“The Juicy Pig”™ Ribs & Chicken

“the Juicy Pig”™ is a robust sweet and spicy rub perfect for mesquite grilled meats and fresh salmon (see mesquite grilled salmon recipe). In this recipe we cooked baby back ribs and chicken. Other woods will work fine; mesquite and red oak are my favorites. If you cook directly over the coals as demonstrated here, be sure and turn the meat often to avoid burning the sugar in this rub. Serve with rolls, corn on the cob, peas or any other fresh vegetable and tea. A cold Lone Star beer in one hand and a spicy rib in the other will make a great meal as well.
Note: “Jalapeño Dusted”™ and “Herbal Red “™ are also great on pork and chicken.
(Seasoned ribs and chicken.)

 
Cut your baby back rib racks in half and cut the chicken in pieces. Generously sprinkle “the Juicy Pig”™ seasoning on both sides. This blend will stick without the use of oil. If you want to let the sugars dissolve and marinate the meat, put the seasoned pieces in a plastic bag and refrigerate overnight.
(Cooking over the mesquite coals.)

 
Burn down charcoal and mesquite wood until the pit reaches 325°- 350°. Add meat and flip every ten minutes for the first 40 – 50 minutes. It is important to do this when cooking directly over the heat source because of grease flare-ups and burning the sugars from the rub.
(Chicken browning nicely.)

 
(Meat starting to pull away from bones.)
The chicken should start browning nicely after the 40 minutes and the ribs should be pulling away from the bones. Start closing the airflow to drop temperature and slow the cooking process down.
(Chicken in the foil bag.)

 
Place the chicken pieces in a foil bag or double wrap in tin foil after 40 minutes and the ribs after 50 minutes. Completely shut off the airflow and continue to let the meat cook an additional 45 minutes. The total cook time on this example was one hour and thirty minutes.
(Final chicken.)

 
(Final baby back ribs.)
The chicken pieces should be sticky to the touch, juicy and flavorful to the bone. Ribs should be juicy and pull away from the bone with ease. We will be adding recipes on slow smoking ribs, briskets and chicken using a draft pit vs. direct heat cooking demonstrated in this recipe.