The BBQ

We had our little cook out yesterday, and just about everything came out great. We had ribs, sausage, corn on the cob, grilled zucchini and yellow squash, and hubby had baked beans (I can't stand them.) We had purchased a small charcoal grill because our large gas grill had some serious issues. It had been a long time since Joel or I had cooked with charcoal, so we were pretty nervous.

Joel marinated the ribs about an hour before he lit the grill. He used soy sauce, Worcestershire Sauce, Goya Sazon, thyme, cumin, paprika, salt, black pepper, diced onions, green peppers and garlic. They smelled amazing before he even put them on the grill.
They took much longer than we thought they would, and cooking with charcoal was so different than gas. We also soaked some mesquite chips in water, and threw them on coals, which also created another taste dimension. We used Jack Daniel's Hickory Brown Sugar Barbecue Sauce, and were impressed. It had the right amount of sweetness and the perfect amount of thickness.

The final product was absolutely amazing! These were by far the best ribs Joel had ever made. They were cooked perfectly, juicy, and ridiculously flavorful.

Before the ribs were done, Joel threw on the sausage. The flavor of the sausage was incredible. This would have been awesome by itself in a hard roll with some mustard. I also heated some corn and instead of plain old butter, I threw together cilantro butter. The butter was great, but I would have used unsalted butter the next time.

The only thing I was a little disappointed with was the zucchini and squash. I am missing a part of my mandolin, so I had to slice it lengthwise by hand, and that did not go well. I tossed the slices with olive oil, kosher salt, and ground black pepper. The thinner slices I put in a foil packet and the thicker pieces I placed directly on the grill rack. They were way over cooked, too mushy for my liking. Next time I will slice them much thicker, and leave them on the grill half the time I did this time.

All in all, we were very pleased with results. The whole meal took at least two hours from start to finish, but definitely worth the time and effort.