Variety Spice Of Rib, Burger Grill Recipes

What should the main ingredient be for your Fourth of July barbecue?

How about -- variety?!

That's what grilling expert and cookbook author Elizabeth Karmel believes.

The executive chef of the Manhattan eatery Hill Country showed her stuff with some great burger, ribs and sauce recipes you can dress up any way you want, on The Early Show Friday.

SALT AND PEPPER RIBS

MAKES 4 to 8 SERVINGS

Grilling Method: Indirect/Medium-Low Heat

Applewood chips, soaked in water for 30 minutes (optional)
4 racks baby back ribs, about 3 pounds each
2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Build a charcoal fire or preheat a gas grill. Set up the grill for indirect heat; if using wood chips, place the soaked chips directly on the charcoal, or in the smoking box of a gas grill.

Remove the silver skin from the back of the ribs, if desired.

In a small bowl, mix the salt, pepper and cayenne pepper together and sprinkle the ribs liberally with the mixture.

Place the ribs, bone-side down, in the center of the cooking grate, or in a rib holder or rack, over indirect medium-low heat. Grill covered (at about 325°F, if your gas grill has a thermometer) for 1 1/2to 2 hours or until the meat is tender and has pulled back from the ends of the rib bones.

Leave the ribs unattended for the first 30 minutes-this means no peeking; especially important if using wood chips. If the ribs start to burn on the edges, stack them on top of one another in the very center of the grill and lower the heat slightly. Twenty minutes before serving, un-stack if necessary and brush the ribs with the barbeque sauce.

Remove the ribs from the grill; let them rest for 10 minutes before cutting into individual or 2 to 3 rib portions. Warm any remaining sauce in a saucepan and serve on the side.

Recipe adapted from "Taming the Flame," by Elizabeth Karmel
(John Wiley & Sons, 2005, $24.95).

BUILD-YOUR-OWN BURGER BAR

MAKES 6 SERVINGS

1 pound ground sirloin
1 pound ground chuck
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Coleman's dry mustard
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil
Softened butter

ROLLS
Kaiser
Hamburger
Seeded
Onion
Rye Bread
Bagels

TOPPINGS
Sliced Swiss cheese
Sliced cheddar cheese
Sliced provolone cheese
Blue cheese sliced from a wedge
Sautéed onions
Sautéed mushrooms
Cooked bacon
Fire-roasted peppers
Sliced onions
Lettuce
Sliced tomatoes
Sprouts
Sliced Granny Smith apples
Pickle relish
Dill pickles
Bread and butter pickles
Pickled tomatoes
Hot and sweet pickled peppers
Ketchup
Mayonnaise
Yellow mustard
Dijon mustard
Course-grain mustard
Hoisin sauce
Barbeque sauce
Steak sauce

Build a charcoal fire or preheat a gas grill.

Being careful not to overwork the meat, season it with the Worcestershire sauce, dry mustard, salt, and pepper, and mix just until combined. Gently, shape the meat into 6 burgers of equal size and thickness (and ¾ inch thick). Make an imprint in the center of each patty with your thumb. Spread the top and bottom of each patty with a thin layer of olive oil. Sprinkle salt on the tops.

Place the burgers on the cooking grate over direct medium heat, cover, and grill for 4 minutes each. Turn and continue grilling until the meat is cooked through and no longer pink, 4 to 6 minutes more minutes. If making cheeseburgers, top each burger with the guest's choice of cheese after you turn it.

Meanwhile butter both sides of the rolls or bread and grill them over direct medium heat until lightly toasted, 1 to 2 minutes.

Serve buffet style, and let your guests build their own burgers.

