The Art of Backyard Barbecue: A Conversation with Meathead from AmazingRibs.com

As I stood in my new house, surrounded by the excitement of starting this new chapter, I couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia wash over me. After eight to ten years of living in an apartment, I had finally made the move to a new home, and what better way to celebrate than with a backyard barbecue? And who better to share that experience with than Meathead from AmazingRibs.com, a legend in the world of barbecue?

Meathead and I sat down together to discuss our shared passion for understanding the science behind barbecue. We both believe in applying this knowledge to create delicious, smoke-filled meats, and we've learned a great deal from each other's experiences. Today, we're going to focus on making great backyard barbecue ribs, something that anyone can do at home with a little luck. We'll be replicating the process indoors as well, so get ready for an in-depth look at how to achieve those beautiful, crunchy barks and juicy, fall-off-the-bone meat.

We started by examining the Memphis Rub recipe, which Meathead had kindly shared with us. The rub consisted of a mixture of spices, including garlic, paprika, sugar, and salt. But what's interesting about this rub is that it contains huge, long-chain molecules that never get past the surface. This means that when you apply the rub to the meat, the salt inside the rub dissolves into the moisture from the meat and atmosphere, allowing the flavors of the spices to penetrate deeper into the meat.

As we took a closer look at the baby back ribs, we noticed that they had developed a beautiful, deep red color with a hint of smoke. This is exactly what Meathead had done when he applied the Memphis Rub – created a surface treatment that would enhance the flavor and texture of the meat. But it's not just about applying the rub; the way you do it also matters. You want to make sure that the rub is evenly distributed, allowing for maximum flavor penetration.

We decided to taste one of the ribs without sauce to get a better understanding of how it would be when paired with the final product. The meat was cooked to almost 200 degrees, which meant that it had reached the perfect level of doneness. But what really caught our attention was the Smoke Ring – a phenomenon where gases like nitric oxide and carbon monoxide react with the myoglobin in the meat, preventing it from changing color.

This is exactly what happens when you cook ribs over low heat for an extended period, allowing the smoke to penetrate deep into the meat. It's this combination of flavors and textures that makes barbecue so unique and sensory. The sweetness of the sugar, the tartness of the vinegar, and the richness of the fat all come together to create a truly unforgettable dining experience.

As we sat down to enjoy our perfectly cooked ribs, I couldn't help but feel grateful for Meathead's guidance. His expertise has been invaluable in helping me understand the intricacies of barbecue, and I know that this newfound knowledge will take my cooking to new heights. Whether you're a seasoned barbecue enthusiast or just starting out, there's always room to learn and improve.

Now, let's move indoors and tackle the challenge of recreating the same magic without the outdoor smoke. How do we get that beautiful bark? How do we achieve perfectly cooked meat? And, most importantly, how do we capture that traditional look and flavor without relying on an outdoor smoker? These are the questions we'll be answering as we continue our journey into the world of indoor barbecue.

As I looked around at the beautifully set up kitchen, complete with a brick oven and all the tools needed to tackle this challenge, I couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement. We're about to embark on an adventure that will take us from backyard barbecue to kitchen mastery. It's going to be a wild ride, full of twists and turns, but with Meathead by my side, I know we'll come out on top.

The next step was to examine the bark – how do you create that beautiful, golden amber crust without an outdoor smoker? Meathead had shared his secrets for achieving this perfect bark indoors, and it all came down to understanding the science behind it. By applying a combination of techniques, including temperature control, humidity management, and precise timing, we could replicate the same bark found in a traditional outdoor smoker.

But how do you achieve that same smoke flavor indoors? Meathead had been experimenting with various methods, from using liquid smoke to incorporating smoky ingredients into the recipe. It was clear that this would be our biggest challenge – capturing the essence of outdoor barbecue in an indoor setting.

As we took our first bites of the ribs without sauce, I could taste the complexity and elegance that came with layering flavors. The sweetness of the sugar, the tartness of the vinegar, and the richness of the fat all worked together to create a truly unforgettable dining experience. And when we added the sauce, it was like adding the final piece to the puzzle – everything came together in perfect harmony.

The Smoke Ring phenomenon was once again on display, as the nitric oxide and carbon monoxide gases reacted with the myoglobin in the meat, preventing it from changing color. This was exactly what had happened when Meathead cooked the ribs over low heat for an extended period, allowing the smoke to penetrate deep into the meat.

As we sat down to enjoy our perfectly cooked ribs, I couldn't help but feel grateful for Meathead's guidance. His expertise has been invaluable in helping me understand the intricacies of barbecue, and I know that this newfound knowledge will take my cooking to new heights. Whether you're a seasoned barbecue enthusiast or just starting out, there's always room to learn and improve.

The final question on everyone's mind was: who doesn't love ribs? They're the ultimate comfort food, full of flavor and texture. And when you get it right – that perfect balance of sweet, tart, and rich – it's like a sensory experience. It's an experience that transcends words, leaving you wanting more.

As I looked at the beautifully cooked ribs in front of me, I couldn't help but feel grateful for this journey. From backyard barbecue to kitchen mastery, we've come a long way. And with Meathead by my side, I know we'll continue to push the boundaries of what's possible when it comes to cooking delicious, smoke-filled meats.

The next step was to tackle the challenge of creating that beautiful, traditional look without an outdoor smoker. How do you achieve perfectly cooked meat and a beautiful Smoke Ring? And most importantly, how do you capture that traditional flavor without relying on an outdoor smoker? These are the questions we'll be answering as we continue our journey into the world of indoor barbecue.

As I sat down to enjoy my perfectly cooked ribs, I couldn't help but feel grateful for this experience. From Meathead's guidance to the science behind it all, I know that I've gained a newfound appreciation for the art of barbecue. Whether you're a seasoned enthusiast or just starting out, there's always room to learn and improve.

