Bob Hart's Dry Rub and Sauces

Bob Hart's Thrill Of the Grill looked at slow-cooking a brisket of beef this week. There are a couple of recipes required - one for an all-purpose rub, and another for a mop sauce. Click the link.

DRY BARBECUE RUB

This is a useful form of marinade, simply rubbed into meat rather than used in a wet form. It works well on beef, pork for the pulled pork recipe I will outline this year, and it works just as well on beer butt chicken.

�Mix together 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup sweet paprika, 3tbs freshly ground pepper, 3tbs sea salt, 2 tsp each of garlic powder and onion powder, 2tsp celery seeds and 1tsp cayenne. The rub, sealed, will keep for about 6 months, but may lose some intensity after 3.

BASIC BARBECUE MOP SAUCE

This sauce, which also works on chicken, is applied to pork every hour or so as you are slowly barbecuing it with hickory smoke.

�Add 1tbs sea salt and 1 tsp freshly ground pepper to 2 cups white malt vinegar. Add 1tsp dried chilli flakes and 1 thinly-sliced onion. Do not start applying this sauce to cooking meats until the outside is well sealed. But after that, slop it on every hour or so.

�For beef, replace 1 cup vinegar with 1 cup beer and add 1tbs brown sugar. Use in the same way.

NORTH CAROLINA VINEGAR SAUCE

This thin sauce is essential of you want to make genuine American barbecue � slow-cooked, chopped pork shoulder to which this sauce is added before it is served on a hamburger bun with coleslaw.

�Mix 2tbs brown sugar, 4tsp sea salt and 3tbs tomato sauce into 2 cups cider vinegar. Add 1tbs Tabasco and, if you like it as fiery as I do, 1tsp chilli flakes and a few grinds of fresh black pepper.