I just want to be clear that none of those people were in my family tree. I met all of them professionally.

I usually face my fears with a shotgun! It works for me.

Probably my biggest fear is water over my head. I just don't jump into the deep end of the pool.

I don't know if it counts as a fear, but I don't like snakes. It is not that I am afraid of them. I just don't know anything about them. I don't know the good ones from the bad ones. They say to look at their eyes and the shape of their head. Heck, if I can see all of those details, I am way too close. I do appreciate a rattlesnake because he gives you an audible warning when you are invading his personal space. Another thing I don't like about snakes is that they are all camoflaged and slither around all sneaky like, and when you finally see one, it is too late, you probably already stepped on it. I hate those pucker factor 10 moments.

I don't think that I have a fear of heights, I just have no desire to jump out of a perfectly good airplane or something equally stupid.

Also, not really a fear but I don't appreciate the people that have tried to hurt me with guns, knives, baseball bats, sticks, body parts (fists, head, knees, and feet), beer bottles, boards, cars, trucks, a three foot tall ceramic cat statue, an icepick, pieces of furniture, bodily fluids, bricks, poles, doors, and my personal favorite, an ax. Oh yeah, and the person that literally tried to clock me over the head with a mantle clock.

Ohhhhh, this is a combustible topic. I don't care, I'll voice my opinion anyway.

I can fully appreciate anyone that enjoys riding a motorcycle. I owned one for several years. As a matter of fact, I still have a valid motorcycle license, even though I haven't been on a bike in years. I fully enjoyed riding my motorcycle. Years ago, I even rode one professionally.

Even though I really tried to be the safest motorcyclist on the highway that I could be, one day, I just came to the conclusion that riding a motorcyle on a public highway, while enjoyable, was too dangerous and was not worth the risk. That is really saying something, coming from someone that is required to be armed 24/7 and is a nationally licensed race car driver. My life was really not lacking in excitement, adrenaline rushes, or danger. I ended up selling my bike and haven't ridden one since. As the volume of vehicles on the highways increases, the dangers for a motorcyclist increases exponentially.

I was not lacking in confidence in my bike riding skills. I was concerned about the driving ability of people that I had to share the highway with. I have taught high performance driving techniques in many different venues for a couple of decades, so I have a very good idea of the driving ability of the motoring public. Knowing what I know, scares the crap out of me.

I really think that everyone should be required to take some advanced driver training. You certainly don't have to be able to demonstrate that you know how to drive to get a driver's license. I prefer to call it a parking license. You just have to be able to stop at a stop sign, turn on your turn signals, and parallel park in a half hour or so. Heck, they even give the test in a parking lot. As soon as you do that, and they issue you that little piece of paper, you will be hurtling down the highway at over 70 mph, while calling your friends on your cell phone, telling them you just got your license, and not knowing a dang thing about what you are doing. And unfortuanatly, you may be on the same highway as me.

Most people are completely ignorant of the most basic things about car control. They can't tell you if their car is front wheel drive or rear wheel drive, and they can't tell you the handling differences between the two. Most don't know if they have anti-lock brakes or not and don't know how to operate them or how or why they work. They are just fat, dumb, and happy and going down the road as fast as they can go, while talking on the cell phone, texting, dancing to music on the radio, reading, or putting on their makeup. They don't care that they are driving a two or three ton weapon down the road, with no idea of how to control it, until they encounter an emergency situation. In that split second, they panic and totally screw up in a huge manner.

I have found that the people that believe they are greatest drivers and drive the fastest on the highway, are usually some of the absolute worst drivers when their skills are put to the test. When these people are tested and evaluated and their lack of skills surface, I love to hear the excuses. If you find that you are most often one of the fastest moving vehicles on the highway, you probably fit into this category. Sorry, it is just a fact. It just works out that the ones that don't know anything about controlling a car, feel completely safe going much faster than what their skills should allow.

I also love to watch four wheel drive owners in the winter. They blow their horns and pass all of those idiots in regular cars out in the snow. They have got four wheel drive and they can go in anything. And, they are glad to get out there at the first sign of snow accumulation and show everybody what their 4X4 can do. Not a winter goes by, that I don't see one of these four wheel drive vehicles parked in a tree (I mean UP in a tree, how did they get up there?), or into a pole, or stuck on a guardrail or over in a ravine. While it is true that their four wheel drive vehicle will go in snow like gangbusters, I guess they forgot to think about the fact that their brakes are no different than any other non-four wheel dive car. They get so acclimated to going, that they forget they will eventually need to stop. Need to stop NOW! Whooooopsi!

