America I AM Pass It Down Cookbook (17 page)
Dwight Jones’ St. Louis-Style Spareribs
St. Louis, Missouri
Dwight Jones was born in Hayti, Missouri, the son of a teacher and the town barber shop owner. In many ways, his upbringing reflected a traditional African American experience. His was a small town where folks knew each other. Men would pass the time of day at his dad’s barbershop. His parents kept a large garden plot every summer from which meals were prepared, just as their parents and grandparents did before them. After high school, Mr. Jones went to college to become an engineer for Boeing Aerospace in St. Louis. His work has brought him to every corner of the world, and where his work doesn’t take him, his passion for game fishing and hunting does. Most of all, Mr. Jones loves to cook—so much so he traveled to New York City every weekend for an entire year to complete a professional chef’s certificate at the Institute for Culinary Education, all the while holding down his demanding full-time job. But the thing that Mr. Jones is most known for is his skill with a smoker. Come any day the weather is fine, you’ll find him and some pals smoking racks of ribs on a specially made smoker, complete with a rig for towing behind his truck.
3 racks St. Louis-style pork ribs (about 8 pounds)
1 cup BBQ Spice Blend
BBQ SPICE RUB BLEND
2½ ounces coarse salt
2 ounces granulated garlic
2 ounces onion powder
2/3 ounce dry mustard
½ ounce red pepper
1/3 ounce black pepper
2½ ounces paprika
½ ounce dried thyme leaves
Pass It Down TIP
For a healthful and delicious veggie barbecue, toss sliced fresh vegetables, like zucchini, squash, peppers, and eggplant, with a dash of olive oil and enough Spice Rub Blend to coat. Grill 10–15 minutes or until vegetables are fork tender but not mushy.
Mix together and save in a sealable glass jar.
Coat the ribs evenly with the spice blend and let rest in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Heat your grill to 350º F. if using gas, or until coals are red hot if using briquettes or hardwood charcoal.
Place the ribs in the grill away from the coals or direct flame. If using charcoal, you may spray the coals lightly with cold water to prevent them from getting too hot, as needed. Cover the grill, cook slowly for approximately 4 hours, turning every 30 minutes. The internal temperature should be at 170° F. The ribs should be well crusted on both sides.
Although Dwight Jones developed this rub for his St. Louis Style Spareribs (
page 91
), it works wonderfully on wings, chicken, and anything that can be grilled. Keeps for up to two months when stored in a cool dry place. Serve with your favorite BBQ sauce and other side dishes.
Russel Honoré’s Barbecued Boston Pork Butt
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
SERVES 8 TO 10
Lieutenant General Russel Honoré (retired) leaves most of the cooking to his wife, Beverly, but he is master of his own grill and, he says, he grills year-round regardless of the weather. His Barbecued Boston Pork Butt is favored by his family as a high calorie wind-up to the long Thanksgiving weekend. His special seasoning mix is so beloved by family and friends that he’s often pressed to share the recipe. Answering the call of duty, the general has teamed up with famed New Orleans chef Paul Prudhomme to create Honore’s Spice blends, including a low-sodium version that will be available in the New Orleans area and online.
1 10-pound Boston butt
4 tablespoons salt
4 tablespoons black pepper
4 tablespoons paprika
4 tablespoons garlic powder
4 garlic cloves
4 whole cayenne peppers
Pass It Down TIP
You can do this recipe without the use of a grill, by browning the roast on all sides in a large fry pan, or even in the same Dutch oven in which you’ll complete the cooking.
Preheat oven to 325° F.
In a small bowl, mix together salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic powder, and work the mixture into the meat. With a sharp knife, make four holes in the roast and plug each hole with a garlic clove and a whole red cayenne pepper.
Heat grill (charcoal or gas) on high. Put roast on grill and sear on each side until butt is browned but not burned, about 20 minutes per side. Stay with the grill to ensure the roast does not scorch. If using a charcoal grill or smoker, you may add your favorite wood chips to the fire if you like the smoke flavor.
Remove roast from grill and put into covered Dutch oven or any roaster covered with aluminum foil. Roast in oven for a half hour, then reduce heat to 280° F and roast for another 2½ hours or about 15 minutes per pound, until the roast registers an internal temperature of 170°.
Remove from oven when cooked and let stand for 15 minutes before slicing. You should have a lot of gravy in pan. Skim off grease from pan gravy and serve roast with a plate of white beans and rice, or on crusty bread with pan juices.
Pass It Down Classic Louisiana Crawfish Boil
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Louisiana
SERVES 4
Crawfish are plentiful in Louisiana and are a popular casual feast dish. The name crawfish boil is misleading because it’s not just crawfish that goes in the pot, but potatoes, corn, and even sausage—if it’s not Lent. Boiling crawfish calls for some pretty big pots and a big enough stove or fire to do it right, which is why most people go out for theirs. Anybody in Louisiana will tell you—no matter their color, station, or class— that the best way to eat boiled crawfish is from a big old pile set down on newspaper at a picnic table!
20 pounds crawfish
10 gallons water
1 cup salt
12 small red potatoes
1 head garlic, cloves peeled and smashed slightly
5 small yellow onions, peeled
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper, or more to taste
3 lemons, cut in half
4 ears corn, cut in half
2 andouille sausage cut in half
Place all the ingredients in a 60-quart stockpot, or divide them equally between two 30-quart stockpots.
Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes.
Cover the pot, remove the heat, and allow the crawfish boil to steep 15–20 minutes longer.
Strain out the corn and potatoes and place them on a platter. Strain out the crawfish and put them on a newspaper-lined picnic table to pick apart and enjoy.
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Recipe adapted from Louisiana Crawfish Recipes by the Louisiana Department of Agriculture
