White House Barbecue

My folks grew up in Texas with the guy who eventually became the barbecue cook for LBJ when he ran the White House. This is Presidential barbecue we're talking about here. I grew up with this stuff, too. Meat should be cooked slow over a smokey heat source. Flavor builds up over time. Charcoal grills or even gas grills work fine if you contain the smoke. Smoke should be generated with some wood chips on the coals. The kind of wood doesn't really matter, providing it's not a soft wood, like pine, with a lot of resin in it. It should be dry hardwood. In one scientific test, ground up corn cobs produced results preferred by most people.

Endorsemant of this recipe does NOT constitute a political statement and should NOT be construed to suggest support for any particular administration or political party. That my folks grew up in Texas should not be held as a judgement of them. This is simply a memory of my youth (and theirs) and it happened to have ties to the White House of the LBJ administration. Whether or not any other administration has been wise enough to recognize the quality of this recipe will not be discussed here.

Barbecue Sauce

This is a table sauce. Don't be taken in by those TV commercials that show some cowboy pouring something that looks like ketchup out of a bottle. You don't cook with this stuff. You put it on afterward. Pour this on your grill and you'll just get a sticky mess without adding much flavor to the actual meat.

1 cup		tomato ketchup
1/2 cup		cider vinegar
1 tsp		sugar
1 tsp		chili powder
1/8 tsp		salt
1 1/2 cups		water
3		stalks celery
3		bay leaves
1		clove garlic
2 Tlbs		chopped onion
4 Tlbs		butter
4 Tlbs		Worchestershire sauce
1 tsp		paprika
Dash		black pepper

Combine all the ingredients and bring to a boil. Simmer about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and strain.

Dry Rib Seasoning

This is for sprinkling on spareribs before you barbecue them. Use heaping measure when you are mixing it and don't skimp when you use it.

6 Tbls		salt
6 Tbls		sugar
1 Tbl		dry lemon powder
2 Tbls		MSG* or other pep powder
2 1/2 Tbls		black pepper
1 Tbl		paprika

Dry Poultry Seasoning

Sprinkle this on chicken and fowl before barbecuing.

6 Tbls		salt
3 Tbls		black pepper
2 Tbls		MSG* or other pep powder
2 Tbls		garlic powder
2 Tbls		ground bay leaves
1 Tbl		paprika
2 Tbls		dry mustard

Mop For All Barbecue Meats

Use this to mop over meats while they are cooking. Don't use the table sauce. Use a little dish mop to slop this on liberally and often while slowly cooking the meat. It will help keep the meat moist and add a wonderful flavor. Whatever you don't use goes back in a bottle and should be kept in the refridgerator. It improves with age as you transfer the smoke and grease from the meat back into the mop concoction. This is the good stuff, folks. Guard it with your life.

3 Tbls		salt
3 Tbls		dry mustard
2 Tbls		garlic powder
1 Tbl		ground bay leaves
2 Tbls		chili powder
3 Tbls		paprika
2 Tlbs		Lu'siana Hot sauce
2 pints		Worchestershire sauce
1 pint		vinegar
2 quarts		bone stock
1 pint		oil
3 Tbls		MSG* or other pep powder

Make the stock by boiling some good beef bones. Add all the other ingredients, boil it for a while and then let it sit at least overnight before using it.

Putting it all together

OK, I finally figured out how to use this stuff to make the perfect ribs on a home BBQ. If you already have a pit or a proper smoker, then you probably know more than I do and can use these ingredients to make a great meal. If you have NOT had a really good BBQ experience, though, try this exact procedure just once and you will become one of the faithful. Trust me. It won't hurt a bit.

Take a slab of pork ribs and sprinkle liberally with the rib seasoning above. Wrap tightly in heavy duty aluminum foil and put into the fridge for 3 days. At noon on day of the meal, open one end of the foil pouch and pour in a small amount of the mopping sauce and reseal. Then put it in a 225° oven for two and a half hours. This makes sure the finished product is fully cooked and breaks down all the connective tissues for a very tender end result. After 2 1/5 hours, pour the juices into a pan for later, remove the slab from the foil and put it into your BBQ for at least three more hours on low heat with lots of smoke.

A word about the BBQ. My gas grill has three burners. I turn on one end burner and put the ribs on the other side of the grill (i.e. NOT over the heat source). Over the burner that's on, I put a pan full of hardwood chips that have been soaked on water (find them in the BBQ section of any hardware or department store). They eventually start smoking and that's all you need.

Every half hour or so (more frequently in later stages of cooking) use a little dish mop to baste on the mopping sauce. The oil in the sauce helps keep the ribs from drying out and the flavor builds up over time. Turn the slab from time to time to keep both sides moist. Use tongs to turn them as they will be very fragile if you've done the job right.

These things are going to just about fall off the bone. The long cooking time makes them very tender and gives the flavor time to accumulate.

This procedure will approximate the effect of a real BBQ pit with the stuff you have at home. I know it seems like a lot of work, but you will be impressed by the result. It takes time, but it's very easy.

Enjoy!

*Some of my friends claim a sensitivity to MSG. Lately I have been leaving it out. I don't really notice its absence.

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