I did get a little off the topic of riding motorcycles, but it is relevent to the decision that I made not to ride one.

I really don't like crotch rockets at all. The riding position is unnatural and the only reason that someone would want to be in the up, push-up position for a few hours, would be that they want to speed around the public highways at 180 mph or so. I have never seen a crotch rocket owner that didn't drive it in that fashion and that is insane and they really should be removed from our gene pool. The way they drive, sooner or later, they will be. I am not against speed. I love it. And, I am very good at it. There is just a proper time and place for it. It doesn't belong on the public highway. I also don't care for biker bars or biker gangs.

I have several friends and relatives that have motorcycles. I hope they have fun and have many safe rides. It is just not for me, anymore.

Since you mentioned bbq sauce in your first paragraph and you are talking about white sauces, maybe I can help you out.

White bbq sauce was invented by Big Bob Gibson in Decatur, Alabama. I grew up eating at Big Bob Gibson's Bar-B-Q, there in Decatur. I remember Big Bob himself up behind the counter at the old fashioned cash register, talking to the customers. I remember he had a large glass bowl of bubble gun beside that cash register, and he would give me a piece of bubble gum every time I went up there with my dad to pay our bill.

Big Bob was called Big Bob because he was a big man. He was married to a Woodall. Since she was married to Big Bob, she was called Big Mama. Big Mama was responsible for many of the recipes that became staples of the restuarant.

Big Bob worked for the L&N Railroad and had become famous for his backyard barbeques. It soon became obvious to Big Bob, that his destiny was in bbq, not the railroad. In 1925, Big Bob set out to open a bbq restaurant in Decatur. He turned to his wife's brother, Sam Woodall to help.

My cousins on my moma's side are Woodalls. Back in the day, the Woodall family was the other big name in bbq in north Alabama. It would take a real north Alabama oldtimer to remember Woodall's BBQ. Woodall's BBQ burned down one night, and was never rebuilt by the family. Gibson's however, is still a thriving, family run business today.

Chris Lilly married into the Gibson family. He is one of the prominent members of the restaurant and the Big Bob Gibson Competition Barbeque Team. They have won ten bbq world championships, six championships at Memphis in May. They have won the American Royal in Kansas City and they have won the Jack Daniels International bbq championship in Tennessee. They have won championships from Washington State to Jamaica and just about everywhere in between. In other words, Chris and the gang know how to cook some "Q". Chris wrote a book, Big Bob Gibson's BBQ Book, Recipes and Secrets from a Legendary Barbeque Joint, that was recently published.

When it comes to bbq sauces, I have my own personal favorites that depend on what I am putting it on. For pulled pork, I prefer an eastern North Carolina style vinegar based sauce, which is what Bob Gibson's uses on their pulled pork. For beef or baby back ribs or spareribs, I prefer a sweet and tangy, tomato based sauce. I make my own lemon, brown sugar, tomato based barbeque sauce for these foods.

As far as white bbq sauce, I prefer it on chicken as do many other people, especially those in north Alabama. As I remember it, Big Bob invented a mayonnaise based bbq sauce for a friend of his that was either allergic to tomato based sauces or had trouble digesting them. I have a few different recipes for white barbeque sauce, but they are all decendents of the original white barbeque sauce that Big Bob invented. I have one that differs slightly from this, that I got from my cousin, that came down through the Woodall family. For this recipe, I simply copied and pasted an excerpt from Chris Lilly's new book.


From Big Bob Gibson's BBQ Book: White Sauce

"People raised in Decatur, Alabama, know that barbecue sauce is supposed to be white. For more than eighty years, Big Bob Gibson’s has been dunking its golden-brown birds, fifty at a time, into a vat of this tangy, peppery white sauce. The steaming, glistening chickens are then cut to order for our customers.

For years and years the restaurant’s early-morning cooks closely guarded the white sauce recipe, which was made each day before the day shift arrived. However, even without doing the math, I can tell you that hundreds of cooks have passed through the pitrooms of Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q, so I don’t think you can describe this recipe as "closely guarded" anymore.

I do know that Big Bob’s techniques and recipes, including his white sauce, have influenced the flavors of regional barbecue in Alabama. The great thing about passing secrets is that every time they are shared they change slightly. There is now a large number of "authentic" versions of Big Bob’s original secret recipe and cooking method—all different from one another. This is one of my favorite examples.


