Last summer weekend a time for barbecue

It is the last weekend of the summer and a good opportunity for barbecue. There are, you know, some people in this country that think there is no such thing as Yankee barbecue. I’ve even heard some North Carolinians say that there is no Virginia barbecue, and some folks in Missouri claim that the only real barbecue is found there. And then there are the Texans and their barbecue. But what the heck, who cares about some purported authenticity. I asked a few weeks ago for a good barbecue sauce to put on ribs and I heard back from Steve Merchant and Dan Techintin. This just goes to reinforce another stereotype: that women cook, but guys barbecue. (There is a relatively new barbecue cookbook written by a couple of women who are trying to popularize female grilling, by the way.)

So Steve’s recipe calls for the sort of thing most of us have in the house except for the liquid hickory smoke. He uses Heinz ketchup, and asserts rather vigorously that it has to be Heinz or else. He likes light brown sugar and prefers the honey to be orange blossom. At the risk of annoying him, I will call the liquid smoke optional, but be my guest if you think you’d like the extra bit of flavor it will provide. I also prefer fresh garlic over garlic powder, mostly I suppose because we grow our own and we have so darn much of it.

Dan took a slightly different tack. He starts his ribs with a dry rub, using one he gets from Penzey’s “because it has a rich flavor and a reasonable level of heat.” Any of you who are on-line can visit the Penzey’s Web site to look over their offerings. Dry rubs are common even in grocery stores these days, never mind specialty food shops. Then Dan devised a “50:50 blend of Stubb’s Original and KC Master Original” barbecue sauces because “it is not too sweet and not too sharp.” That is not a bad approach and its simplicity may appeal to some of you.

One principle of barbecuing is “slow and low,” that is, you cook your ribs or pork shoulder or whatever for a long time at a low temperature. They are supposed to be smoke-cooked, that is, enough smoke for flavor, cooked through, tender on the inside with a flavorful crisp exterior. The purpose of the sauce is to keep the meat from drying out. If you are not cooking on a grill, then the only way to get the smokey flavor will be to use the liquid smoke.

When Dan cooks ribs, he says, “I always start with baby back ribs, because they are so lean.” Then he dusts them with the dry rub, and then, he says, “the ribs go into a 260 F oven for at least two hours. To keep the ribs juicy, there is a pan of hot water below the rib tray.” He slathers his sauce on the inside of the ribs, turning them after a half to three-quarters of an hour for the excess fat to drain off, and spreads sauce on the other side.

If you want, you can use Steve’s sauce on chicken, pork loin, even pork chops, if you don’t want to do spareribs. The sauce is not as sweet as you might think it would be, and light brown sugar is better than dark.

Steve Merchant’s Barbecue Sauce on Spare Ribs

Sauce recipe makes one pint

1 cup of Heinz ketchup

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/3 cup honey (preferably orange blossom)

1/4 cup distilled white vinegar

1 teaspoon garlic powder (or one-half teaspoon pureed garlic)

1 teaspoon dried basil

2 teaspoons liquid smoke (optional)

Blend all ingredients and let sit at least an hour before using it or heat it in the microwave and whisk thoroughly. Heat the oven to 260 F, spread the ribs generously with the sauce and set them concave side up on a rack over a pan full of hot water. After 45 minutes, turn the ribs over, and spread the sauce on the other side. Continue baking for another hour and a quarter. Check and brush on additional sauce if the surface looks a little dry. Refrigerate for another time whatever you don’t use.