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Wings, baby back ribs for a backyard BBQ

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updated 2:13 p.m. ET June 4, 2008

Want to impress your guests at your next backyard BBQ? Chef Adam Perry Lang of New York's Daisy Mae's BBQ USA offers his recipe for "grilled, not smoked" baby back ribs. Not to be outdone, chef Kevin Roberts of San Diego's East Village Tavern & Bowl gives his recipe for "West Coast wings." Make sure you have plenty of napkins on hand!

Kevin's "West Coast wings" with Tavern sauce
Kevin Roberts

Serves 4

The trick to my tasty and healthy wings is I boil them first. That knocks off a lot of the fat and makes them nice and tender. Then you can throw them on the grill and get 'em nice and crispy.

INGREDIENTS

1 4-pound bag of frozen or fresh chicken wings ( try to get a combo of both wings and drumettes)
1/4 stick butter, melted
1 cup cayenne pepper sauce, divided into 1/2 cup each for wings and sauce
1/2 cup barbecue sauce

Recipe continues below ↓
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DIRECTIONS

Boil the wings in a large pot for 10 minutes. Drain water and excess fat from wings when done.

Grill wings on barbecue until crispy. In a large bowl, add the butter and melt in microwave. Add the cayenne pepper sauce and mix well.

When wings are nice and crispy, add them to the bowl and coat them well.

Tavern-style sauce: Here's my barbecue twist to the sauce that we serve at my urban sports bar and bowling alley: East Village Tavern & Bowl in San Diego, Calif.

Add 1/2 cup barbecue sauce to the 1/2 cup cayenne pepper sauce and mix well. Then mix the wings in the Tavern sauce.

Recipe Copyrighted by Kevin Roberts, The Food Dude, Munchies Cookbook, Storey Publishing 2004.

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Quick and easy "grilled, not smoked" baby back ribs
Adam Perry Lang

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS

Spice rub

1/2 cup chili powder
1/2 cup sweet paprika
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tsp cayenne powder
1/4 cup water
4 racks baby back ribs (approx 1 1/2 - 2 lbs. each)
1 cup honey
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup apple juice

Finishing sauce

1 cup favorite BBQ sauce
1/2 cup honey

DIRECTIONS

First, combine ingredients of spice rub.

Moisten ribs lightly with water and coat entirely with rub. Allow to sit in refrigerator for a minimum of 1 hour or a maximum of 3 hours.

Preheat grill to medium. Grill ribs for 10 minutes on each side and remove.

Place each rib in a double sheet of aluminum foil and evenly distribute honey, butter and apple juice to each. Seal tightly.

Heat grill on one side so that when covered, grill temp remains at 300-325 degrees (alternatively, if you do not have temperature control on your grill, with no shame, utilize a preheated oven, but place all on a cookie sheet tray).

Cook ribs for 2 hours, remove and allow to rest in foil for ½ hour.

Remove from foil and direct grill over low setting for 15 minutes on each side, constantly basting with finishing sauce.

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