Making BBQ for my Employees


As a manger, I’m often thinking of ways to show my employees how much I appreciate their hard work. Recently, while watching a Meathead video, I saw his quote at the end that cooking for someone is an act of love. And love is not far off from appreciation so I figured I’d ask my employees if they’d like it if I made them some smoked baby back ribs for the cost of raw materials. We settled on a half rack per person, salad, and bread for $6. So then I just had to pick a date to make the food. Thanks to my mom getting me the Weber Kettle for my birthday this year, I had enough room to smoke to the ribs across both my BBQs as long as I used rib racks. So I used the Weber 6605 rib racks (which you saw in the featured image and will see again below)

6 Racks of Ribs before applying the rub
With Meathead’s Memphis Dust rub

I was already a pro with Meathead’s recipe for baby back ribs, having done it about 3 or 4 times now. But it was my first time using both the gas and charcoal grill to make 6 racks at once. I offered people the option of less smokey taste and more smokey taste. On the charcoal grill I used what I’d learned with the pulled pork to do a snake method with the charcoal.

Baby Back Ribs on the Weber kettle
Baby Back Ribs on the Weber kettle
The wood ignites on the Weber Spirit

I wanted to offer an option for anyone who couldn’t eat pork. So I offered Simon and Garfunkel Chicken and one guy took me up. He got 4 thighs. And he loved it because he loves the herbs used in the rub.

Simon and Garfunkel rub on chicken thighs
Salad – tomatoes, lettuce (romaine and iceberg), cucumbers, onions, and bell peppers.

After about 3 hours the ribs were ready (a process that began at 0600 with lighting the coals) and I sauced them so I could carmelize the sauce on the BBQ. It’s easiest to ramp up the temp on the gas grill, so they were all carmelized on the Spirit.

Charcoal ribs being sauced

Then it was time to roll it in pink butcher paper and put it in the cooler to keep it warm until I got to work.

Ribs and chicken in the cooler

It was a big success. Someone said it was the best baby back ribs they’d ever had. Others didn’t go that far, but enjoyed it it well enough. The question is – what do I make next time?