At first, Miss Sweetie was attracted to Mr. Promise, as his nontraditional ways.  However as they talked, she noticed something was not quite right and his personality was very dull, even though he did have a nice minty scent to him.

Miss Sweetie decided to pay a visit to Mr. Bold’s table.  Right off the bat, Miss Sweetie and Mr. Bold hit it off.  Their personalities were a great compliment to each other, and she realized that she wasn’t really looking for someone to take care of, but someone to help take care of each other with.  With Mr. Bold’s personality, she knew she has found what she was looking for.  The two were inseparable after that night.

This story is about three rib recipes.  One using my traditional BBQ rub (Mr. Bold), which provides a bold BBQ flavor, with a kick of spiciness to it.  The second one (Miss Sweetie), was a recipe I put together to come up with a sweet rib recipe (for my wife). The final recipe, Mr. Promise, was a recipe I searched for online.  I was trying to find a use of dried Spearmint (the minty scent).

I knew Mr. Bold was going to come out of the smoker with a lot of flavor.  I had some small hopes for Miss Sweetie.  I was kind of interested in what Mr. Promise would end up like as it had a lot of good strong flavors with dried spearmint and Dijon mustard.

The results were Mr. Bold and Miss Promise had amazing flavors.  I definitely hit the sweet spot with Miss Sweetie, and this became my wife’s favorite rub recipe to date.  Not sure what happened to Mr. Promise, but it definitely seems the ingredients cancelled themselves out, and came out with a very dull flavor to them.

Ingredients:

• 3 racks of pork back ribs
• Jay’s BBQ Rub
• Miss. Sweetie Rub (below)
• Mr. Promise Wet Rub (below)

Instructions:

Prepare the pork back ribs by removing the membrane from the back side of the racks.  The simplest method to do this is to separate the membrane on one end with a butter knife or another dull type knife.  As you separate it grab hold of the part that is coming off and slowly pull across the rack of ribs to remove the entire membrane.  This takes a bit of getting use to, but once you do, you will be able to remove the membrane from a rack of ribs in under a minute.

Rub the first rack of ribs with Jay’s BBQ Rub, the second with the Miss. Sweetie Rub, and the final one with the Mr. Promise rub.  Wrap each one separately in aluminum foil and let sit for about 4 hours.

After 4 hours, place in smoker and smoke at 225 degrees for 4 – 5 hours.  The meat should be pull tender, should be able to separate the ribs by giving a slight tug between 2 bones.  Another good sign of them being done is the meat will start pulling back from the end of the bones.  Ribs should not be falling off the bone tender (usually sign of boiled ribs).

Miss Sweetie Rub:

• 1/4 cup turbinado sugar
• 1 tablespoon sweet French basil
• 1 tablespoon yellow mustard seed
• 1 tablespoon seasoned salt
• 1 tablespoon sweet Hungarian Paprika

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.  Store in air tight container until ready to use.

Mr. Promise Wet Rub:

• 4 cloves Garlic
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon dried Mediterranean oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried spearmint
• 1 tablespoon apple cider
• 2 teaspoons black pepper
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh zest of lemon
• juice of 1/2 a lemon

Combine all ingredients into a blender and mix well.  Transfer to an air tight container and place in refrigerator you are ready to use.

Nothing beats a slow smoked rack of baby back ribs that is cooked to perfection!  For this set of ribs, I used what has become my fall back rub when I am running out of ideas.  This is the first time I tried them on baby back ribs and they turned out excellent.  You can use a BBQ sauce if you want, but I recommend serving it on the side and not place them on the ribs themselves.  The BBQ sauce should be an optional condiment.

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons black peppercorns, finely grounded
• 4 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 2 teaspoons chili powder (homemade preferably)
• 2 tablespoons whole cumin, finely ground
• 4 tablespoons granulated garlic
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons oregano
• 8 tablespoons Spanish paprika
• 4 tablespoons brown mustard seed, finely ground
• 2 tablespoons celery salt
• 4 tablespoons kosher salt
• 3 racks pork back ribs
• Apple Wood chunks or chips (optional)

Instructions:

Prepare the rub by mixing all the spices together in a bowl and mix well.  Store in airtight container, till ready to use.