Ingredients

2 cups mayonnaise
1 cup distilled white vinegar
1/2 cup apple juice
2 teaspoons prepared horseradish
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
(Makes 4 cups)

Directions

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients and blend well. Use as a marinade, baste, or dipping sauce. Store refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks."

Ummm.....I don't know the answer to that one. It sounds like a lazy clerk to me, thinking it is easier to just type one label into a computer since they sound so much alike. I guess they just don't like typing the longer word. They have to do different labels anyway, because they are most likely a different price per pound. Most of the places around here label a tenderloin as such. Just because someone may mislabel a cut of meat on a label, doesn't mean that it is correct or an accepted practice.

I don't know about calling anything from the loin area a loin. A pork loin comes from on top of and to both sides of the spine, and a tenderloin comes from underneath the spine. Not only do they come from a different location, but their diameter, length, and tenderness are all different. A Hyundai and a Ferrari both come from a car factory, but if someone is going to give me one for free, I don't have to think twice about which one to choose.

Most of the pork recipes that I see, specify either a pork loin, or a pork tenderloin. If it is the pork loin, you will see that they are preparing a larger cut of meat. Since a whole pork loin is so big, they will usually even specify how big a piece of the pork loin the recipe is designed for, as you can get pork loins cut in smaller sizes than just a whole one. To do the same recipe for a pork tenderloin, would require cutting back a great deal on the amounts of the ingredients.

ROLL TIDE!

Sounds like you are talking about two different cuts of meat. It is a little confusing because they both have "loin" in their names.

A pork loin is a fairly large diameter cut of meat that is two to three feet long. It can be cut into several smaller lengths. Cut it into one inch slices and you have a pork chop. A pig actually has two loins, they are located high on the back, on top, along both sides of the spine. They run from the neck to the ham.

The small ones that you are talking about that usually come two to a package are pork tenderloins. They are a different cut of meat as they come from under the pig's ribcage. They only weigh 3/4 lbs. to 1 1/4 lbs. As their name implies, a pork tenderloin is THE most tender cut of pork. With the tenderloin coming from up on the back near the top of the animal, it is where the expression, "eating high on the hog" comes from.

Shoot, ribs have their own automatic, built in, pop up timer. When the meat has shrunk back about 1/4 inch from the ends of the bones, they are done.

I also use the test to see if they are tender enough to tear apart with my fingers.

Thanks, Metalwing. That addresses my questions.

Dang, if the grill was too small for indirect, it must have been a little one.

Yeah, I have heard some folks swear by cooking ribs bone side down to let the ribs baste in their own juices and help keep them moist. Makes sense. But, why do ribs come out so well in a rib rack, which would give all the juices a chance to run off? If someone uses a mop sauce, I guess lack of juice isn't a problem.

Ummmm....I guess I didn't ask my questions very well. I was simply trying to ask the grilling technique. I am assuming that you grilled them using indirect grilling based on the time that it took. The recipe at the top just failed to mention it.

Also, there seemed to be some kind of difference in the first 30 minutes and the second 30 minutes. The top recipe just didn't explain it.

I agree that I prefer using my smoker for ribs. I have used indirect grilling on my kettle grill if I am in a hurry. I have also done them on a gas grill with a smoker pouch. I have also done them on a rotisserie. If I have my druthers and I have the time, I prefer doing them on my smoker.

It looks like a really good recipe. I am sure they were yummy. I just had a couple of questions about how you did them. Heck, I really just enjoy talking about the art of cooking over a live fire.

Agreed. I saw one of his shows recently about espresso that I thought was good.

I was a little shocked at how he does ribs. But heck, it is probably no worse than some of these chain restaurants that serve ribs. I read their menus and they talk about their ribs being cooked slowly over hickory wood...blah....blah....blah. Why don't I see any stacks of hickory wood out back? Why don't I see any employees carrying any wood around? Why don't I smell any wood burning? Why do their ribs not have a smoke ring? Those menus are downright false advertising. They might have some hickory liquid smoke in the sauce.

I saw a show on Food Network that showed how Texas Roadhouse did their ribs. It was pretty much what I figured. The only thing that I found hard to believe was that they cooked them in the oven for 8 hours at 350. I thought they would be way over done that way. Anyway, I have had their ribs and they are a tasteless mush.

I'm with bobbysocks on this one. I don't work for Olympic, but that is the stain that I use and I like it a lot.

I use the cedarnaturaltone. It is a semi-transparent sealer/toner, and it really looks nice. I can see the wood grain through it, it adds some nice color, and it protects the wood. It doesn't last as long as they say it will on my deck, but I am not out there redoing it every six months or every year.

