This last New Year’s Eve, I had the pleasure of being in Joshua Tree. Our hosts Dave and Hutch have this uncanny knack for bringing folks together. This post is a result of folks colliding at Rancho de la Luna.

One of these folks is Noah Rosenstein. He’s a BBQ savant, and the Texas BBQ snob in me does not say that lightly. After working his magic on a smoker the day before, he presented a plate of brisket that I promise people would fight for. Niceties made all parties eyeing said brisket politely eat a slice one at a time until it was all gone. I was blown away as were the BBQs snobs that surrounded me. After the praise settled down, I wanted to know who this Noah Rosenstein was and how he mastered the art of BBQ. I wanted the story. His reply? “Yeah it doesn’t make sense does it? An east coast Jewish boy with gout cooking some BBQ.”

So sit down and get schooled. Noah knows his BBQ. And he graciously agreed to answer my silly questions, as well as dishing out his BBQ secrets along with photos of a master at work. You’ll find out how he does ribs, and he sneaks in a bonus BBQ recipe as well. Now if that doesn’t make your salivary glands dance, I don’t know if help exists for you.

Let’s talk music, smokers, ribs and oh yeah bacon

Aine: When we are at Joshua tree you joked that “yeah it doesn’t make sense does it? An east coast Jewish boy with gout cooking some BBQ” which is the equivalent of my southern self knowing her way blindfolded around a NYC Jewish deli. Is there a how or why you got into BBQ?

Noah: I’ve always liked grilling. Growing up, I had a natural aptitude for it, and my Dad ceded all outdoor cooking to me at age 16. I’m the guy at your cookout – that’s what we called it growing up in Massachusetts – who will offer to lend a hand cooking, and then never leave your grill.

Pork ribs have always been my favorite. About 5 years ago I decided I wanted to make them my own self. I started by crock-potting, and then finished them on the grill. The results were not satisfying. Crock-potting ribs makes them tender, but because you’re cooking them in water you’re essentially making soup. Much of the flavor is left in the water.

Westcott, the lead singer of the band I am in, The Slighted, had a smoker he’d been given as a gift, but never used. He gave it to me knowing I was having difficulty getting my ribs just so. The first time I used it I lit the side of it on fire: but I rescued the ribs before they went up in the ensuing conflagration. Even slightly burnt, they were better than any I had ever made before. I’ve been working at it ever since. My hope is that my retirement hobby will be competition BBQ.

A couple of years ago I got a Weber bullet smoker, and that’s made my BBQ even better. I would do an unpaid testimonial for Weber if they wanted me to, I like it that much. It’s probably important to note that I don’t keep my smoker at my house. It’s in my friends Ben and Helen’s backyard. There isn’t a good location for it at my apartment, but I love cooking with it so much I must have a smoker. Ben and Helen are nice enough, and enthusiastic enough about BBQ, to let me keep it there.

I even have a smoker I keep at my sister’s house in Massachusetts, so when I’m on my yearly family vacation I can still cook. My friend Ted can attest to that. He slept in the living room of our vacation house with the sliding glass door open while I cooked a brisket overnight. I’m not sure which turned out more mesquite smoked: him, or the brisket.

I cook all sorts of food on my smoker; pulled pork, brisket, chicken, bacon, hot links– but ribs are my favorite.

Aine:  Your style of BBQ–would you consider it your own mix of influences or do you prefer one style over another i.e. Texas and the dry rub or South Carolina or Memphis or….

Noah: My BBQ is a mix. I use a Memphis rub on my ribs, but my brisket is closer to Texas style. Maybe if I had grown up in a region that had a particular way of BBQing I would be more of a purist, but I use whatever recipe sounds tasty.

The BBQ community can be a little strict in their interpretation of what “real” BBQ is. Many BBQ enthusiasts say the definition is only indirect heat, and cooking “slow and low” — i.e., long cooking times at low temps. There’s even debate about the derivation of the word barbecue. I don’t believe in such a strict interpretation. If you want to say you’re BBQing a hamburger that’s fine with me. I’m just glad you’re cooking and enjoying yourself.

Aine: Any stories of great restaurants or eating experiences you want to share?

Noah: I moved to Los Angeles in 1993, and at that point I didn’t have a lot of experience with Southern cooking. There was a traditional BBQ restaurant in my new neighborhood. An older couple owned it, and their daughter worked there too. After I tried their ribs, the daughter came by the table, and asked if I liked the food. I jokingly said, “It was so good I want to hug you”. She said, “Well don’t just sit there then, get up and do it!” I did, and she gave me a long heartfelt hug. That started my love affair with BBQ.

Aine: If I asked you “how you learned to cook”–are you self-taught or is there an influence?

Noah: My friend Carolyn is an amazing chef. I called and asked her lots of questions when I started, and I just got a BBQ sauce recipe from a chef who won a “Best of Memphis” recipe with it, but mostly I’m self-taught. The Internet is a great resource for all things BBQ. I get a lot of my info from:
http://www.amazingribs.com/

http://virtualweberbullet.com/

Aine:  As a musician if you are having friends over and cooking and hanging out what albums are no-brainers to put in the mix?

