How to Make Chicago Style Barbecue

Chicago's barbecue restaurants cook up the tastiest meat in the Midwest. Authentic Chicago barbecue combines the best sauce, seasonings and cuts of meat on the grill to create a succulent sensation. Here's how you can prepare Chicago-style barbecue in your own home.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Paprika
• Celery salt
• Garlic powder
• Mustard powder
• Cayenne
• White pepper
• Pork ribs or tips (1/2 lb. for each person)
• Mesquite or hickory wood chips

1. Use pork. The secret to good Chicago style barbecue is top quality rib tips and baby back ribs. Authentic Chicago style barbecue came up from the south where poor rural families always raised a few pigs. Select at least a half pound of meat for each guest.
2. Rub the meat with the dry ingredients before grilling. Even the finest meat can be ruined if it is not seasoned properly. Chicagoland's best barbecue places liberally rub down the meat with dry spices before cooking.
3. Prepare the sauce. Chicago barbecue sauce is known for sweetness with varying degrees of heat. If barbecuing for a large number of people the sauce should be made at least a day in advance.
4. Choose wood chips (mesquite or hickory) for flavoring the meat. Although barbecue can be made in an oven, that truly authentic barbecue flavor only comes from the smoke of a charcoal fire spiked with aromatic wood chips. Hickory is the traditional favorite wood for barbecue.
5. Cook the meat outside on a grill. A wide variety of backyard grills can be used, but for frequent barbecuing the grill should be large enough to hold at least two racks of ribs with space for vegetables.