The journey may be over, but the adventure has only just begun. With this newfound knowledge, I'm excited to see where it takes me – from kitchen mastery to backyard barbecue. The possibilities are endless, and with Meathead by my side, I know we'll come out on top.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enwelcome to new house I've been living in an apartment for about 8 or 10 years and finally got a new house so I've been cooking Outdoors like crazy today I'm lucky enough to cook with Meathead from amazingribs.com so happy to have you I'm the lucky one one of the things we love about Meatheads so much is that he kind of shares our philosophy which is understanding the house behind the wise right there's a lot of old husband's Tales about barbecue and we try to figure out are they true or are they not and we've taken a lot of cues from you we've learned a lot from you guys and uh we've tried to apply the science to it and learn what works and what doesn't what we're going to really look at today is great backyard barbecue rib the kind of ribs that anybody can do at home and with a little luck they're going to be spectacular and then we're going to move indoors and we're going to try to replicate the process indoors so all the bark all the crust all that beautiful smoke stop talking about it I'm starting all right let's dig into these ribs let's see what's going on let's do it cool I want an amazing ribs.com I pulled up the last meal ribs with the Memphis Rub right so I did my best to make that recipe tell me what you think so let's take a look at these baby backs and see how they're doing here we got a couple of beauties here they've got a nice deep red color with a little smoke color on them um you you've used the Memphis dust rub your Memphis Rub yep when you put salt on meat moisture from the meat and from the atmosphere melts that salt and it goes down into the meat but the molecules of garlic and paprika and sugar these are huge longchain molecules they never get past the surface rubs spices are a surface treatment salt is an inside treatment now there's a lot of rubs on the market if you buy a rub that has salt in it you're paying a lot of money for salt so make your own r you guys have rub recipes we have rub recipes they're all over the Internet make your own rubs leave the salt out so he put the salt on first then the rub as it Cooks the surface dries out you have evaporation from the surface the moisture and so it dries out the surface and you can see you would you would think if you were new to ribs that the inside would be dry too but it's not but it's not but they're still going to be juicy they're going to be juicy and why all the collagen and fat the and fat melt and so you're getting your juiciness not from water but from collagen and fat right and so people worry about loss of water don't worry about it there's so much Mak it juicy something else I see that you did right grant yeah that is spectacular keep it coming with the things I did right well all right let's start I don't want to see bones sticking out a lot of people want um like to see bones sticking out but if the Bones have stuck out that means the proteins have shrunk and the meat is shrinking and that's squeezing moisture out so there's no bone sticking out means you haven't Shrunk The Protein over it's going to be moist that's the redneck s love it you can't cook without knowing what the temperature is and outdoor cooks are a bunch of knuckle draggers often and they just think I don't need no thermometers you can't cook without knowing what the temperature is ribs are very hard to measure the meat temperature because there's so much bone but there's a really good alternative and we call it the bend test and if you pick it up and you bend it and it cracks you see where it's cracking here that tells us she's a d right here and um it's a good sign that we're about ready here this is just a perfect baby back rip all right you did great D they're absolutely stunning one of the other things I'm seeing is the color look at that beautiful Ruddy color this is the rub that went on there and you can see how it's changed colors that's paprika mostly that gives it that color but the smoke and the juices and the fats and the melted collagens uh have all mixed with the rub on the surface the sugar is caramelized and so you have this dried surface which we call Bark which is dehydrated meat it's just simply like jerky it's dried out and it makes this wonderful crunchy because the rub has married with the juices and the surface of the meat and uh it's absolutely just perfect I love it love it that's gorgeous now you see the Shine from the sauce but you did right man you only put a thin layer of sauce you've added one instrument to the orchestra instead of a whole bunch of trumpets it's not going to take over you've layered flavor it's going to be really complex and elegant and this one's no sauce and I thought it would be a good idea that we taste one without sauce because when we go back into the kitchen and we try to create this side this style of food in the kitchen we're going to compare um your team's efforts and our team's efforts and how close we come and SAU will just get in the way you can see that it's a little tan in the center but it's pink on the edges and a lot of people think that means they're not cooked through but if they weren't cooked through they'd be pink in the center and tan on the edges these are all these were cooked to almost 200° they are well cooked what's happened here is gases nitric oxide and carbon oxide in particular have gone into the meat and they have fixed the myoglobin the liquid inside the meat and prevented it from changing color so it stays pink and that's called The Smoke Ring I'm already I was going to say you let me talking just sit there and not really tender really juicy this for me is perfect I like them a little little crunchy but it is peeling right off the bone little bit of sauce on that one you want to go for that one who doesn't love ribs this is such a delectable treat right I mean everybody loves a steak everybody loves roast chicken pizza but there's just something about beautifully cooked ribs that is so sensual it's got all the elements it's got sweet it's got tart it's got unctuous Rich succulent fat these are so good yeah right who look look at how it pulls off the bone look at that see how clean that bone is that's what they call pulling off the bone and that is a sign of a properly cooked rib perfect shouldn't fall off the bone it's still meat it should have texture like steak but it should let go of that bone neatly I'm just going to keep going so we made traditional ribs they're pretty damn awesome we got a few things to tackle indoors though right we got to make bark we' got to get perfectly cooked meat and we've got to get a beautiful smoke ring I know that one's optional but I just want that beautiful traditional look my concern is getting smoked flavor how are we going to get smoked flavor indoors that's a tough one I think we're going to just have to tackle it let's go indoors let's do it that's pretty and look at you got like the nice golden Amber brick red stuff these are all these were cooked to almost 200° they are well cooked what's happened here is gas oh my God nitric oxide and carbon oxide in particular have gone into the meat and they have fixed the mayag glob and\n"