Had three guests over, more than I was anticipating when I planned dinner, so I supplemented the
Cafe Zuni Chicken that I was planning with some ribs. Cafe Zuni chicken relies on dry-brining a small bird, drying in the fridge, then hitting it on an oven on full whack to crisp up the skin. I went the recipe one better by using my Weber, on indirect heat, as hot as I could get it (~600F).
As I say, I realized I needed more protein, so added a rack of ribs. However, I could not get started until too late in the day, so these were NOT fall-off-the-bone tender. They were fine, no, they were
good even, but not perfect. In addition to my Weber, I have a cheap charcoal/propane cabinet smoker. I rarely use it, as it is very leaky and hence very hard to control temperatures on. Instead, I usually smoke things on the grill. However, I made do, and it was okay. The ribs turned out a
little toothy, although they had a nice smoke ring. I used charcoal (some lump and some briquettes), propane, and (soaked) cherry wood, but I just did not have enough time or enough control to get them tender. (I went 2-0.75-1.)
Also made creamy polenta with gorgonzola, and grilled asparagus (EVOO, coriander, fennel). I also baked the tartlets you see in the picture below, then wrapped them and put them in a plastic clamshell container.... (Yeah, right! A guest brought desert).
Sorry for the blurry pictures. Blame the wine. Speaking of which, we washed this down with: (1) my WE Eclipse Pinot Gris (2) a WTSO special Cotes de Ventoux Grenache/Syrah/Carignan blend. All very nice.
