 When making or purchasing your favorite rub usually the most economical way is to do it in bulk. This is especially true when ordering ingredients or ready made products through mail order. Shipping these days is through the roof. There are some rubs I purchase in five pound packages and over time, even in the California Central Valley humidity can cause your rubs to clump.
One day while fighting with a particular clumped up bottle of rub I remembered an old trick I saw once in a little diner. They had placed saltines in their sugar and salt shakers to keep them from clumping. It works with your rubs too!
Place a saltine or two in your big bottles of rubs and they will be much less likely to clump. Over time you might need to change out the saltine, but it’s a rather easy process. If you’ve got the smaller rub bottles use those little “oyster” crackers. They’ll fit in the bottle and not interfere to much with your shaker top.
Saltines will work well with most rubs but if you’re using a rub that is high in brown sugar toss in a slice of bread instead of the saltine and it will help to keep the humidity from turning your rub to concrete.
When you cook ribs have you ever noticed the skin like layer on the bone side of your rack of ribs? If you’ve never removed it you’re short changing yourself on making the most flavorful ribs possible. The membrane will keep your seasoning flavors and smoke from penetrating the meat on that side of the rack. And after cooking the membrane gets hard and is difficult to chew.
At first you’ll get a little frustrated trying to remove the membrane. But with practice you’ll get the hang of it. Here’s a short step by step primer on how to do it.
Continue reading BBQ Tip #6: For Better Ribs Remove The Membrane
Jalapenos have a great flavor, they can enhance many different sauces, spices and foods. But, and it’s a big but sometimes, people come over for dinner and they just can’t stand the heat. Here’s a tip on how to serve jalapenos without the heat. This little tip will tame your jalapenos, leaving you with the pepper taste but very little of the heat. At my house I usually tame half the jalapenos, leaving the other half with the heat for those that love the burn.
 To tame jalapenos all you need is jalapenos and some Sprite. I've never tried it with other lemon lime sodas, I was told to use Sprite, and that's what I've always used. Continue reading BBQ Tip #5: How To Tame Jalapeno Peppers
 One of the great aspects of being involved in writing about BBQ is that I get to meet lots of people. Most of which know a great deal more than I do about outdoor cooking. One of the people I have had the privilege of getting to know is Barry “CB” Martin. Barry is responsible for the outstanding Char-Broil website “Sizzle On The Grill.” Barry likes to pretend he knows very little about cooking but he’s really quite knowledgeable and more importantly Barry is willing to share that knowledge.
Recently while attending Memphis in May I got a chance to see Barry in action. His take on the use of “oils” in grilling is educational and a little different than what I’ve always thought was the norm. With his permission I have republished his extensive treatise on “oil.”
What you’ll see is an explanation on the various oils he uses followed by his personal comments in blue.–The BBQ Grail
If you are a regular reader of Sizzle on the Grill you may have noticed I usually mention in recipes or online posts that I ’spritz’ meat with a bit of canola oil prior to grilling. There are a couple of reasons I use this oil and why I spritz the meat, not the grates. First of all, unless the grates are being seasoned, the oil will burn off the grates before I place meat on it. The oil serves a purpose of helping to rapidly transfer heat from the grates to the meat. The seared meat proteins release when they are ‘done’ or brown and the oil merely facilitates this. The second reason is because ‘grilling’ for me usually means I’m searing at a higher temperature, say 500F degrees or higher, before finishing at a lower temperature and I want an oil that will be OK for the higher heat. There really aren’t any that are both great for this high heat AND affordable. After testing a variety of oils I settled upon Canola for it’s generally higher temp capacity and affordability.
Continue reading BBQ Tip #4: Which Oil To Use When Grilling
 Chuck Averwater explains the revolutionary design of his Stacker Rib Smoker to a couple of BBQ enthusiasts during Memphis In May. One of the truly amazing opportunities I got while attending Memphis In May was a chance to spend some time with Chuck Averwater owner of Smackers Gourmet BBQ Seasoning and Smokers. I’ve been a fan of Smackers Memphis Style Dry rub for a while now. It’s a great dry rub that’s perfect for ribs and pork butts. If I didn’t do anything else while in Memphis what I saw and learned from Chuck in one short session would have made the trip worthwhile.
Chuck’s new smoker may be one of the most revolutionary BBQ pits to come out in years. It is without a doubt a product that if you see it, you will want it. After going through it’s design and features you’ll shake your head and wonder why it took someone this long to come up with it.
What Chuck came up with is the Stacker a smoker made up of drawers. With his revolutionary design Chuck has fixed the biggest problem pitmasters face when trying to check their meat, loss of heat. On a traditional BBQ pit whenever you open the door to check the meat, sauce, rearrange or any other reason the heat drop can do nothing but give you fits.
Continue reading Lip Smacking Ribs From Smackers
This question is about using a cedar plank to cook salmon etc on a grill. Does the plank need to be one of those expensive hummers one can buy at Home Depot, Bed Bath & Beyond or Lowe’s for the express purpose of cooking on it or can it be a normal fence board type of cedar?
I have heard the cedar fencing might have a chemical or something in it which would preclude one from wanting to eat anything cooked on it. Got any advice? — Bob Sheets
Bob,
The infusion of unique flavors to your food is the biggest reason for using wood planks. Store bought fence boards are perfectly okay to use. However, since it’s the infusion of flavor and not chemical toxins you want it’s important to make sure you select a fence board that is untreated. If you can’t easily determine from signage in the store if the fence boards are untreated make sure you ask a store employee.
You can normally buy a 6 foot long fence board for under $5.00 which is a much more cost effective alternative to wood planks that are cut and packaged specifically for grilling. If you don’t have the ability to cut your fence board down to size the lumber store will normally do it for you for a minimal fee or sometimes for free. When cutting your planks down to size you need to consider the size of the meat you’re cooking, the size of your grill and the size of the sink or bucket you are going to soak your plank in before use.
 According to Underwriters Laboratories (UL) more than 86,000,000 households, or 75% of U.S. households, light up their grills every year as they prepare over 3,000,000,000 meals. With Memorial Day right around the corner, one of the most popular grilling weekends of the year, many families will host backyard cookouts to celebrate.
While nothing beats a grilled meal, every year outdoor grilling accidents cause 19,000 Emergency Room visits and 7,900 home fires. This is the reason UL, a leading product safety organization, is sharing simple, yet critical, grilling safety temps that families need to know and use.
Continue reading A Recipe For Grilling Safety
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