Sweet Smoked Beef Short Ribs from America's Best Ribs!

America's Best Ribs
Tips and Recipes for Easy, Lip-Smacking, 

Pull-Off-the-Bone, Pass-the-Sauce, 

Championship-Quality BBQ
by Ardie A. Davis PhB, Chef Paul Kirk CWC, PhB, BSAS
Paperback, 160 pages

What is the best thing about summer? BBQ!!!!! Seriously, I love my BBQ, smoker and grill equally. I love to stand outside with a beer and survey my neighbourhood while holding tongs and being bathed in that sweet meat heat. Is there anything better? I think not.

Yep, there are a few BBQ books out there - and usually  they have a rib recipe or two - but this book is devoted to ribs! Rib Basics, Pork Ribs, Beef & Bison Ribs, Lamb & Mutton Ribs, Sides and Desserts. All in a colourful and fun to read book that will inspire you all summer long. Make this your most ribtacular season ever.

And who are the kings of the Q? Our neighbours to the south, real south. These guys are the masters of the Q and have the CV to back it up.

About Ardie and Paul
A charter member of KCBS and former three-term member of the Board of Directors, Ardie A. Davis founded the American Royal International BBQ Sauce, Rub, and Baste Contest and the Great American Barbecue Sauce, Baste, and Rub Contest. He is the author of six barbecue cookbooks.

Paul Kirk, a charter member of the KCBS and member of the Board of Directors, operates the Baron's School of Pitmasters. The author of seven barbecue cookbooks, he has won more than 475 cooking and barbecuing awards, among them seven world championships, including the prestigious American Royal Open, the world's largest barbecue contest.

Ardie A. Davis & Paul Kirk

The authors invite you to try these recipes at home!

Be Back Sweet Smoked Beef Short Ribs
—From America’s Best Ribs/Andrews McMeel Publishing

Serves 8

Artists at fairs have a label for browsers who say, “I’ll be back,” as they leave the booth. “Be-Backs” seldom return. These ribs are a work of art. The sweet, smoky, meaty, rich flavor will compel most of your guests to be back for more!

8 (6-inch-long) beef short ribs

SAUCE
1 cup tomato sauce
1 cup barbecue sauce
1/4 cup cola
2 tablespoons clover or other mild-flavored honey
2 tablespoons firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon ground oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground thyme
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon Louisiana hot sauce
1 teaspoon granulated garlic

RUB
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne

Heat a cooker to 230° to 250°F. Remove the ribs from the refrigerator and outline them with a sharp, pointed paring knife.

Combine all the ingredients for the sauce in a medium saucepan. Bring it to a boil over medium heat, then reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. If the sauce is too thick to brush on the ribs, add water to thin, as desired. Set aside.

Combine all the ingredients for the rub in a small bowl and blend well. Season the ribs all over with the rub.

Oil the grate and place the ribs on it bone side down over indirect heat. Cover and cook for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Turn and cook for 45 minutes more, then turn and cook for another 45 minutes, or until the ribs reach 185°F on a meat thermometer, glazing the ribs with the sauce every 10 minutes during the last 30 minutes of cooking.

Transfer the ribs to a cutting board and let them rest, covered loosely with aluminum foil, for 10 to 15 minutes. While the ribs are resting, boil the remaining sauce for 1 to 2 minutes. Cut the ribs into individual pieces and serve with the sauce.

Heartland Grilled Corn on the Cob
—From America’s Best Ribs/Andrews McMeel Publishing

Serves 12

This recipe honors the abundance of America’s sweet and field corn that comes from the heartland. There’s something about the heartland terroir that makes corn and other fresh produce absolutely delicious! Although field corn is grown primarily for livestock feed, ethanol, or adult beverages, when it is grilled we’ve enjoyed field corn as much as sweet. This recipe delivers a combination of sweetness, spice, and smoke that your guests will devour with as much gusto as the ribs.

12 ears corn on the cob, with husks
1/4 cup barbecue rub
2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
12 thin slices lean bacon

Remove and discard any dry outer corn husks. Pull the husks down, but don’t remove them. Hold the corn under cold running water while removing the corn silk.

Heat a grill to medium to medium-high.

Pat the corn dry with paper towels and sprinkle it with the rub and pepper. Wrap the corn in bacon and pull the husks over it. Wrap each ear in a 12-inch square of aluminum foil. Grill for about 15 minutes over direct heat, turning frequently.

Remove the corn from the grill and leave it in the foil for 20 minutes before serving.