjoy yourself. That's the deal with grilling and barbecue. Friends and family. Laughter and good times. It's not like being at those trendy downtown bars, where everyone is dressed in black and they all look like they need a cookie. Backyard cooking is folks who look like you and me, people we know, but more important, people we want to hang out with.

courtesy: White Trash BBQ

National BBQ Month

I happened to stumble across a neat video from the 1970's that shows how to celebrate "National BBQ Month".

Fiesta!

So, this last Friday we had a party at the Factory to celebrate one of our employee's birthday, Mario, and Richelle's. It was so much fun! As usual. :)

Mario had went fishing and caught a large swordfish and we cooked them on the Kamado (if you can say that). What Mario had done was taken the proto-type for the Vent-Free Meridian and took the lid off and placed a papella pan in the inside, which is where he deep fried the sliced fish. And then our wonderful Miguel made an half upper bracket with half a grill for the "cooling" area. It was very clever, and boy did the swordfish turn out delicious! I could not stop eating it all night. :)

I'm suprised that is not my hand! :)

Here is a picture of the set-up from behind.

Here is the fabulous Mario!

Check out the cool tongs/scraper the Mario designed.
I love the "K" he welding on it! :)

A shot of the tongs in use.

I hope everyone enjoys the pictures! :)

PS...

Okay, I PROMISE I am not trying to turn this into a NASCAR blog, but when my favorite driver does well, I have to give him a little shout out! ;)
So....Congratulations Kasey!! He started on the Bud Pole this morning, was in the top 10 all day, lead 85 laps and then won the race! YAY!! He was the first Dodge driver to win in Atlanta in 29 years.

Viva Las Vegas!

For our first "Flashback" post, I thought we would go back to November 2003 when we joined Kim & David's "Smokin' away again in Porkaritaville" BBQ Team in Las Vegas for the BBQ Competition at the Mandalay Bay Hotel.

Since Kim & David were coming from Richmond, VA it was not feasible to drive all the way towing their three Kamado's, so Richard, Richelle, and I rented a U-Haul trailer and drove down with a #9, #7, and #5 along with about 30 boxes of our Kamado Coconut Extruded Charcoal.

We also had several of our fabulous customers come down to join in all of the fun: Jason C. (who is lucky enough to live in Vegas), Jeff R., Mark M., Glenn B., and Scott S.
The first night, Kim, David, Jeff, Scott, Jason, Richard, Richelle and I all went sightseeing down the strip and out to dinner.

The following day the Competition started, and it was packed! Not only was the BBQ Competition going on, but there was also the Annual Chile Competition going on next to us and the Pro Bull Riders event.

We had people coming up to us left & right with questions about what the Kamado was. We had such a great time. It was our first time ever attending an official BBQ Competition and we were extremely impressed. Everyone was so friendly and fun.

Here is Richard, trying to sneak some of the Ribs off of the gorgeous Green #7.

Here are some of the entries from Kim & David.

Chicken

Brisket

Pulled Pork

Ribs

Mark M's Lobster-Go-Round

Kim's beautiful Cherry Cheese Cake Tarts

Smokin' Away Again in Porkaritaville finished 16th overall and took 6th place in Ribs! They did a fanstatic job!!! And they got to meet Robin Leach from the "Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous".

We had a good time the last evening after all of the awards were presented and all of the rush of cooking had calmed down, everyone got a chance to relax and enjoy each others company. We also were able to sell all three of the Kamado's we brought down along with all of the charcoal that was not used. The #7 we sold to Rue J. in Nebraska (who has later gone on to purchase 3 more!), the #5 Jason C. took home, and the #9 went a really nice person, who's name has slipped my mind. :)

Here is a picture of our whole group the last night!
Good times everyone! We look forward to next event we all get to go to together. :)

Left to Right: Mark M, Richard, Jeff R. Richelle, Jason C., Scott S. (in the back), Kim W., Laura, and David M.