Kansas City Dry Rub for Pork →

This is a good dry rub to season pork roast or ribs. It can be used for smoking ribs or seasoning meat prior to basting with a good barbecue sauce like Bourbon-Brown Sugar Barbecue Sauce.

Kansas City Dry Rub for Pork
(Copy and paste to print the recipe.)

Ingredients:

• ½ cup brown sugar

• ¼ cup paprika

• 1 tablespoon black pepper

• 1 tablespoon salt

• 1 tablespoon chili powder

• 1 tablespoon garlic powder

• 1 tablespoon onion powder

• 1 teaspoon cayenne

Preparation:

1. Mix all the ingredients well and store in a jar with a tight-fitting lid. The spice mix will keep stored in a cool dark place for several months.

2. Rub the spice mix onto your meat several hours (preferably overnight) before cooking.

Adapted from: https://www.thespruceeats.com/kansas-city-rib-rub-recipe

Chinese Style Duck Sauce

There are many Chinese Duck Sauce recipes online and in cookbooks; many of them include an equal amount of Chinese Plum Sauce to the fruit jam. This version omits the plum sauce and suits my taste: complex, fruity, and tangy with a hint of heat, but without the weird artificial coloring you get in the packets of take-out Chinese duck sauce. Play with this basic recipe until you have the version you like. It makes a great dipping sauce for chicken wings, fried spring rolls, or egg rolls. Mix it 50/50 with Bourbon Brown Sugar Barbecue Sauce for a terrific basting sauce for barbecue ribs. Give it a try.

Homemade Chinese Style Duck Sauce

Ingredients:
• ¾ cup apricot jam (or peach jam)
• 4 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
• ½ teaspoon low sodium soy sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon fresh minced ginger (or grated)
• a pinch of cayenne powder (optional, to taste)

Preparation:
1. Combine all of the ingredients in a small food processor and pulse a few times until you have the consistency you desire.
2. Allow to rest in the refrigerator for at least an hour before serving so the flavors can meld.
3. Bring to room temperature 30 minutes to an hour before serving.
4. Will keep in an airtight glass container in your refrigerator for up to 1 month.

Coney Island Hot Dog Sauce →

Food is intimately tied to memories. One of my early childhood memories is of going to eat with my father at iconic Coney Island Hot Dogs in Worcester, Massachusetts. In those days a hot dog with all the fixings cost 15 cents; I still remember when they went up to a whole 25 cents and my father arguing with the owner that if they kept raising their prices they would go out of business. Well my dad is gone now and I miss him every day, but George’s Coney Island Hot Dogs is still going strong. This recipe is my homage to the wonderful sauce they still serve on their hot dogs and that childhood memory of going out to eat with my dad.

Yield about 2 cups
Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground beef (85%*)

• 1 large onion (finely chopped)

• 2 tablespoons chili powder

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

• 1/4 teaspoon ground mustard

• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1/8 teaspoon ground cumin

• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/6 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• 1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (¼ tsp. to kick-it-up-a-notch)

• 1/4 cup tomato paste

• Splash of Worcestershire

• 2 cups water

Preparation:

1. In a medium saucepan or deep sauté pan, brown the ground beef; drain well.

2. Add the finely chopped onion, chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, allspice, ground mustard, garlic powder, cumin, cinnamon, chili powder, black pepper, tomato paste, and water.

3. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 to 2 hours.