Ying's Birthday Rub

Okay, now get your minds out of the gutter. Ying is one of the Mysterious Chinese Woman's sisters and the rub is a spice mixture of my own design. I originally made it for a barbecue that we had to celebrate one of Ying's birthdays. It has since become the base recipe for most of my barbecue rubs. It is mighty fine as is and lends itself well to tweaking. Add some five-spice, leave out the chili powder, throw in some rosemary or thyme, maybe a bit of sage. Well, you get the idea.

The Sacred Document


I have a fairly well stocked spice, well, cabinet isn't really right. I have spices in a spice cabinet, two kitchen cabinets, and a couple of drawers. I use a lot of spices. And I am lucky to live someplace where, within walking distance, you can get just about any spice you can imagine.

Assembling Of The Spices


I had plenty of cracked black pepper left over from the steak I made the other night. I also used some chipotle chili powder. The chipotle adds some smoke flavor which is nice when you are using an oven and not a smoker. Otherwise it was pretty much the same as the recipe.

Ready For Mixing


Now this spice mixture is pretty hot. It won't be too hot on the pork butt because there is a large ratio of meat to surface area. If you use this rub on ribs or chicken you will end up with some pretty spicy stuff. You might want to eliminate the red pepper and use a mild paprika to calm it down. But that is a matter of personal taste. I used to make two versions, one a bit milder, and then do one chicken and a couple of racks of ribs using the mild and the rest using the hot. Then, normally, the pieces all get mixed up and nobody really knows which one they are eating anyway. As long as everyone is happy, that's all that matters.

All Mixed Up


I also made a marinade to inject into my meat. Nothing elaborate, just some apple juice, garlic powder, and some adobe sauce from a jar of chipotles I brought back from Mexico. I love this brand, Lucerno, but it is hard to find even in Mexico. I have never seen it here in the United States.

Marinade Ingredients


Now, no matter how you spice things up, the key is always the meat. I used to buy my ribs at the butcher shop but, quite frankly, the ribs you get at Costco are just fine. However, for something like a pork butt, only the butcher will do. I have never seen a really decent pork butt at a supermarket or at Costco. I got mine from the ever reliable Staubitz.

This Is A Decent Butt


And then I injected it with my concoction.

Almost Painful To Look At


Then I liberally applied the spice mixture and patted it into the meat. Wrapped the whole thing up in plastic wrap and now into the refrigerator it will go to fester away until I cook it.

Ready For Festering


I've got to head up to the beer store to pick up some San Miguel beer for a friend of mine. She said it was a Hong Kong beer, and I didn't know that. It turns out that San Miguel is a Philippine beer. In fact they have 95% of the Philippine beer market. It was first brewed in 1890 under a Spanish Royal Grant, whatever that means. Anyway, they shipped beer to Hong Kong where it became very popular. So popular that San Miguel opened a brewery there. They also have breweries in Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Malasia and Mainland China. So, I will try to get the San Miguel beer, but no guarantee it will come from Hong Kong.

I am also going to force myself to go to Pete's Waterfront Ale House (someone's got to do it) to see if I can buy a quart of their cole slaw. If I can't, because they don't really make it to sell, just for sides with their meals, I will have to make some of my own. And I would like to avoid that. In fact, I will. I will just buy it from the bagel place instead. Life is good.

Addendum: The San Miguel that I bought was brewed in the Philippines and Pete's Waterfront Ale House did sell me the coleslaw.