Cooks Illustrated Menu: Southern BBQ

More than 1 million home cooks rely on Cook’s Illustrated magazine to provide trusted recipes that work, honest equipment reviews and ingredient taste tests, and time-saving kitchen tips.  Published by the hosts of America’s Test Kitchen television series, Cook’s Illustrated is known for an almost fanatical approach to creating the best recipes for the home cook’s favorite foods.  To do this, they test every recipe 20, 30, sometimes up to 100 times in their own 2,500 square foot test kitchen where they make the mistakes so you don’t have to.  They also test and recommend which kitchen equipment is the best to use, which supermarket ingredients really make a difference and which techniques work best for the home cook.  And because Cook’s Illustrated is advertising free, you can trust their objective ratings to identify what products are worth your money and which to avoid. Subscribe to Cooks Illustrated here, or sign up for the Perfectly Plated Sweepstakes for the chance to win $5,000 in merchandise from Ballard Designs.

Grilled Glazed Baby Back Ribs

Barbecued ribs are a real treat but they usually require the cook to tend the grill for hours on end. To shortcut the process, we start baby back ribs on the stovetop and gently simmer them in salted water until they are almost tender, which takes less than half an hour. (For maximum efficiency, use this simmering time to light the grill.) We then apply a flavorful glaze and grill them just until the glaze is caramelized (about 15 minutes) to get perfectly cooked ribs in record time.

Grilled Glazed Baby Back Ribs recipe

All-American Potato Salad

Too many potato salads are bland. The key is to season the potatoes when they hot and can still absorb other flavors. We choose russet potatoes because they crumble a bit when cooked and form a creamy, cohesive salad. Once the chunks of peeled potatoes are tender, they are drained and seasoned with a splash of white vinegar. After cooling a bit, it’s time to add the other seasonings—sweet pickle relish, mustard powder, celery seed, parsley, salt, and pepper—as well as finely chopped celery and minced red onion. Just 1/2 cup of mayonnaise is enough to dress 2 pounds of potatoes perfectly.

All-American Potato Salad recipe

Buttermilk Coleslaw with Green Onion and Cilantro

The perfect buttermilk coleslaw recipe would produce a salad with crisp, evenly cut pieces of cabbage lightly coated with a flavorful buttermilk dressing that would cling to the cabbage instead of collecting in the bottom of the bowl. We found that salting and draining the cabbage removed excess water and wilted it to a pickle-crisp texture. For a dressing that was both hefty and tangy, we combined buttermilk, mayonnaise, and sour cream.

Buttermilk Coleslaw with Green Onion and Cilantro recipe

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