Aye, there's the rub

One saucy rib, two saucy rib lovers....

Now, you might think we didn't make enough to eat when the #1 Cooking Group took on dry rubs, wet mops, and barbecue sauces this weekend, and that we had to share. You might think that, but you'd be oh-so-wrong. After two hours of spice mixing and sauce making in the kitchen, and another hour of grilling outside on a perfect Spring evening, our group had created:

• 8 dry rubs for all occasions, from a spicy adobo with hot peppers and dried orange peel, to a ginger-cardamom rub for chicken, to a porcini and pepper mixture, to a cocoa-cumin-allspice rub that we used on a venison tenderloin;
• 2 barbecue sauces, one all-purpose and one with coffee and chile;
• 1 huge platter of skewered mushrooms, zucchini and peppers; and
• dozens of skewers and slices of tuna, tofu, chicken, beef, eggplant, plus the aforementioned ribs and venison, and 2 Cornish game hens!

Mad scientists we may be, but we do know how to feed a crowd! Nobody had to share.

We started by assembling our two barbecue sauces, and we let them burble away on the stove and perfume the kitchen while we mixed the dry rubs. We put each rub in a jar, labeled so we'd remember what was what. Then, we separated each type of meat, fish, chicken, veggie and tofu into two or three batches, and seasoned each batch with a different dry rub or basting sauce.

Then it was off to the great outdoors, where Greg and Ted fired up the kettle grill with Nature's Own Chunk Charwood, an all-natural product that burns hot and clean. On the kettle, we cooked the fish, chicken, and veggie skewers, plus the tofu slices. Ribs, Cornish hens and asparagus went on the gas grill, where we could adjust the temperature more easily.

Back in the kitchen, we sliced and de-skewered and plattered and sauced. And we ate, and ate.

Everything was yum, as Jennifer would say, but maybe the best of all were the rings of pineapple that Jessica had rubbed with sugar and ground hot red chile, and sprinkled with lime juice, and cooked on the grill. Oh boy oh boy.

Comments

[Lucia]

That was intense, and fun! And delicious! Talk about broadening the interests and adventurousness of my palate!!! Summer grilling is going to be so much better this year. Lucia

[Mary]

Who knew that there would be so little left over and cooking so much ! Loved the cocoa, cumin and allspice rub - have never had anything like it.

[Laura]

Woah! Jennafa and Jessica! Gotta watch out for Jessica after she's watched mating snakes!

[Lydia]

I liked the mixing and matching -- the coffee-flavored barbecue sauce over venison rubbed with the cocoa, cumin and allspice. I have all the fixings, so any #1s who want to stop by and mix up their own supply are welcome.

[Marcia]

Jessica, Those pineapple rings look absolutely delish. If it ever stops raining, I'll try to grill them!
Love all the photos.

[Don Lowery]

That looks like it was a lot of fun. I have one of the expensive Zojirushi induction heating cookers at home and 3 of us will get together and cook many of the same things you did here, but in much smaller volumes. I'd love to assemble a bunch of devoted cooks the size of the group you have here.

Very nicely done!!!

[lydia]

Welcome, Don! I'd love to hear about your cooking group adventures. Any time friends gather in the kitchen, wonderful things happen. What have you and your friends been cooking up?