Recipe from "Taming the Flame," by Elizabeth Karmel
(John Wiley & Sons, 2005, $24.95)

FOR MORE OF KARMEL'S RECIPES, GO TO PAGE 2

THREE SAUCES FOR THE RIBS

SWEET K.C.-STYLE DR.PEPPER BARBEQUE SAUCE

MAKES 2 CUPS

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1 large onion chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 12-ounce can Dr.Pepper soft drink (about 1 ¾ cups)
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 teaspoons ground ancho chili powder
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper

Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan. Saute the onion and garlic in the butter until translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for about 15 minutes, until the flavors have blended. Continue cooking until the sauce begins to thicken, 20 to 30 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper. Remember, the ribs will have plenty of spice rub on them, so don't over season the sauce.

Let the sauce cool for about 10 minutes or until it is warm but no longer "boiling" hot. Puree with an immersion or traditional blender. Let the mop cool and pour it into a clean glass jar for storing. The sauce can be made in advance and kept for 2 weeks in the refrigerator. To use: Brush it on meat 30 minutes before the cooking time is finished. If desired, serve extra on the side.

Recipe adapted from >Taming the Flame," by Elizabeth Karmel
(John Wiley & Sons, 2005, $24.95).

Hill Country "If Ya Gotta Have It!" Peach Chipotle Barbeque Sauce

Creating a sauce for Hill Country restaurant in New York City, where I am the executive chef, was a lot harder than it sounds. First off, the Texas barbecue that we celebrate doesn't use sauce -- it's a no-sauce zone! But since we were going to be in the Big Apple, we knew that we had to have a sauce -- thus the "if you gotta have it," name. The owner, Marc Glosserman, and I must have tasted 300 or more sauces to find a style that we thought would go with simple salt and pepper-rubbed barbecue -- at one pre-opening cookout, we had three six-foot tables, literally covered with different sauces! We finally decided on a combination of sweet red, vinegar-rich sauce studded with chunks of the famous Fredericksburg, Texas, peaches and a smoky bite from chipotles. It's great, but don't just take my word for it: It won an award of excellence from the National Barbecue Association!

Makes about four cups

1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons molasses
3/4 cup peach preserves with chunks, divided
1/2 cup Ketchup
1/4 cup Heinz Chili Sauce
1/4 -1/3 cup real apple-cider vinegar, such as Heinz or Bragg's
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup of Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle powder
1/2-1 teaspoon kosher salt

In a large sauce pan on the stove, add tomatoes, sugar, molasses, ½ cup of peach preserves, ketchup, chili sauce, vinegars, and Worcestershire sauce, stirring after each additional ingredient to combine. Add the chipotle powder and simmer until the flavors have blended and the sauce has thickened somewhat, about 30 minutes. Taste and add more vinegar if needed, you should taste a tang of vinegar and then the sweetness of the sauce.

Let the sauce cool for about 10 minutes or until it is warm but no longer "boiling" hot. Puree using an immersion or traditional blender. Add the remaining ¼ cup of the peach preserves. Taste and adjust seasonings with salt. Let sit 5 minutes and stir again to make sure all the ingredients are well distributed.

Let cool and pour into a clean glass jar for storing. The sauce can be made in advance and kept for 2 weeks in the refrigerator.

Recipe from the upcoming cookbook, "Soaked, Slathered and Seasoned: A Complete Guide to Flavoring Food for the Grill and BBQ," by Elizabeth Karmel.

SWEET AND SPICY BARBEQUE GLAZE

MAKES ABOUT 1 CUP

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons favorite dry rub, finely ground
1-1/4 teaspoons prepared yellow mustard
1/4-to-1/3 cup vegetable oil (not olive)

In a non-reactive bowl, whisk together the vinegar, honey, ketchup, rub, and mustard until well mixed. Slowly whisk in the oil until it is completely emulsified and balances the vinegar. Set aside.

If desired, let the sauce sit for 24 hours to allow the flavors to mellow. This sauce will keep for 1 month, covered in the refrigerator. To use: Brush it on meat 30 minutes before the cooking time is finished. If desired, serve extra on the side.

NOTE: This and most barbeque and grilling sauces contain sugar, which will burn if applied too early in the cooking process.

Recipe adapted from "Taming the Flame," by Elizabeth Karmel
(John Wiley & Sons, 2005, $24.95).
MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved