The Ultimate Barbecue Sauce for This Year's July 4th Barbecue
A dirty page usually holds a favorite recipe. This one for pork rib rub and BBQ sauce certainly is. Photo: Jeff O’Heir
There are some things worth preserving for eternity. These recipes for rib rub and BBQ sauce from Miles James, chef-owner of James at the Mill in Johnson, Ark., are a few of them.
I first came across the recipes in the July 1998 issue of Bon Appétit, when it was fresh off the stand. I used them for the first ribs I ever smoked and as the foundation for most others that followed.
Dozens of barbecues later, the page is now stained with grease, splattered with sauce, marked by dirty fingerprints, and crusted with layers of chili powder, cumin, and cinnamon. But it’s coated with more than pork fat and spices. It’s covered with memories.
I’ve learned these recipes by heart and have copied them for safekeeping. But cooking for the event — and a July 4th barbecue is always an event — wouldn’t be the same without looking at that dirty page.
Each stain and splatter is worth a memory. Many more will be added throughout this barbecue season. Photo: Samantha Bolton
Each splotch and smear is a reminder of the glories of good barbecue and its power to leave people happy and satisfied. They are a reminder of how a technique, style, or dish can lead to a world of exploration, discovery, and learning. They are a reminder of friendships, family, holidays, and milestones, as well as the need to celebrate more of each. Reading the recipe from a clean page or screen just isn’t the same.
Others feel the same way. Nashville-based food writers Jennifer Justus, Erin Murray, and Cindy Wall recently started Dirty Pages, a site for collecting and sharing family recipes, and for celebrating the people and cultures that create them.
A Dirty Pages interactive exhibit (displayed this spring at the Nashville Farmers’ Market) will soon visit Casa Azafrán, a community center in Nashville, before moving in November to a permanent home at the Southern Food & Beverage Museum in New Orleans. The project’s founders are planning more Dirty Pages pop-up exhibits based on different themes next year. Kim Severson of the New York Times recently wrote about the project in this recollection of her mother’s cookbooks.
Becky Murray posted this recipe she received from her sister-in-law on the shared Dirty Pages site. “I used this cookbook so much that it fell apart,” she wrote. Photo: Becky Murray
My issue of Bon Appétit won’t last forever, but I hope the rib and rub recipes will. I’ve searched for them online but have only found an interpretation. The originals deserve perpetuity. Print these up and start painting the page with your own memories. Down the line, though, make sure to pass them along.
Miles James’ Mustard Bourbon Sauce and Spice Rub
These recipes were designed to cover 3 whole racks of baby back ribs (about six pounds). If you’re cooking spare ribs or like a heavy coating of rub, you might want to double the ingredients. You can store the extra in a sealed jar for later use (both the rub and sauce are also good on grilled salmon and any cut of pork).
The recipe refers to the sauce as “straightforward,” but I’ve never been served anything that even closely resembles it. It’s sweet, thick, chunky and packed with a variety of flavors. I prefer a little extra heat to offset the sweetness. If that’s your thing, ladle some sauce into small pot and add some cayenne and/or finely diced fresh jalapeños.
Sauce
4 to 6 servings
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 bunches green onions, chopped
2 cups white onions, chopped
8 large garlic cloves, chopped
2 cups (packed) golden brown sugar
1 cup ketchup
1 cup tomato paste
1 cup whole grain Dijon mustard
1 cup water
½ cup Worcestershire sauce
½ cup apple cider vinegar
½ cup apple juice
1 large dried ancho chili, stemmed, seeded, and cut into small pieces
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1½ cups bourbon
Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Sauté green onions, white onions, and garlic until tender. Mix in all remaining ingredients, adding bourbon last. Simmer sauce until thick and reduced to 7 cups, stirring occasionally, about one hour.
Spice Rub
2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon dry mustard
1 tablespoon coarse salt
1½ teaspoons cayenne pepper
1½ teaspoons ground cardamom
1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Coat ribs and let sit refrigerated overnight.
Some more BBQ recipes we’d like to share
Have a favorite rub or sauce recipe? Let us know about it.
