For 10 years I’ve lived way up high in apartments with no yard and not even a balcony suitable for BBQing, so I’m thrilled to now own a rooftop where I can BBQ. Cooked these pork ribs tonight.
Slight rain, so I did it under the rooftop overhang. Mayo wente. Taiwan charcoal sucks. Gotta find out where to find good american briquettes. And this summer maybe we’ll buy a decent gas grill. But it worked out pretty good tonight. My wife and daughter and our guest tonight were exuberant about them, and they were pretty good. But they weren’t outstanding, which of course is the objective. I’ll get there, though. Just getting started. And my brother gave me this killer BBQ book for xmas. amazon.com/How-Grill-Complet … 0761120149
I’ve read most of it already and look forward to working through it recipe by recipe. It’s gonna be a great year for BBQ. :lick:
[quote=“Mother Theresa”]For 10 years I’ve lived way up high in apartments with no yard and not even a balcony suitable for BBQing, so I’m thrilled to now own a rooftop where I can BBQ. Cooked these pork ribs tonight.
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I give you negative points for invoking jealousy in me. Nice ribs though.
What was the problem with the charcoal? Perhaps you have to brine the meat before hand and let the grill just heat up on it’s own for a moment…Kind of like curing…Looks good tho
The problem with Taiwan’s charcoal is it’s really hard to light, because it’s real charcoal, just chunks of burned wood, unlike the briquettes one buys back in the States in giant bags, which are much easier to light after you’ve soaked them really good with lighter fluid. If someone knows where to buy these kind of products in Taiwan, please let me know.
I didn’t use brine (I assume that’s a salty mixture), but I did marinate those a few hours first in honey, garlic, lemon juice, cider vinegar, olive oil, etc., a recipe I found somewhere that not only flavors the meat but also tenderizes it. Then when they were about halfway done cooking I started slathering them with a homemade barbecue sauce made from ketchup, brown sugar, worcester sauce, etc.
The above are Taiwan pork ribs that I bought at Costco, because they looked ok and had bones. Costco also sells very nice US boneless beef ribs (boneless ribs, I know, an oxymoron), which I’ve bought many times and really like. They’re excellent. But I’d really like a nice slab of bone-in beef ribs. Aside from decent charcoal, that’s another thing on my shopping list, but I believe they won’t be from the US, due to Taiwan’s political games.
MT, the Taiwan charcoal IS decent charcoal. the real kind, hard and slow burning.
you’re unfortunately used to something that burns way too fast and adds a lovely chemical taint to the meat from all that lighter fluid.
stack your charcoal better so that air can travel deep into the pile as it burns, and start it some time before you need it (building on top of a twisted newspaper or twig base for kindling. )
Nothing personal, but that approach is for pussies.
This was only barbecue number 2 in my new house. A friend was over for number 1, a couple of weeks ago. We got tired of waiting for the tiny embers to grow in the charcoal, and tired of huffing and puffing blowing on the thing, so he asked for a blow dryer and DAAMMMMNNN, we had the thing blazing in a second (literally). So, I confess, I pulled out the blow dryer again last night, directed the blast at the bottom of the charcoal stack, and the flames were roaring instantly. But, I’d prefer not to use that method every time, in part because it’s my wife’s blow dryer and it stinks of barbecue afterwards so I expect eventually she’ll put an end to that.
It’s fine to use firelighters or even lighter fluid to get it going. Once the coals are glowing, simply add more. By the time the new ones are ready (approx.20 mins), you can safely barbie without the risk of paraffin taste.
I did the hair dryer thing once. Yea it really works well in a pinch. As for brining the meat. It’s a salty mix but not very salty at all. I do it all the time for fried chicken which makes the meat moist.
What a bunch of wuss newbies. Probably drinking Heineken rather than gold label too.
Anyway, the right way to start a bbq in Taiwan is with the right tool: a ‘fire gun’ (huo3qiang1) available for NT$80 or so at your local hardware store.
After the comments about local charcoal being workable, and one just needing to be patient, use kindling, start way beforehand, etc., I decided not to use the hairdryer today. I did eventually get the charcoal going, but I still would vastly prefer american style briquettes and lighter fluid. The local stuff really IS a pain in the ass. I’m a pretty good firestarter too, but . . . .
Used a “rub” on the meat this time. I’d heard of rub for bbq, but had never done it before. I think a lot of skilled american bbqers use it. Anyway, it was in the BBQ bible I’ve got. The recipe I used called for 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup paprika (I used a little less, cuz that seemed excessive), a little garlic powder, black pepper, coarse salt and cayenne. Mix together and pat it onto the ribs about 1-2 hrs before grilling. Then, when cooking slather on sauce as usual. Seemed to work pretty well.
I think next time, though, I’ll slice the ribs in half since they were so massive. I figure if they’re thinner not only will they cook faster, but they’ll have more surface area to slather sauce on and get crusty over the grill, which’ll give them more great flavor. :lick:
American beef, of course! Where’s the sense and purpose in the US objection to Taiwan banning ground [strike]steer penises replete with smegma[/strike], uhm, [strike]offal[/strike], uhm, random cow bits?
lots of paprika, that’s the trick! also, add crushed pan-roasted coriander seeds and black pepper corns to the mix. marinate overnight if possible. I have been getting into the ribs here myself.
Hmmm… brining, who knew? I’ll consider that sometime.
Another kick ass way to make tender and tasty Southern Fried Chicken is marinate meat in buttermilk for 30min or over night and then dip in your flour mixture and fry.
Yes, putting on a good rub and BBQ’ing is very tasty. In Virginia, the boys at the side of the road BBQ’ing usually put any sauce on after they’ve removed the meat from the grill - it’s a vinegary/sweet tasting sauce not the thick rich tomatoey stuff from Kansas City.
I know, I know, it’s artificial, full of chemicals, blah, blah, blah. But it’s what I grew up on as a red-blooded american. So, I picked up a pack (actually 6 small 4.5 pound packs shrinkwrapped together).
They didn’t have any lighter fluid – the other half of the equation. I know, I know, I can, and will have to use a few of the little Taiwan charcoal lighter thingies instead, but there’s nothing like drenching a stack of briquets with lighter fluid, throwing a match on from a safe distance and watching the flames leap for the sky. Hoooaaaaahhh!
Anyway, looking forward to trying a good ole american bbq one of these days. :discodance:
to get it going. Once the coals are glowing, simply add more. By the time the new ones are ready (approx.20 mins), you can safely barbie without the risk of paraffin taste.
