In the spirit of full disclosure, I thought I’d post some recipes.  When I first started into barbecue, I thought I was going to find secrets that would let me have an edge, only to eventually find out differently.

First of all, so many good cooks, from backyard to classically trained chefs, have put their hands and minds to barbecue that I don’t think there are any real secrets left.  If there were, someone would market it, and it would be a secret no longer.  Secondly, the really good cooks I’ve met have the attitude of sharing anyway.  Maybe they don’t share everything, but the vast majority of what they know, they’re willing to let other people know, too.

The BBQ Guy, Brian Piercy, is a prime example of this.  His blog lately has been going over ways to improve barbecue.  Great info, and he’s obviously into sharing!  Also, the tips I’ve been given at comps are info that I never thought competitors would share.  That’s all the more reason to get into barbecue comps… the people are just great.  They let their food speak for itself, and remain friendly with each other.

So anyway, here are my basic rub recipes for the brisket and pulled pork, then I’ll do chicken and ribs later.  I welcome any and all comments (that are germaine)… Feel free to try them, just remember not to publish them without my permission! 

Let’s start with brisket.  I arrived at this mix after trial and error with other recipes, and I tweaked what I liked until I came up with this one.  The odd ingredient is cocoa, but don’t think ‘chocolate’; it doesn’t give that kind of flavor, but it’s a good mix with ancho chile and gives a nice texture to the rub, I think.

¼ cup kosher salt
¼ cup turbinado sugar
1/8-cup ancho chile powder
1/8-cup paprika
2 Tbsp cocoa powder

2 Tbsp chili powder
2 Tbsp black pepper
1 Tbsp onion powder
1 Tbsp garlic powder

If it’s hotter than you like, you can play with the ancho/paprika ratio to make a quarter cup total.

Next is pulled pork.  I couple this with an injection that I’ll include, too.  This uses coffee, but don’t let that turn you off if you don’t like coffee; when it’s cooked, you don’t get a coffee taste.  The coffee seems to give it a deep, earthier flavor, and the ground coffee gives a great texture to the bark.

2 Tbsp coffee
2 Tbsp paprika
2 Tbsp turbinado sugar
1 Tbsp salt
2 Tbsp black pepper
2 tsp cinnamon

I also use dark roasted coffee here, which also gives a nice color to the rub.  Mixed with a high quality paprika, the rub is pretty all by itself!

The injection I use is really simple.  I take equal parts brewed coffee, simple syrup and Crystal hot sauce, add in some rub, and inject boston butts to death!  Then cover the butt with rub, and let it sit for a while in the fridge.  Put it on the smoker, and enjoy a great sandwich when done!  By the way, simple syrup is easy to make.  It’s 2 parts sugar to 1 part water, with a touch of corn syrup to stabilize it.  Bring the water to a boil, add the sugar and corn syrup, and dissolve, and cook for 2 minutes.  Can’t be much  easier!

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