Pork
4th Revision BBQ Rub – The Best Recipe
When you’re working on getting the PERFECT flavor for a BBQ competition recipes get tweaked and adjusted to perfection. Rubs are a little like the spelling of the word barbecue (try barbeque, B-B-Q, Bar-b-que, etc) there are a lot of ways to do it. This versatile barbecue rub has endured it’s fourth revision and it’s ready for the public.
A few special ingredients help for the “barbecue trick” here. The turbinado sugar (Sugar In the Raw is available with free shipping with Amazon Prime) may be tough to find but the large crystals don’t burn as easily on ribs and on other meats on the grill. The cumin is also something that adds a robust flavor that is this recipe’s secret.
4TH REVISION BBQ TRICK RUB
- 4 Tablespoons Paprika
- 1/2 Tablespoon Chili powder
- 1/2 Tablespoon Cayenne (optional for heat)
- 3 Tablespoons Tony Cachere’s Cajun Seasoning
- 4 Tablespoons Sugar In The Raw
- 1/2 Tablespoon Cumin
- 1 tablespoon Brown Sugar
Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and blend thoroughly with forks, slotted spoons, or fingers (eliminating all lumps).
Almost Award Winning BBQ Sauce
This barbecue sauce recipe didn’t really come close to winning any awards with competition judges. Likely because of the strong kick of heat provided by a dose of chipotle and cayenne. It just crossed the line out of “mainstream” in the heat department. A few judges seemed to love it with high ranks for chicken and ribs and all of our B-B-Q Tricks home samplers were ready to take a bath in the stuff. It’s that good.
The best thing about this “Almost Award Wining Sauce” is that it’s a perfect sweet heat finishing sauce that will caramelize perfectly as the finishing touch to ribs and chicken. Feel free to temper the heat by dropping the cayenne or chipotle.
2 tbs. Vegetable Oil
1 large clove of Garlic (crushed/minced)
1 medium Onion minced
1 Chipotle Pepper (from can) minced
1 tsp. Chili Powder
1/4 tsp. Cayenne Pepper
1 cup Ketchup (we use Heinz)
2 tbs. Dijon Mustard (Grey Poupon)
5 tbs. Dark Molasses
3 tbs Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 tsp fresh ground Black Pepper
2 tsp. Hot Pepper Sauce (we use Texas Pete)
Almost Award Winning BBQ Sauce
This is my Go-TO sauce for everything. Too spicy for a competition but it did win third in wings (no too shabby) but just right for my family. It has enough sugar to provide ribs and chicken with the perfect smoky char.
Ingredients
- 2 tbs. Vegetable Oil
- 1 large clove of Garlic (crushed/minced)
- 1 medium Onion minced
- 1 Chipotle Pepper (from can) minced
- 1 tsp. Chili Powder
- 1/4 tsp. Cayenne Pepper
- 1 cup Ketchup (we use Heinz)
- 2 tbs. Dijon Mustard (Grey Poupon)
- 5 tbs. Dark Molasses
- 3 tbs Worcestershire Sauce
- 1/2 tsp fresh ground Black Pepper
- 2 tsp. Hot Pepper Sauce (we use Texas Pete)
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a deep sauce pan and then add garlic and onions until they soften.
- Next add all peppers and heat for 20 seconds before stirring in the remaining ingredients.
- Cook on low heat for 20 minutes until thickened to your liking.
- If desired: When cooled strain to remove chunks (garlic and onion).
- Stores air tight refrigerated for approx. 6 days.
More Recipes at BarbecueTricks.com
Here’s The Rub
If you’re looking for a quick and easy all purpose rub this is it. It’s simple… and once you make it you’ll want to keep it on hand to sprinkle on everything from chicken to ribs. I even like the sweet heat on popcorn! It qualifies as a trick because of the super simple secret ingredient: Tony Chachere’s seasoning available in most grocery stores.
Barbecue Tricks “Anytime” Rub
- 2 tablespoons Tony Chachere’s Original Creole Seasoning
- 4 tablespoons dark brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons cayenne pepper
- 2 tablespoons sweet or smoked paprika
Mix thoughouly with fork and store any remaining rub in and airtight container or jar for up to one month.
Removing That Membrane
BBQ aficiandos will argue if you really NEED to remove the membrane on the backside of a good slab of ribs.
I say it’s a nice thing to do if only to make it easier to pull apart and eat each individual rib. Some like a bit of a chew. The additional benefit is that it allows for a deeper penetration of your favorite rub or marinade.
The simple trick to removing the membrane is to use a clean paper towel to grip the slippery tissue. I haven’t met a cook that has a grip tight enough to grasp the membrane firmly enough to pull it off the slab! Simply use a butter knife to begin the peel on one end. Then grasp what you can of the tissue (the membrane is on the boney side of the rib). If you’re lucky you should be able to peel off a nice clean sheet.
It often times takes a few peels to get it all. If you can’t get every fragment – don’t sweat it. You’re guest will likely not notice smaller amounts remaining.
The Meatiest Ribs You’ve Ever Served
When presenting your championship ribs to your cookout guests you want to make a good impression. One way to do that is to offer them the MEATIEST rib they’ve ever seen. Here’s how:
Cut the ribs off in a manner that will force you to discard every other bone. You will essentially scalp the “middle” rib to allow the bones on each side to showcase the meat. You’ll NEVER see them offered this way in restaurants because there is some waste involved.
As the cook – you can reserve the “discarded” and skinny middle bones as a snack for later. They’ll still have SOME meat… but NOTHING compared to the monsters you’ll have on the serving tray.