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you are.” If you’ve never cooked with indirect heat before, you might be surprised by how much it will elevate your backyard cooking game. (“It made me a believer,” Tim says.) For spareribs, the first step is to peel away the membrane from the back of the ribs, which makes it easier to cut the ribs at the end, once you have finished cooking them. Rinse them, pat them dry, and rub some yellow mustard on them. The mustard imparts a subtle flavor, but more important, it helps the dry rub stick to the meat, which is the next step in the process. Add your dry rub to the ribs — both on top and underneath — and do so generously. “You don’t want it too thick, but you want it everywhere, and rubbed well into the meat,” says Tim. Get your smoker to 225◦F, and be ready to smoke for about three hours before fiddling with the meat. At that point, pull the ribs from the smoker and spritz them with apple juice before wrapping them with foil, then back into the smoker they go. Let them smoke for another two hours. Next, unwrap them, and put them back in the smoker, uncovered, for one final hour.

PHOTO BY ROMNEY CARUSO

hours, remove the ribs from the fridge and let them come down to room temperature. Then put the ribs in the smoker around noon. Around 6 or 6:30 p.m., dinner is served. That’s a pretty short day compared to some items you cook in the smoker. Boston butt will require between eight to 10 hours in smoke. Beef brisket is next-level — 14 or even 16 hours in the smoker, and it can even go overnight on low heat. So plan accord ingly. If you’re making it for a party, make sure everyone brings pajamas.

“I don’t like to use barbecue sauce or anything like that,” says Tim of his ribs. Instead, he reaches for Rouses Honey. “I squeeze honey onto the ribs, and brush them to spread the honey out.” In that last hour of cooking, the honey forms a glaze on top of the ribs. To take the flavor of the spareribs to the next level, apply the mustard and dry rub seasoning early in the morning — 6:30 a.m. or so — and let them rest in the refrigerator and really soak up the flavors. After a few

THE TEXAS CRUTCH ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT Any die-hard fan of the deep-smoked arts knows the time-tested connection between patience on the pit and tenderness on the plate. Many of home barbecue’s showcase cuts — Texas brisket, Carolina pork shoulder, Memphis ribs — need plenty of time on the pit to slowly absorb flavorful smoke and break down the tough connective tissue that makes the cuts economical to begin with. Done right, a lot of time on the pit at low, obsessively controlled temperatures will yield the home pitmaster’s holy grail — smoke infused meats with a dark, spicy “bark” (outer crust) and melt-on the-tongue texture And while patience pays off, there’s a bit of a problem — extended time over the low fire evaporates the meat’s precious surface moisture. By the time the middle of the meat cooks to the desired tenderness, the outer layers can dry out to jerky-like texture. Enter the Texas Crutch — a clever technique popular on the competitive barbecue circuit that gets you the best of both worlds — smoky bark and tenderness throughout — with minimal compromises. In other words, a perfect hack for the home pitmaster. The Texas Crutch involves wrapping a partially smoked cut of meat (usually a brisket, pork shoulder or other roast-like hunk) in THE TEXAS CRUTCH ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT Any die-hard fan of the deep-smoked arts knows the time-tested connection between patience on the pit and tenderness on th plate. Ma y of hom barbecue’s showcas cuts — Texas brisket, Carolina pork shoulder, Me phis ri s — need plenty of time on the pit to slowly absorb flav rful smok and break down the tough connectiv tissue that makes the cuts economical to begin with. Done right, a lot of time on the pit at low, obsessively controlled temperatures will yield the home pitm ster’s holy grail — smoke-infused m ats with a dark, spicy “bark” (outer crust) and melt-on-the-tongue textur . And while patience pays off, there’s a bit of a problem — extended time over th low fire ev porates the meat’s precious surface moisture. By the time th middle of the m at cooks to the desired tenderness, the outer layers can dry out to jerky-like texture. Enter the Texas Crutch — a clever technique popular on th competitive barbecue circuit that gets you

thick aluminum foil to concentrate heat, accelerate cooking and minimize evaporation. the best of both worlds — sm ky bark a d tend rness throughou — with minimal co promise. In other words, a perfect hack for the home pitmaster. The Texas Crutch inv lves wrapping p rtially smoke cut of meat (u ua ly a risket, pork shoulder or other roas -like hu k) in thick aluminum foil t co centrate heat, accelerate cooking and minimize evaporation. Add a little liqui to he mix (be r alwa s works) and let it sit for a spell. I basic kitchen terms, th essent al crutch technique turns a dry cooki g met od (smoking) into a w t-cooking m thod ( ssentially a braise). The “wrap and rest” technique gives you added control of internal temperature and overall moisture. You might lose a little crunch on the surface, but bite after savory bite, the deep-down meaty tenderness is definitely its own reward (and, usually, the reason you’re deep-smoking in the first place). — P. Johnson, Rouses Magazine , March-April 2017. Add a little liquid to the mix (beer always works) and let it sit for a spell. In basic kitchen terms, the essential crutch technique turns a dry-cooking method (smoking) into a wet-cooking method (essentially a braise). The “wrap and rest” technique gives you added control of internal temperature and overall moisture. You might lose a little crunch on the surface, but bite after savory bite, the deep-down meaty tenderness is definitely its own reward (and, usually, the reason you’re deep-smoking in the first place).

16 ROUSES SUMMER 2022