Ribs. Rubbed Ribs. Dry Rubbed Ribs.

Certainly I had to make ribs!

I told you I would, and now I want so much to share this with you!

This was a southern must, at least for a northerner going southern.

I did however encountered the imminent conflict: to dry rub, or to use barbecue sauce?

I thought for a while, and concluded that I would dry rub the ribs and mop them while grilling.

The best of both worlds perhaps, but packed with a unique flavor.

I used a shortcut, not being in my own kitchen with all of my pantry ingredients on hand, I used a store bought mop sauce and doctored it up!

What's the difference between a mop and a sauce you may wonder?

Well I looked it up and found out:

A mop tends to be much more acidic than a sauce, applied during the final grilling process adding moisture and flavor. A mop tends to use little if any sugar, mostly made of vinegar or beer, while a sauce can be based of tomato or molasses, it can burn much easier.

If you use a sauce, be sure to add it at the END of cooking if it contains sugar.

If you use a mop, add it throughout cooking to maintain moisture.

It's all dependent on sugar content for when you should apply it to meat.

Anyway!

Dry Rubbed Ribs

You will need

A rack of ribs of your own preference

For the dry rub:

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 tablespoon paprika (smoked paprika if you can find it!)

2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons oil

For the ribs:

1 cup orange juice

A good quality mop sauce, altered to your own taste. (I usually add some worcestershire sauce, salt and beer)

A barbecue

Rub the ribs all over with the mix of these spices and oil, store in a container in the fridge for up to a full day. When you're ready to cook, bring the ribs out of the fridge and preheat your oven to 300 degrees.

Make a pouch of aluminum foil and place the rubbed ribs inside, when it is properly sealed open a small seam and pour in the orange juice, sealing again.

Place these ribs on a baking sheet and bake for 2 hours or until cooked and tender.

When they are fully cooked, transfer them to the heated barbecue and crust the outside, mopping continuously whenever they seem dry.

This barbecue process should take 15 minutes in total, including flipping.

Serve with greens, dirty rice, and mushrooms for a whole mess of an american meal!

I truly enjoyed cooking and eating these, so please try them so you might love them as well.

A Southern Style Soup.

Hello one and all!

Or rather, a select few...

I know I had stated that I would write immediately upon arrival to my southern culinary journey, however, complications occurred and the possibility of doing so was gone.

I am back! Here now with documentation of my exploration and many things to share.

First up on the chopping block:

Southern Style Butternut Squash Soup.

Our first night in Virginia it seemed a soup was necessary. The comfort of warmness in your stomach when you're in a new place is and was wonderful.

Here's my recipe with a few additions:

You will need about 4 pounds butternut squash (2 large)

4 cups chicken stock (or more depending on how you like the thickness of your soup to be)

1 bunch of sage leaves

2 medium yellow onions minced

3 cloves garlic minced

2 tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil (to prevent burning)

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

1 or more cups of chopped cooked ham

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit

Peel and cube the butternut squash into a good size, about 1 inch cubes.

Place the squash onto a sheet pan and coat in 2 tablespoons olive oil, sprinkling liberally with salt and pepper. Place the squash into the preheated oven and roast until tender, about 45 minutes.

After the squash is nicely caramelized, in a large saucepan heat the oil and butter until nicely hot

Saute the onions until translucent, adding the garlic next to prevent burning. Burned garlic is a foul taste and you might want to consider starting the onion mixture over if it occurs.

Add about 5 chopped sage leaves to this and cook until sage is no longer raw.

Add the squash and stock, cook until flavors meld together, about 20 minutes.

In 2 batches, place the soup in a blender and puree until desired thickness. Failure to do this in batches may cause a large mess! Hot soup expands as it blends, so you may make your own conclusions. You may also use an immersion blender if you have one.

Add the blended soup back to the saucepan and introduce the ham. Cook until well heated, altering seasonings where your taste desires.

You may garnish with sage leaves and some more freshly ground pepper.

Enjoy!

I generally find butternut squash soup to be very sweet. The addition of sage gives it that classic familiarity we associate with butternut squash soup, and the ham adds a wonderful saltiness along with much needed texture.

I sincerely hope you love this soup as much as I did!

After all, soup should always be shared.