Wednesday, July 05, 2006

On the Menu

There's always someplace better to get barbecue. If you know a place that's great, I know someplace better.

But really, the best barbecue is made at home. Well, it is at my house - maybe not your house.

Here I am sucking on a rib. Everybody tells me I look young for my age. I don't know why. Maybe it's the booster seat.

On the menu at Casa de Crook for Independence Day was the best damn ribs I ever made, homemade potato salad, homemade cole slaw, homemade baked beans, homemade garden fresh green beans, homemade garden fresh peas, homemade garden fresh new pickles, sliced garden fresh tomatoes, homemade blueberry cobbler, mint juleps and cosmopolitans, and the obligatory 4th of July watermelon. We celebrated with a wade in the pool, a run through the sprinkler, and three boxes of Snap and Pops. I also got a nice burn from a sparkler to make the day complete. Topped off the night by canning 14 jars of garden fresh green beans.

Oh, and my story, "The Sorcerer's Cystal," is going to be published in the Stalking Shadows anthology.

5 comments:

Steve Steffens said...

I am presuming, of course, that you used a dry rub for these ribs...

Jeff Crook said...

Well, duh! I use my own dry rub recipe which I am rather fond of, but as my wife likes wet ribs, I accomodate by splitting the slab half wet/half dry. In the past, I always used bottle sauces, but this time I made my own and it turned out quite tasty.

Chris Davis said...

I used to do half and half, but only do dry now--- since I discovered the joys of the spray bottle. Little oil, water, lime juice, balsalmic etc--- shake and spray on the ribs on a regular basis. You'll never baste again. You'll never even think about wet ribs.

Balsalmic vinegar changes character when you add heat--- it thickens and becomes sweet. You don't taste the vinegar, but you do pick up on the sweet. And the spray really helps the dry rub stay in place.

My last several racks have been the best I've ever made. And my ribs-- especially my chocolate ribs-- are pretty famous.

Jeff Crook said...

I never baste. For wet ribs, I just rub them with salt and put them on the grill. In the last 30 minutes or so, I paint them with sauce to get a good glaze.

polijn said...

Nice canning, that. I'm looking for a nice patch of muscadines out in the national forest. Gonna try to make some jelly if I can find a mess of em.