Bâton Rouge Doesn't Come Close

Smoking meat with woodchips is one of the best things you can do in summer. When it comes to pork, the bbq smoker is its best friend because it intensely flavours the meat and makes it super-tender and delicious.

BRAD'S HICKORY-SMOKED BACK RIBS

Full Rack pork back ribs; dry rub; olive oil; juice of two lemons; S&P; bbq sauce; hickory wood chips

First thing's first - the dry rub. You can pick this up in any supermarket, but like everything, I recommend taking the time to make your own. Make a big jar of it and it's good for about a year. This is all a matter of personal taste, but your basics are chili powder, cayenne pepper, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, coarse salt, black pepper, dried thyme, dried oregano, and ground bay leaf. Find the right combination and experiment. If you like the sweeter rubs, use brown sugar too.

Part two - the ribs. What's important here is to get the best cut possible, because a lousy cut is always going to result in a not-so-good bbq. By far your best choice here is a smooth uniform rack of pork back. Side ribs are good for kettle-cooked ribs but just don't cut it for smoking.
The trickiest part is before marinading, you need to strip off the membrane underlay of the ribs, otherwise they won't cook properly and will be difficult to eat. You can get a butcher to do this, but most often you're buying these pre-packaged, so here's a super-simple way to handle it. Lay the ribs meat-side down and take a sharp pointed metal object like a temperature gage or a metal skewer and slide it under the membrane of the first rib farthest to the left. Then lift it up until it tears and you have a little piece of membrane to grip onto. Here's the important part - don't attempt to pull it off with your hand or cut it off with a knife - it won't work. Take a dry cloth and grip the membrane and then slowly pull it to the right all the way down the ribs - it should all come off in one go... if you miss a bit repeat with those areas. After a bit of practice this becomes no chore at all. At this point it takes me about 20 seconds.

You can marinade ribs many ways. The most basic is simply to pour in the juice of two lemons and about and equal amount of olive oil, season and rub it all into the meat. You can also go the apple cider route. Cover and refrigerate an hour or two. Once that's sat a while, then rub on your dry rub and cover and marinade again for another hour.

Meanwhile, Part 3 - the smoker. You can pick up a bag of wood chips at any grocery store in the bbq section, or at any department store. For a rack of ribs you'll need two or three smoke pouches. For this, simply soak three big handfuls of chips in a bowl of water for about 30 minutes. To make the smoker pouch, take a sheet of foil (about 12 X 15"), place a handful of soaked chips in the middle, take the two long ends up over the chips and fold them over twice, then do the same with the short ends to make a pouch. Poke 5-6 holes in the top and one underneath.

When you're ready to start the cooking, preheat one side of the bbq on high (the side closest to the tank) with one smoker pouch directly over the flame. Let it heat cover-down for about 10 or 15 minutes or until smoke starts coming out of the pouch, then place the ribs on the cool side. Turn the heat down to medium. If you have a surface thermometer, the rib side should be no more than 275-300 on the surface. Add another smoker pouch about every 45 minutes to an hour (you'll need to jump the flame on high each time to get it to smoke, then reduce heat).

Part 4 - The Sauce. Again, personal taste is all that really counts here, and to be honest, a store-bought high-quality sauce like Bulls Eye tends to do the trick. For this, a hickory flavour is your best bet. I have made my own bbq sauces and they're good too. Your basics here are ketchup, tomato paste, chili powder, brown sugar and spices. But if you're going that route, I recommend googling a recipe and see what strikes your fancy.

About 20-30 minutes before you're going to serve, brush on the sauce.

Once you take them off, cover with foil and let rest for at least 10-15 minutes.

Pic above, served with grilled eggplant and zucchini.

Hot, Spicy, Quick Italian Meal

A fantastic Italian meal in 25 minutes - from prep to plate.

SPICY SAUSAGE PASTA WITH ASPARAGUS

For 4

10-12 oz spicy Italian sausage; olive oil; tbsp butter; 2 chopped garlic cloves; Frank's Red Hot; sesame oil; 2-3 dashes red pepper flakes; 1/2 bunch asparagus cut in one-inch pieces; 1/3 chopped red pepper; coarse salt and fresh pepper; Parmesan cheese; penne or other short pasta

Prep pasta for boiling and brown sausages on all sides, drain grease - set aside sausage. Add a splash of olive oil and the butter to the pan and add asparagus and peppers. Cook for about 6-7 minutes then add 5-6 dashes of Frank's, 2 dashes sesame oil, and red pepper flakes. Put the sausages back in the pan and add garlic. Cook another 4-5 minutes seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Toss with hot pasta and sprinkle with Parmesan.

Colourful, Quick Summer Salad

If you're like me, sometimes on a hot day a hot side dish of rice or potato just doesn't work.

This is quick, easy and delicious and allows you to focus your energy on what's important - the main.

When it comes to salad it's really important to learn to make it not just for the sake of having your vegetables - you should really enjoy it. This starts with making your own dressing, which actually usually only takes two or three minutes - about the same amount of time it takes to peel the sticky label off a bottle of the fatty, overly-salted, chemically-preserved, nasty store-bought goup.

For a basic salad like the one above, you're looking at just a few essentials - things you likely have on hand anyhow.

STRAWBERRY-MANGO SUMMER SALAD

Dressing: Juice and rind of a large (or two small) lemon; olive oil (a little more than the amount of lemon juice); three or four big pinches coarse salt; five or six turns fresh black pepper; 1/2 tbsp sugar

Salad: Green-leaf lettuce (your favourite); a chopped mango; 10-15 sliced fresh strawberries; 5-6 sliced button mushrooms; half of a chopped bell pepper (red, yellow or orange)

Combine dressing ingredients. Tip - Lemon rind actually contains more lemon flavour than the juice itself, so this really gives an awesome kick to your dressing. After you zest off the rind, to get all the juice out of your lemon, roll it with your weight on it on a flat surface, then cut it in half and sqeeze (using the zester or your hand to catch the seeds). Use a hand juicer or a big wooden spoon to get the last of the juice out. Whisk all the ingredients and set aside.

A lot of people seem to have trouble with mango but once you get the hang of it it's quite easy. Peel the entire mango first with a vegetable peeler. Stand it vertically and then cut thin chunks downward all the way around until you find the flat husk. Then cut the flesh on the sides parallel to the husk. Toss all the ingredients together and add the dressing just before serving.