Pork Ribs, Smoker Style

For Labor Day, I wanted to make pork ribs, but didn't want dry ribs. I decided to use a vinegar-based "mop", which I used to baste the pork ribs every 30 minutes.

To start:
Make a fire using charcoal or wood logs.

• We have a backyard smoker, so I used oak logs. You'll be waiting until the fire has mellowed to a low flame.
  
• You'll also want to make sure your smoker/grill/fire pit has a lid. This isn't necessary, but it will help you control the fire temperature and add more smokey flavor to the ribs.

Meanwhile:
Prepare the ribs. I used pork back ribs, St. Louis style. Baby back ribs are nice, but too small for me, and country-style ribs are too big.

• If you have the time, put a dry rub on the ribs the night before and let them sit in the fridge overnight.
  
• If you don't have the time, put a dry rub on the ribs as early as you can.
  
• Take the ribs out of the fridge about an hour before you're going to cook them (about when you've put the logs on the fire).
  

Ingredients:
- 3 racks of St. Louis pork ribs

Vinegar mop:
- 1 cup vinegar (I used white vinegar, but apple cider vinegar would be excellent)
- 1 T chili powder
- 1 T garlic powder
- 1 T onion powder
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 T salt
- 1 T black pepper

In a small sauce pan, heat the vinegar over medium heat with the other ingredients until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Set aside until you're ready to use it. Put it in a squirt bottle (like the ones they have at diners for ketchup) for easy application.

Dry Rub:
- 1/4 cup salt
- 2 T black pepper
- 2 T chili powder
- 1 T garlic powder
- 2 t cayenne pepper (if you like it spicy)

The flavors of the dry rub are really up to you. You could do a mole style rub with unsweetened chocolate, or a sweet rub with sugar. The possibilities are endless.

Ready to Grill?

• Once you're ready to grill, put the ribs on a platter and bring them to the grill.

• Stack the racks on top of each other on the grill (this lets the juice/flavor fall on to the lower racks of ribs and helps to keep them moist).
• After 30 minutes, rotate the racks, moving the bottom one to the top. Squirt the ribs with your mop, about 1/4 to 1/3 of a cup of mop.
  
• Every 30 minutes, rotate the ribs and add more mop.
  
• After about 2 hours, start checking the ribs for done-ness. They're done when you can rotate one of the rib bones and it starts to separate from the meat.
• When the ribs are done, remove them from the grill and let them rest for 5 to 10 minutes.
• Chop the ribs (I like to use a cleaver or anther heavy knife for this) and serve.
  
  
  

You may have noticed that I didn't put BBQ sauce on the ribs. I like to serve at least 3 sauces on the side of the ribs so that everyone can choose whatever flavor(s) they like. I use homemade BBQ sauce when I'm feeling up to it, or store-bought if I'm crunched for time.

Happy cooking!

Pork Potstickers

Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups roasted pork loin, cut into 1/2-inch dice
- 1/2 cup bread crumbs
- 2 T soy sauce
- 1 T sesame oil
- 1/4 cup chopped green onions
- Wonton wrappers


1. In a food processor or blender, combine all ingredients except for wonton wrappers. Pulse until mixture is chunky, but not pureed (we're not making pate here).
2. Put pork mixture into a bowl.

3. Set up your workspace. You'll need a large baking sheet or platter for the potstickers once you've made them, a bowl of water, and a clean, dry surface for folding (like a cutting board).

4. Lay out a wonton wrapper. Put about 1/2 T pork mixture in the center.
5. Wet one finger with the water, and wipe it along two edges of the wrapper.
6. Fold the wrapper over diagonally, to make a flat isoceles triangle. Squeeze out all the air from the middle and make a tight seal all the way around.
7. Pick the wonton up so the filling is facing the ceiling.
8. Poke in the filling part a little to make an indent.
9. Fold the two farthest-apart edges together, as if they were hands clapping.
10. Wet one "hand" of the wonton, and press it against the other "hand" to seal.
11. Repeat until you run out of filling or wrappers, whatever comes first.



These wontons can be either pan-friend in a high-heat oil (like canola or peanut), or steamed in a basket. They also freeze beautifully (just put them on a baking sheet in the freezer, once frozen, move them to a plastic bag); just pan-fry or steam to reheat them.

Happy eating!