Olympic's deck cleaner really works. I am sure it has some bleach in it. But, it cleans all of the old stain off to prepare for a new application. It may be easier, if this deck cleaner works on Thompson's stain, to spray this stuff on and rinse it off instead of doing a lot of sanding. Try it on a small spot or better yet, a scrap piece of your wood with some of the stain on it.

Back during national barbeque month, they had a grilling week on the food network. I watched two shows during grilling week about cooking ribs.

The first was on Alton Brown's Good Eats show. He never removed the membrane. He said to just pat the rub on the ribs and to not rub it. HUH? That is why they call it a freekin' rub! And he steamed the ribs in aluminum foil in the oven.

Then, I watched Down Home with the Neelys and they showed how they do ribs. They made a point of removing the membrane. They said to rub the rub into the ribs real good. They took the ribs outside and smoked them low and slow on the exact same smoker that I have. They explained how to use wood to get that great wood smoked flavor.

I'm sorry Alton, but I'm down home with the Neelys on this one.

I am not clear on this part. What is the difference between the first 30 minutes and the next 30 minutes? Are you flipping them bone side up for the second half hour? Are you changing the temperature for the second half hour? Are you foiling them for the second half hour? You just say cook covered. Since something is different the first 30 minutes and the next 30 minutes, do you mean to just cook covered the second half hour?

I know you said someone else did the prep work for you, but you failed to mention trimming the ribs or removing the membrane before you begin. It is always nice to include prep instructions in your recipe in case a beginner is going to try it. Failure to remove the membrane results in a huge deduction of grillmanship points, and this doesn't matter if it is in the back yard or a restaurant. I have eaten a lot of ribs in restaurants that have not had the membrane removed. They really should know better.

You also failed to identify your cooking method. Are you doing the ribs using a direct grilling method, indirect method, modified direct grilling method, or using a smoker. I know it was probably not a smoker because you said a small charcoal grill.

Looking back on what I wrote, I realized that when I mentioned my favorite barbeque sauce, it may have left a question as to which brand I prefer. I usually don't use commercial barbeque sauces, I perfer to make my own. I also do my own rubs. Rubs are so easy to make, why would you want to buy them. There are thousands of great rub recipes out there. I don't think I will live long enough to try them all. Besides, if you make your own rubs, I think they are much fresher and taste better than commercial brands. And, as far as commercial barbeque sauces, I have never tasted one that tastes as good as my favorite sauce that I make. I can drink that stuff right out of the jar.

If it fits on a grill or smoker, I can cook it.

I love to do ribs. Recently, I had my daughter and son in law down and I did three different types of ribs on three different grills. My favorite wet ribs with my favorite bbq sauce, dry rub ribs exactly like the Rendezvous in Memphis, and some French rotisserie ribs. I had a sparkling wine as a welcoming aperitif, and served 7 Deadly Zins, red zinfindel with the meal. I made creme brulee for desert and put a large dollop of fresh whipped cream on the creme brulee. I then sliced the top off of a fresh strawberry and then used my chef's knife to thinly slice the strawberry. I carefully picked up the strawberry keeping the top and all of it's slices in place and placed it next to the whipped creme. It looked like a whole strawberry, but it was already presliced. When you touched it to begin eating it, it fell over and fanned out.

I also do pork loins and pork tenderloins. There are many different recipes and ways that I like to do pork tenderloins. Coffee crusted pork tenderloins is a good choice. I like to smoke a couple of Boston butts for pulled pork sandwiches and make some North Carolina style vinegar sauce and cole slaw.

I like to do beer can chickens and last Thanksgiving, I did a Cajun Roasted turkey on the grill.

I do all kinds of seafood on the grill. Barbequed shrimp, scallops, and lobster. Blackened catfish po' boys with remoulade sauce.

Roast garlic, peppers, and vegatables on the grill. I recently did some barbequed Vidalia onions.

I like to do all kinds of steaks on the grill.

Corn is great on the grill. I have several ways I like to grill corn. Outstanding.

Someone said that they like to grill pineapple slices. Here is a twist. Peel and core a fresh pineapple and make 1/2 inch slices. Dip the slices in coconut milk, then dip in a mixture of cinnamon and sugar, and then grill them until carmelized. Place in a bowl and put a large scoop of Hagen Daz vanilla ice cream on top and serve.

I like to do fruit crumbles for desert on the grill.

Oh, and I can do hotdogs and hamburgers.