Instructions: I thought someone would have answered this a long time ago. I used to live in Memphis and barbecue is real big there.

This recipe is from the Memphis
in May Barbecue Contest.

Rub Dry Rub into both sides of skinned ribs. Place meat on grill away from coals, bone side down. Cook ribs 1-1/2 to 2 hours, never turning, before using basting sauce. Cook slowly for 3-1/2 to 4-1/2 hours, basting every 45 minutes to hour. Serve with Wet sauce on the side, or (not recommended by purists) baste with Wet sauce the last 1/2 hour.

DRY RUB MIX: Mix together.

BASTING SAUCE: Combine first four ingredients in a saucepan and mix well.

Cook very slowly for 1 hour. Add sugar, butter, and root beer to mixture and slow boil for 30 minutes. Recommended for pork and game.

WET SAUCE: Mix all ingredients in a saucepan and simmer for 1 hour. Let sauce stand for 2 hours before serving on the side with barbecue.

Hi Mike,

The thing about this recipe is it will depend on your grill and the size of your ribs. Memphis barbeque is over an extremely low fire so that the meat cooks very slowly. If you cannot do this on your grill, youll have to adjust your cooking time accordingly. This is the original recipe and the time to cook is indeed appr. 6 hours. However, I cannot do this on my grill because its a gas grill and its too hot. This is what I do. I place the ribs on one side of the grill only, I turn the burner on the other half of the grill on low. I place a smoker box over the flame with wood chips.

Using this method, I can stretch out the cooking time to about 2 hours max.

But its worth the fuss. The ribs are so moist and falling apart on the inside with a nice crust on the outside. I have some friends who insist you cannot get ribs done before they burn and boil them first (thereby removing all the flavor and texture) then finish up for a few minutes on the grill.

This process will do that. Good luck and let me know if you have any other questions.

One more piece of advice. Since youre cooking for a slew and the Richard gas grill method doesnt allow you to cook a lot, heres is something I do in that situation. I cook everything in batches until nearly done, then transfer to baking pans and keep in warm oven while I start the next batch.

Since the majority of cooking was done on the grill, the effect is the same. Also, seal the pans of ribs with foil when you put in the oven, grilled ribs dry out quickly in the oven.

Good luck!

Richard

If you would like to email yourself the recipe for later use, or share the recipe with your friends or family, enter the email addresses below and this recipe will be emailed to you and others as well.