Simple "Q"

Since tomorrow is Super Sunday, also known as the Stupor Bowl or Commercial Bowl, it's time to pass along an ancient family recipe for dry rub.

Most people probably know that dry rub is what you um, rub on your meat before you slow cook it. If you have a charcoal grill, like a Weber cooker, indirect heat is the only way to go for this. If you have a gas grill... well, son, we have a word for that - but this is a family blog.

I remember Grandpa Stilwell teaching me this dry rub recipe when I was about seven, deep in the piney woods of Kansas. He would carefully build a hickory fire, check the still and then settle in to regale us with stories of Revenuers, gangsters and loose women. (Actually I read it in a book, and there aren't any piney woods in Kansas. There may be loose women but I never met any.) So without further ado, here is the mix recipe:

• 1 part paprika
• 1 part Kosher or sea salt
• 1 part coarse ground black pepper

Rub the mixture on ribs, chicken or pork shoulder and cook indirectly using a moderate amount of hickory chips. If that dry rub is too simple for you, add some things you like. Celery seed is good. Cumin is wonderful. But sometimes simple is best. Here's a simple sauce you can make. Notice I'm using the precise terminology of barbecue, in this case the word "some."

• Some regular yellow mustard
• Some white vinegar
• Some brown sugar (turbinado is my favorite)
• Some molasses
• Some paprika
• Some Kosher or sea salt
• Some coarse ground black pepper

Mix in a bowl and stick in the fridge while you rub your meat. And remember, never cross-contaminate your sauce. If you want some for table, reserve it ahead of time. If you forget, heat it up rather than risk it. Always sauce near the end of cooking, unless you like things really blackened. How about some brats? (The sausage, not the kids.) Chicago is in the game, after all. Try this:

1. Buy some brats
2. Buy some dark beer
3. Get a big enameled or stainless steel pain you can use on the grill
4. Put the beer in the pan
5. Put the brats in the pan
6. Throw in some chopped onions and garlic
7. Par-boil the brats and then "grill them off" when someone wants one
8. Serve on an outdoor bun with the mustard of your choice
9. If there are people from Chicago coming, put a salad on top of it

This method reduces the grease and flare-ups you might otherwise encounter.

Have a nice game.