FCSIP134.pdf

(Nancy Kaufman) #1
Pull it off the ribs; it should peel away in one large sheet,
but if it breaks, use the knife to restart at another section.

88 GRILLING 2019


test kitchen


Removing rib silverskin


Whether you’re cooking pork baby backs or spareribs, you’ll want to be sure that the membrane, or silverskin, cover-
ing the bone side of each rack gets removed. If left on, it keeps seasonings and smoke from penetrating the meat, and
it cooks into an unpleasant leathery skin on the ribs. Some racks are sold with the silverskin already removed, but you
probably won’t know this until you open the package. If the silverskin is still intact, removing it is simple:

Slide a table knife under the silverskin anywhere along the
rack. If it resists in one spot, try another. Lift and loosen it
with the knife until you can grab it with a paper towel.

TECHNIQUE

A charcoal fire started with lighter fluid
tends to impart a chemical flavor to
grilled foods, so we recommend these
three alternatives.

CHIMNEY A chimney is a wide metal
tube with a handle that has two interior
compartments separated by a grate.
The deep top section is for coals, and
the shallow bottom section underneath
is for newspaper. Once the paper is
ignited, the tall, narrow shape directs
the heat up through the coals while
keeping out any wind that might blow
out the flame. It takes about 30 minutes
until the coals are ready for grilling.

LOOFTLIGHTER A Looftlighter works
by forcing superheated air (about
1250°F) onto the charcoal to ignite it. To
use it, plug in the Looft lighter and point
it at the base of the coals. Press the

tool’s button and hold it in position for
about a minute until flames appear.
At this point, it takes about 20 minutes
for the coals to burn down, but you
can speed up the process by continu-
ing to blast the coals for another
5 to 6 minutes until they are
ashed over.

ELECTRIC CHAR-
COAL STARTER This
device has a long
looped metal coil with
a heat-resistant plas-
tic body. Mound your
coals on top of the coil
and turn it on. The coil
takes about 10 minutes
to ignite the coals surround-
ing it. After removing the coil, the
coals will take about 20 minutes longer
to ash over.

Three tools for lighting charcoal


From left, chimney,
Looftlighter, electric
charcoal starter.

EQUIPMENT
Free download pdf