On Thu, 3 Jun 2010 15:27:30 +0200, ViLco wrote:

> Hi, maybe some of you already know me, I'm Vilco from RFC, and from Italy
> also.

Who? Italy... BBQ... does not compute.

> I'm going to have a cook out with friends this Saturday and I'll be in
> charge for the grill. I'll use charcoal placed about 8-9 inches under the
> griddle, where I'll grill some chicken, some pork sausages and chops and
> some pork ribs.
> The fire-pit will be exactly this one, I'll be running two since we're a
> dozen friends:
> http://www.tinysites.com/SitesPublic....htm?r=6215667

Are those the public grills at a park?

> The ribs look like these and I'm sure many of you have cooked tons of them.
> Whole rack, raw:
> http://img75.imageshack.us/i/dscn4300vx7.jpg/

A little homeless looking, but those are pork spare ribs.

> Some spare ones, cooked:
> http://www.buttalapasta.it/wp-galler...-babrbecue.jpg
>
> Since I am italian I never used a sweet and sour rub on ribs, I use to
> marinate them in red sparkling wine and garlic overnight and then, when the
> day comes, grill them with some rosemary and freshly ground pepper, and salt
> near the end of the cooking time.

We've never really cooked with a sweet and sour souce/rub either.
Citric acid and sugar?

> This saturday I'll grill a batch of pork ribs in my usual way and wanted to
> make a second batch in a sweet and sour rub as I have seen (or read about)
> many times over many NG's, including this one. Googling around I have found
> tons of recipes for rubs, very different one another, and since I'm new to
> this kind of rubs I ask if someone here on AFB can point me to some true and
> tested recipes.

Sweet and sour ribs are not common. If anything, they are
Chinese, and not part of the normal BBQ repitiore here in the US.
But even Chiense ribs or more sweet, rather than sour:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Char_siu

If you really insist on the sweet AND SOUR effect, grill them,
they could be grilled with minimal seasonings, and then brushed
with a sweet and sour souce towards the end , keeping in mind that
the heat should be low so the sugar does not burn.

Otherwise I'd just bag the idea completely. Sweet and sour ribs
are not common to any quisine I know of.

-sw