Sam's Place

Smoked Ribs on the Grill:

The weather forecast on Saturday here in Western New York was calling for dangerous thunderstorms, but that wasn’t the case. The day turned out to be a beautiful day of sunshine with temperatures in the 80’s. So, it was time to try some smoked ribs on the grill.

After cleaning off the deck I took my propane tank for the gas grill and got it filled up. I wanted to make sure that I had enough propane for my first try at smoking ribs using the gas grill.

After reading so many great smoker recipes from Old Fat Guy Cooking on his Louisiana Pellet Grill. I just had to try to get some of that smoked flavor that he is always talking about. Click the link to see all of his amazing smoker recipes and much more. In my opinion, he is a master at this.

I picked up a nice rack of back ribs at the store, along with a bag of Applewood smoking chips. I decided to use the Southwestern rub similar to the one I used in this recipe, Grilled Southwestern Chicken Breasts. I changed it up a bit by adding some Cajun seasoning and ground black pepper.

Meat Rub Recipe:

1 Tbsp. chili powder

2 Tsp. ground cumin

1 Tsp. coriander

½ Tsp. onion powder

½ Tsp. garlic powder

½ Tsp. dried oregano

½ Tsp. paprika

1 Tsp. sea salt

½ Tsp. Cajun seasoning

½ Tsp. ground black pepper

After mixing and shaking the rub, I cut the back ribs in half and brushed them with olive oil. Then I hand rubbed the mixture onto both sides until it was all used up. I covered the ribs and set them in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

I wrapped up four packages of the Applewood chips in tin foil, a handful in each package, and poked holes in the top. I heated the grill on the high setting and placed the ribs directly on the rack for 2 minutes per side.

Then I moved the ribs to the upper rack of the grill, turned one side of the grill off and lowered the other side to just above the low setting. I place the packages of wood chips on the surface and closed the lid.

My goal was to try and maintain a 250-degree internal temperature of the grill. I was just guessing at this point; I don’t have a surface thermometer for my grill.

After one hour and 45 minutes, I had 150-degree internal temperature of the ribs. I needed to get to 180 degrees. At this point, I turned the second burner on to the same setting.

It took another 45 minutes to reach 180 degrees. After I turned the second burner on I had to put out a couple of fires using a spray bottle of water.

I removed the ribs and covered them to let them rest for about 15 minutes. The total cook time was 2-1/2 hours.

The outside of the ribs had a nice tasty crust, and the inside was juicy and tender with a nice smoked flavor from the Applewood chips.

The result: Sweet Smoked Baby Back Ribs

I was pretty happy with the outcome for my first attempt at smoking on the gas grill. I think I need to buy a surface thermometer for my grill to give me more control. I was experimenting here and everything was a guess to control the temperature of the grill.

As always thanks for stopping by, and I hope you enjoyed.

Traeger TFB29LZA Junior Elite Grill

Char-Griller 1224 Smokin Pro 830 Square Inch Charcoal Grill with Side Fire Box

Char-Broil American Gourmet Offset Smoker, Standard

Masterbuilt 20075315 Front Controller Smoker with Viewing Window and RF Remote Control, 40-Inch

Italian Easter Sausage Pie

This week I seem to be on a roll with our traditional Easter holiday recipes. Ever since I was a little guy, and that was a long time ago, this Easter sausage pie has been a family favorite.

We make it every year on Good Friday without fail. This recipe calls for basket cheese, and here in Western New York, we can only find it at certain times of the year, usually around Holidays.

Here is what we use Easter Sausage Pie:

3 lb. Italian sausage links (we used sweet, not hot)

2-1/2 lb. Basket Cheese

2 slices ham (1/4-inch-thick) ham from your deli counter is fine

16 large eggs

½ cup grated Romano cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

The Crust:

2-1/4 cups of all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening, well chilled
2 tablespoons of butter or margarine, again well chilled
5 to 6 tablespoons of cold water

If you need instructions to make the crust you can find them here. Or you can cheat and just buy the pie crust already made.

Okay here is how we make this Italian Sausage Pie:

First, make your sausage, we bake ours at 350 degrees for about one hour, you can also broil or fry the sausage however you prefer to make it.

While the sausage is baking dice up the basket cheese and ham and place it in a large mixing bowl.
After the sausage is cooked cut it into small pieces and add it to the bowl.

Now in another bowl beat the eggs and the Romano cheese. Pour the eggs into the large bowl and mix this well with a spoon.

Lightly grease a 15-inch x 10-inch x 2-inch glass baking dish. Roll out the dough to about 1/8-inch thick. Cut ½-inch strips of dough and place them along the length and width of the bottom of the baking dish, in a crisscross pattern.

dough crisscrossed on bottom of baking dish

Here are the strips of dough on the bottom of the baking dish

Pour the mixture into the baking dish and spread it level to the top. Now crisscross strips of dough across the top as you did on the bottom.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and bake this for one hour until the top is golden brown. Then place it on a baking rack to cool before cutting. Once cooled you can cut and serve. This is best served cold the next day right out of the refrigerator.

There are many variations of this recipe, we have been using this one since 1970 from the St. Vitus Cookbook of New Castle Pa. This is another really easy one to make and is so rich and tasty.

Since I meant comments asking me what is basket cheese? This Wikipedia link will explain Basket Cheese.

As I said before, Basket Chhese is seasonal around the Easter Holiday If you can't find it in your local grocery store. Click this link for a recipe to make it yourself.

I hope you enjoyed this recipe and as always thanks for stopping by.