Barbecue pros offer some of their favorite recipes

CHICAGO -- Get out your apron, dig out Dad's favorite barbecue recipe and fire up the grill. Grilling season is here.

Whether you cook with charcoal, gas or a bit of both, guests will crowd around your picnic table if you follow a few simple grilling tips, not to mention recipes, from some top chefs and cookbook authors.

To many, Dad's barbecued ribs, whether dry or wet, spicy or mild, are every bit as American as Mom's apple pie. Indeed, Abraham Lincoln's parents celebrated their wedding with a barbecue, and George Washington loved to go to barbecues and even wrote about them in his diary.

Rick Bayless, Chicago chef, cookbook author and TV food-show host, recently shared his recipe for barbecued ribs, which serve six.

Barbecued Ribs

3 large slabs (about 5 pounds total) baby back ribs, OR 2 medium to medium-small slabs (about 5 pounds total) spare ribs

1/3 cup barbecue spice

About 2 cups hickory wood chips

About 1 1/4 cup barbecue sauce.

Lay ribs on baking sheet. Sprinkle both sides evenly with spice. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 5 hours or up to one day.

One hour before cooking, place wood chips in bowl and cover with water.

About a half hour before cooking, heat half the burners on one side of the gas grill on high. (If your grill has three burners, heat two.)

To set up the grill, pour 1 inch of water into a baking pan (a 13-by-9-inch pan works well) and set over hot part of grill (the lighted burners). Drain wood chips. Wrap in foil. Poke six holes in foil, and set next to water pan directly over high heat.

When wood chips begin to smoke, lay ribs curved-side up over cooler part of grill (unlighted burner). Use a rib rack to stand up ribs when doubling or tripling the recipe so all will fit. Close grill. Turn temperature to medium. Cook 1 1/4 hours for baby back ribs, 2 for spare ribs, until beautifully reddish-brown and meat is tender when tested with fork. If grill has thermometer, it should stay about 325 F during cooking. Brush ribs with barbecue sauce, close grill and cook 10 minutes longer.

To serve ribs: Remove ribs to cutting board. With large knife, cut between bones. Serve with remaining barbecue sauce. Heat barbecue sauce in microwave, so it does not cool off the ribs.

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Bayless says the following is the barbecue sauce recipe from his parents' Hickory House restaurant in Oklahoma City.

Hickory House Barbecue Sauce

2 garlic cloves

1 cup ketchup

1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons vinegar, preferably the smaller amount

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1/3 cup brown sugar, well packed into cup

1/2 to 1 teaspoon barbecue spice, store-bought or homemade (you can substitute chili powder)

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Salt, if necessary

Peel garlic cloves and press through garlic press into small saucepan. Add 3/4 cup water and all remaining ingredients. Gently simmer over medium-low heat for 30 minutes. The sauce is then ready to use.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups.

Cookbook author Steven Raichlen says it takes only about 10 minutes plus marinating time to prepare the following colorful shrimp -- which he calls green lightning shrimp -- to make with the direct grilling method.

The recipe comes from his new book, "BBQ USA" (Workman, 2003, $19.95 paperback). To prevent the shrimp from drying out, he bastes them with garlic butter as they grill. You'll need about 12 long (10- to 12-inch) metal or bamboo skewers.

Green Lightning Shrimp

(Preparation 30 minutes for marinating, 10 minutes cooking time)

2 1/2 pounds jumbo shrimp

1 bunch cilantro, rinsed, stemmed and coarsely chopped (about 1 cup)

4 to 8 jalapeno peppers, seeded and coarsely chopped (For hotter shrimp, leave the seeds in)

1 bunch scallions, both white and green parts, trimmed and coarsely chopped

5 cloves garlic, 3 cloves coarsely chopped, 2 cloves minced

1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt, kosher or sea

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 cup fresh lime juice

8 tablespoons (1 stick) salted butter

Lime wedges, for serving

Rinse the shrimp under cold running water, and then drain and blot them dry with paper towels. Peel and devein the shrimp. Thread the shrimp onto two parallel skewers, using two skewers for each kebab. Arrange the kebabs in a nonreactive baking dish.

Set aside 3 tablespoons of the cilantro for the garlic cilantro butter. Place the remaining cilantro, the jalapenos, scallions, chopped garlic, salt, black pepper and cumin in a food processor and finely chop. With the machine running, add the olive oil and lime juice through the feed tube and puree to a bright green paste. Pour this marinade over the shrimp and let them marinate in the refrigerator, covered, for 30 minutes, turning the kebabs several times so they marinate evenly.

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and the 3 tablespoons of reserved cilantro and cook until the garlic is fragrant and sizzling, but not browned, about 2 minutes. Keep the garlic cilantro butter warm until ready to use.

Set up the grill for direct grilling and preheat to high.

When ready to cook, brush and oil the grill grate. Drain the marinade from the shrimp kebabs and discard the marinade. Place the shrimp kebabs on the hot grate and grill until just cooked through, 1 to 3 minutes per side, basting with the garlic cilantro butter. When done, the shrimp will turn pinkish white and feel firm to the touch. Transfer the grilled shrimp to a platter or plates, pour any of the remaining butter sauce over them, and serve with lime wedges.

Makes 6 servings.

(Recipe from Steven Raichlen's "BBQ USA," Workman Publishing)

Chef Gale Gand, co-owner of Tru restaurant in Chicago, created the following recipes for grilled clams and roasted pineapple skewers.

Note: Gand advises that you keep the clams chilled until you are ready to clean them.

Grilled Clams With Drawn Garlic Butter

5-pound sack cherry stone clams

2 sticks of unsalted butter

4 cloves garlic, crushed

Rinse the clams in the sink under cold, runny water and scrub with a vegetable brush if needed then drain. Keep chilled till ready to grill.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a saucepan, adding the crushed garlic. Heat the butter a little hotter over medium heat to clarify it. Once the butter is totally melted, skim the foam (salts) from the top. Ladle out just the clear yellow butter fat, leaving the garlic and milky dairy liquid and water in the bottom. Keep this clear butter warm.

When you're ready to serve, just pour the clams onto the grill, spread them out on the grates and close the lid. In about 2 to 4 minutes, they'll open up and they're done. Serve on a big platter with small clam forks; drizzle a bit of the butter over, and serve with more drawn butter on the side to dip.

Makes about 20 servings.

(Recipe from Gale Gand)

From Gand also comes this recipe for roasted pineapple skewers. It serves 4 to 6.

Roasted Pineapple Skewers

1/2 fresh pineapple or 1 large can (20 ounces) pineapple cubes, drained

1 cup maple syrup

2 tablespoons dark rum (optional)

1/4 cup blueberries

1 pint vanilla ice cream

6 wooden skewers

Pineapple leaves (optional)

To prepare the fresh pineapple, pull off the green top by unscrewing it while you pull. Reserve the best leaves for decoration by placing them in cold water. Then, with a large sharp knife, cut off the peel and remove the core. Cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks.

If you're using the rum, stir it together with the maple syrup. Toss pineapple chunks or cubes in the maple syrup and then thread them, alternating with blueberries, onto the wooden skewers. Brush the fruit one more time with maple syrup before grilling them.

Fire up your grill. Place the skewers on the grill and cook, turning occasionally, for about 2 minutes each side, until a little browned at the edges.

Serve immediately. In dessert bowls, place scoops of vanilla ice cream. (If using pineapple leaves, place two pineapple leaves at the back like rabbit ears.) Place a skewer across each bowl. Pour any remaining maple syrup over the ice cream and serve.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

(Recipe from Gale Gand)