Noah: If I’m BBQing the sun is usually shining, and I’m happy, so the music I listen to reflects that. Bands like the Growlers, FIDLAR, Ty Segall, The Night Beats, Tyvek, Golden Triangle, and Tijuana Panthers go well with BBQ. I also like to listen to reggae while cooking. The Harder They Come soundtrack is a top-notch selection. I actually saw Jimmy Cliff with my Pops last month, and he said, “It was one of my top 3 all time live events, along with Janis Joplin and Rodney Dangerfield”. We were both pretty blown away. Hmm, I think I just got inspired to try jerk chicken on the smoker.

Aine: That soundtrack is amazing. When I was a teenager, a cousin of mine gave me the movie on VHS with the soundtrack on cassette. That movie made such a huge impression on me. All these years, I have missed seeing Jimmy Cliff and I finally get to see him at a small venue in town this next week. I am so excited.

Noah: The reason I took my pops was he brought me to see the movie in the theater in 1976. I was the completely inappropriate age of 6. I have his copy of the soundtrack on vinyl to this day. We listened to it a lot. I wasn’t exaggerating when I say we were blown away (by Jimmy Cliff’s performance). My 68-year-old dad asked me if I was embarrassed with his loud singing and dancing. There were a couple of times I got chills, but that was from Jimmy, not my Dad. You are in for a real treat.

Aine: So what about this band you are in? Plug away.

Noah: We are called The Slighted. We’re playing our last show in LA on Sept 8, with a couple of other great bands. This will be your last chance to check us out.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Slighted/129068960815

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4QwsjNOGnM

Aine: Finally, may I pry a recipe out of your smoking hands?

Noah: Here’s how I make my ribs:

I go to a local butcher for my ribs, and have him remove the membrane. I can do it if I have to, but he’s the professional, right?

Rinse the ribs with cold water, and pat dry with paper towels. Then coat the ribs with vegetable oil, and apply the rub. I leave them in the refrigerator over night.

The rub:
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup paprika
1/4 cup salt
1/4 cup garlic powder
2 tablespoons ground black pepper
2 tablespoons ground ginger powder
2 tablespoons onion powder
2 teaspoons rosemary powder
1 tablespoon ancho chili
1 tablespoon dry mustard

There are 4 elements of a rub:

1. Sweet/salt – the base of all rubs
2. Color – Paprika gives it the deep red
3. Heat – The black pepper and ancho chili are mild, add cayenne if you want it hotter, but be careful, too much will overpower the rub
4. Flavorings – This is where personal taste comes in. I think rosemary is complimentary to pork, so that’s a must for me. Feel free to add anything else, but I think it’s a good idea to only change one ingredient at a time while testing rubs, that way you know what element changed the flavor. The above rub is good for pork, but I use different ones for beef or chicken.

A good rule of thumb on rubs is: 4 parts stage 1, 1-2 parts stage 2, 1 part stage 3, and 1 part stage 4. Mine has more sugar and less heat, but I’m an artist so I don’t need to follow rules exactly.

Some people coat their meat with mustard, but I like oil because some herbs and spices aren’t water soluble, so the oil pulls the flavor into the meat better.

I light my coals in a chimney then use something called the Minion method. I layer the bottom of the smoker with hardwood charcoal and put the hot coals from the chimney on top of them. This way the coals burn down, keeping an even heat, and you don’t have to add coal during cooking.

I put the ribs in the smoker and add a big wood chunk. 20 minutes later I add another. You don’t need to add a lot of wood. I use apple, and pecan. Any wood that is seasonal is good for smoking, but pine and all evergreens are not. I usually put the ribs on the bottom level, and cook sausages or bacon over it. Grease drips onto the ribs, and adds a little bit of flavor, and moisture. To date, I haven’t found any meal that doesn’t improve with bacon.

Keep the heat between 225 and 250. There are 4 vents on my smoker: 1 on top and 3 on the bottom. Always leave the top vent open while cooking, or you can get a creosote taste on your food. I start with all vents open, then close 2 bottom ones when the heat reaches 210. The heat goes up a little more, and then BBQ out. It takes some practice to keep the heat fairly even.

I cook my ribs 4 to 4.5 hours. After about 3.5 hours I put some BBQ sauce on and let them cook awhile longer. Another option I use is to put sauce on them when they’re done, and grill for about 5 minutes a side, just enough to get the sauce to caramelize. A good test to see if ribs are done is to twist one of the bones near the middle of the rack, if it starts to break free of the meat its ready. Tent the ribs under foil when they’re done for 10 minutes, and then cut them, and serve.

BONUS RECIPE

I got this firecracker bacon recipe from my friend Matt. Rub thick slab bacon with a blend of 1/4 cup brown sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cayenne. Put them in the smoker, after 45 minutes turn them over. Cook for another half hour. It’s delish.