Cheater Basic Dry Rub Recipes

ULTIMATE CHEATER PULLED PORK

Steps:

• CUT the pork butt into medium (2- to 3-inch) chunks (the ribs don't need to be cut up).
• PUT the pieces in a large slow cooker (at least 5 quarts). Sprinkle the meat with the rub, turning the pieces to coat evenly. Add the bottled smoke.
• COVER and cook on high for 5 to 6 hours or on low for 10 to 12 hours, until the meat is pull-apart tender and reaches an internal temperature of 190°F.
• Using tongs and a slotted spoon, Transfer the meat to a rimmed platter or baking sheet. Let rest until cool enough to handle.
• PULL the meat into strands. It should shred very easily. Serve the barbecue piled on buns with your favorite barbecue sauce.
• To serve the barbecue later, cover and Refrigerate the meat when it has cooled. Pour the meat juice into a separate container and refrigerate. Before reheating the juice, skim and discard the congealed fat layer on the top.
• To reheat the barbecue, Place it in a saucepan moistened with some of the reserved juice. Gently heat the meat on medium-low, stirring occasionally. Or, place it in a covered casserole with some of the reserved juice and heat in a 350°F oven for 20 to 30 minutes.
• While the meat warms, Combine the barbecue sauce and some of the additional reserved meat juice in a saucepan. Heat through and serve with the barbecue.
• Heat the oven to 300°F. Place the pork butt in a large roasting pan. Coat the outsides generously with the dry rub. Pour in the bottled smoke. Cover the pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Roast for 5 to 8 hours, until the meat is pull-apart tender and reaches an internal temperature of 190°F.
• Country-style pork ribs aren't ribs in the traditional sense of a long bone wrapped in meat. They're more meat than bone (if they have any bone at all), and they're best with a knife and fork, a little sauce, and some corn bread. Done in a slow cooker, these ribs melt into short-strand pulled-pork barbecue in less time than a Boston butt shoulder because the ribs come already cut. Country-style ribs give off less meat juice and less fat than the shoulder, too.

ULTIMATE CHEATER PORK RIBS

Steps:

• HEAT eat the oven to 325°F.
• MIX the dry rub with the brown sugar in a small bowl.
• PLACE each baby back rack on a large (24 to 30 inches long) sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Brush each rack with a light coating of bottled smoke. Spread the sweet rub over both sides of each rack. Seal the racks in the foil. (If time allows, refrigerate them for a few hours or overnight.)
• PLACE the sealed racks on a couple of baking sheets and put them in the oven. While the ribs are cooking, make some barbecue sauce and set it aside.
• After 1 1/2 hours, Pull out the ribs and carefully unseal the foil. The escaping steam will be hot. Cut into a rib or two and check the meat for doneness and tenderness. If you prefer more tender meat that pulls away from the bone with less resistance, reseal the foil and put the ribs back in the oven for 15 to 30 minutes.
• When the ribs are done to your liking, Take them out of the oven to serve or to sauce. If saucing, turn on the oven broiler. Unseal the foil, pour off the meat juice, and discard it. Brush some of the sauce onto the ribs. Broil the ribs about 4 inches from the heat source for about 5 minutes. Watch carefully while the sauce caramelizes and do not allow it to burn.
• LAY the ribs on a cutting board and separate them into sections of 1 to 4 ribs. Serve with the remaining sauce on the side.

ULTIMATE CHEATER BRISKET

Steps:

• SCATTER the onion in the center of a large sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Rub all sides of the brisket with the dry rub and place the brisket on top of the onion.
• COMBINE the ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and bottled smoke in a small bowl and pour over the brisket.
• Tightly Wrap the brisket in the foil and place in a roasting pan. Refrigerate for a few hours or overnight. When you're ready to cook, heat the oven to 250°F.
• SLOW-ROAST the brisket for 6 to 8 hours. The meat should be fork-tender with an internal temperature of at least 190°F.

CHEATER BASIC DRY RUB

Steps:

• COMBINE all the ingredients in a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Shake to blend.