Patch Picks: Memorial Day Recipes

Barbecue Guide for the Spring

Ribs

I must admit, I love the taste of a sweet, tender, smoky rib. I like to make my own rub for my grilled meats and today I will share that recipe with you.

Here’s how I do my ribs:

The Rub

4 tablespoons of brown sugar

2 tablespoons of season salt

1 teaspoon of garlic powder

1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper

The Ribs

2 slabs of baby back ribs

Now I know some people, including me, like to boil their ribs before they touch the grill. What I do is pour some water into a large pot on the stovetop along with some apple vinegar (you can use regular vinegar too) and boil the ribs for about 35 minutes over a medium flame.

While the ribs are boiling, this is a good time to get the coals nice and hot in the grill. I like to use mesquite wood chips in my coals to add that extra smoky taste.

Once the ribs are done boiling, take them from the water and sprinkle some of the rub onto the ribs and rub it in good.

Place the ribs on the grill and let them smoke for about 30-35 minutes. Once they’ve browned, you can add some sauce if you want. Make sure you put some ribs off to the side for yourself or otherwise, you’ll be left in the cold.

Barbecue Guide for the Spring: Part II Grilled Tilapia

Grilled tilapia with a sweet taste in just minutes.

I use the same rub recipe for pork, fish and chicken I make on the grill. I’ve been toying around with a couple different rubs over the years and I have come up with three main recipes. I’ll share the others with you later. For now, let’s grill some fish!

The Rub

4 tablespoons of brown sugar

2 tablespoons of season salt

1 teaspoon of garlic powder

1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper

The Fish

4 pounds of tilapia

½ cup of lemon juice

Fish is a very heat sensitive meat and doesn’t take long to cook at all so you will really need to watch this recipe very closely.

The first thing you need to do is rinse your fish very thoroughly in some room temperature water and then coat it with some lemon juice before sprinkling the rub on.

Coat both side with the rub to give it an even, sweet and tangy taste.

Before you start prepping your fish, get the coals nice and hot in the grill. I like to use mesquite wood chips in my coals to add that extra smokey taste.

Again, because the fish cooks fast, you should stay right there with your tilapia. Place your fish on the grill and cook on each side for 10 minutes over the hot coals. This fish is best served with coleslaw and potato salad.

Barbecue Guide for the Spring: Part III Coleslaw

To me, coleslaw makes ribs, pulled pork and just about anything off the grill taste so much better. I’m going to share my recipe with you today in hopes that you fire up the grill, make some coleslaw and some homemade lemonade and send me an invite.

Here’s what you will need:

1-½ cups of shredded cabbage

1 cup of shredded red cabbage

½ cup of shredded carrots

3 tablespoons of Miracle Whip

2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar

2 teaspoons of sugar

1 teaspoon of salt

In a large bowl, mix everything together and stick the bowl into the refrigerator and let it chill before serving it up to your family and friends. Just remember, before you make this, shoot me an email or smoke signal, however you want to reach me, and invite me over for a bite.

If you try this recipe, take a picture and email me at andre.taylor@patch.com and let me know how it turned out. If you have another recipe you want to share with me, send that along.

Until then, keep on burnin’!