May 13, 2004
Drimit Rub
[Updated May-14-04]
As you know, I don’t barbecue 20 pounds of animal protein. Most of the time, It’s just for me and the freezer (that’s called the black hole around here: stuff goes in and nothing gets out). You may also remember that your CEO doesn’t part with a penny if he doesn’t have to. Cheap cuts of meat and smoking or braising. I am such a peasant.
This week, 5/13/04, beef ribs (spares) seems to be the bargain. Eight or nine bones in a package. Albertsons is asking $1.19 per pound and Winco is $1.68. I went for the Winco. The ABS butcher removed everything resembling red meat. They should be called soup bones. The Winco package also had a dollar off coupon attached which brings the cost down to $1.35 per pound for 2.78 pounds. That might be enough to feed two people or just one. There’s a lot of bone there.
I created a rub of my own, sized for the small amount of this cooking session. Making lots of rub and storing the excess for later is on the other side of the event horizon of the black hole. It’s going to get sucked in and never used again. Better to size it properly for the amount of meat. I’ve got some refried beans in the fridge I’d like to use before they too pass beyond the event horizon, so a Southwestern rub seems right. I don’t like lots of rub on my ribs. More than a dusting but not a coating so thick and strong you can’t taste the meat for the rub. That’s me. If you want to throw away smoke spices on bones that’s your call.
Let’s get going? I removed the membrane by running a table knife under the membrane on the top of an end rib bone and gently lifting the knife to separate along the entire length of the bone. Then you can grab the membrane and pry it off, across the length of the slab (s). Easier to do than to describe if the ribs cooperate. These did. You can also do this for pork ribs, and I do. What’s the point of putting a rub on something you won’t eat? If you remove the membrane, there’s a chance the rub will find some meat to season.
Membrane off, I lightly smeared some cheap yellow mustard on both sides, maybe a tablespoon per side, not much, it’s mostly bone you know? I like mustard. To me, mustard and some black pepper might be all I need for beef ribs but I’d already mixed up the rub. There was only a tablespoon left of the rub after using a light hand. I tossed the excess here and there on any part of the ribs that looked too bare. Covered in plastic wrap and placed in the black hole reefer.
The hardest part of a rub is coming up with a name for it, just in the off chance it turns out really good. I think I’ll call this one “Don’t Be Rubbing Me If You’re Teasing”. DBRMIYT. Pronounced “De-brim-it” or “De-rim-it” or “Drimit “. This marketing stuff is hard. Oops! I meant “Effective marketing requires professional consultants”.
Drimit Rub
for 3lb of meat [and bones] (it would also make a nice bowl of Red)
- 1 TBL New Mexico chile powder
- 1 TBL Ancho chile powder
- 1/2 TBL Kosher salt
- 1/2 TBL ground Cumin
- 1/4 Tsp dried oregano, crushed to powder in your fingers
- 1 Tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 Tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 Tsp onion powder
I’ll put it to the Apple wood test tomorrow. If it’s bad, I’ll delete this post. Unlike some other rubs, this one smells balanced to me and not harsh. We shall see. Note how little sugar there is (none) and how little salt (nearly none). If I re-discovered your secret recipe, well then I’ll quote the damn frogs in my pond: “Drimit, Drimit, DRIMIT! DRIMIT! drimit”. Hey, what can you do with a bunch of frogs?
[May 14, 2004, a Friday]
I don’t know if the ribs will turn out well or not, They’ve only been in there for 4 hours. I do have better control on the temperature this session so it’s already a success. There’s two methods of firing up the smoker, the “standard” method and the “Minion”. Lot’s of variations on each, of course. The standard method is to fire up a chimney, spread them on the bottom and add as much unlit charcoal to the top as you think you need and when they all get grey, you’re ready to go. The problem is that is a hot fire (in BBQ temperatures) and it is going to get hotter. Also burns a lot of charcoal and you’ll have to replenish.
This time I tried the Minion method which is both simple and more economical. Fill the bowl with the amount of charcoal you think you need. Then spread the chimney of hots coals on the top of the unlit ones. It works. If you start with a low fire, it spreads slowly down the ring of charcoal. Even so, with the bottom vents completely closed I have to regulate the temperature with the top vent which I can do since there’s no thermometer stuck in the top vent to prevent me from closing the top. Fascinating.
The Minion method says light 20 coals in a chimney. I suspect the number is not about twenty. Exactly twenty, maybe plus or minus one for weather conditions. Of course, I didn’t count the number of coals in the chimney but the theory and practice is now part of my lower brain stem. Time to eat.
Oh my, have I done good! I’m pretty harsh on my own cooking but I’ve never had BBQ this good, mine or anybody else’s. The rub is just right for my taste. You could slow smoke iron rods in that rub and it would be good. Maybe it was the Apple wood. I have no idea what I would do better next time. I just hope I can do it again. No Cecil BS this time. it was awesome.