To prepare the ribs, you will need to take off the membrane on the backside of the ribs.  The best way to do this is to use a butter knife and get just underneath the membrane.  As you are starting to separate the membrane from the ribs, you can use your fingers to slowly and gently pull the membrane off.  Make sure to take it nice and easy so you can get the membrane off in one swoop.  Repeat with the other two racks.

Rub down the ribs with a good coating of the BBQ rub.  Make sure to get both sides of each rack of ribs.  Wrap the ribs up in foil and place back in the refrigerator for 6 to 8 hours.

Prepare the grill or smoker for low heat (indirect if using a grill).  I usually try smoking my ribs at 225 degrees.  Place the ribs in the grill or smoker and smoke until they are pull tender (when you can give a gentle tug before they separate).  Another sign that they are getting close to being done is you will notice a few little cracks forming on the surface of the ribs.  I always smoke my ribs with the meaty side up.

When it comes to chicken wings, some like them hot, some like them mild, and then the rest of us just care about the flavor.  The problem with wings that contain a lot of heat, is they usually lack flavor, which is why I stay away from these wings.  Plus as I am getting older, I am finding out I just can’t handle the heat I use to.  These wings bring a nice sweet, Asian flavor to chicken wings.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup sesame seeds toasted
• 1 inch fresh ginger root, peeled and grated
• 2 tablespoons ground turmeric
• 4 teaspoons light brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamon seeds
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground pepper
• 2 pounds chicken wings
• 2 cups Sweet Chili Sauce (store bought)

Instructions:

1. In a bowl thoroughly mix the sesame seeds, ginger, turmeric, brown sugar, salt, coriander, cardamon seeds, cumin, cinnamon, and pepper.
2. Split the wings in two, keep the tips on, more meat and add to large Ziplock bag.
3. Add the rub mixture to the Ziplock and shake bag well, making sure all wings get fully coated with rub mixture.
4. Prepare the grill for medium-high indrect grilling.
5. Place the wings on the grill an grill.
6. Grill the wings for 5 – 7 minutes and flip.
7. Brush on a coat of the Sweet Chili Sauce to the cooked side of the wing.
8. Grill for another 5 – 7 minutes, flip, apply more sweet chili sauce.
9. Grill till the wings are cooked thoroughly.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons black peppercorns, finely grounded
• 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 tablespoon whole cumin seed, finely grounded
• 2 tablespoons granulated garlic
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon oregano
• 4 tablespoons paprika
• 2 tablespoons brown mustard seed, finely grounded
• 1 tablespoon celery salt
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and store in an airtight container.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoons whole cumin seed, finely ground.
• 1 teaspoons dried cilantro
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
• 1 teaspoon chipotle seasoning flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon peppercorn melange, finely ground
• 1 teaspoon  Mexican oregano

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and store in airtight container, use with any type of meat.

Ingredients:

1. 1/2 cup freshly ground black pepper
2. 1/2 cup paprika
3. 1/2 cup turbinado sugar
4. 1/4 cup coarse salt, kosher or sea salt
5. 4 teaspoons finely ground yellow mustard seed
6. 2 teaspoons cayenne

Mix the spices very well and store in air tight container in a dark pantry.

• 2 Parts coarsely ground black pepper
• 1 Part coarse Salt, kosher or sea salt

Mix the ingredients thoroughly in a bowl and store in an air tight container. 

This is my fail safe rub when I just want to grill a quick steak or some simple chicken breasts.   I usually make a decent quantity of this whenever I run out.  I usually use 10 tablespoons of black pepper and 5 tablespoons of kosher salt.  This keeps well and is handy to have on hand.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 C Sugar
• 2 T Paprika
• 1 T Onion Powder
• 2 T Seasoned Salt
• 1/2 T Garlic Powder
• 1/2 T Chili Powder
• 1/2 T Lemon Pepper
• 1 T Dried Sage
• 1/2 t Dried Basil
• 1/2 t Dried Rosemary
• 1/4 t Cayenne Pepper

Instructions:

1. Rub rub all over chicken breasts
2. Grill over medium heat, until chicken is done throughout
3. Serve Immediately

Results:

This was a grill at work day, so hopefully people enjoyed it.  This would be a good rub to make a lot of and use over time when looking for a quick rub to do on some chicken breasts.