EBarnacle, do you think your disappointing pickled shad would be good as a spread, perhaps blended with cream cheese? Or perhaps you tried that and I missed it.

Last night I tried Steve Shaw's recommendation of starting a load of ribs in the oven and transferring them to the barbecue to finish. Disappointing, and I'm sure it was all my fault for letting the barbecue run too hot, or leaving them in too long, or something. The flavour was good, but the texture left much to be desired -- the meat at the bone was tender and moist, but just under the spice crust it was dry.

Next time, I'll use the barbie all through, but keep the heat properly low and allocate at least three and a half hours to the operation.

We live and we learn. Also, like Thompson, we eat my failures. It's a long time -- possibly decades -- since I buggered up anything so badly we couldn't eat it, but I confess I'm not crazy about the taste of what should have been.