When I was growing up, I loved the flavor of bbq sauce. I ate it on everything from hamburgers to onion rings. Much to my mother’s disappointment, bbq sauce graced our dinner table every night. She didn’t really like the fact that I slathered all of her good cooking with bbq sauce, but I guess she figured it was good that I was cleaning my plate even if I soaked my dinner in sauce to do it.

As I entered into adulthood, I became a little more discriminating when it came to bbq sauce. I still loved the flavor and bbq sauce was my favorite dip of choice for French fries, but my taste buds became more conventional when it came to my use of bbq sauce. I liked to dip my steak in it or make oven baked chicken basted in a nice hickory bbq sauce.

With my love of any meat cooked with bbq sauce, it was inevitable that I eventually visit the south. The south is the bbq capital of the world. I had heard about the world famous bbq’s in the Deep South and my mouth watered in anticipation as I packed my bags. I tried to do a little research to find out where the best bbq sauce was served. Everyone told me that I had to try a pulled pork sandwich and wash it down with sweat tea if I wanted to experience true Southern bbq.

The day I arrived in the state of Alabama, I bundled to the closest bbq joint. You could smell the meat cooking a mile away and as I pulled into the parking lot, I breathed deeply of the exciting scent. I had my moist towelettes. I had a spare shirt. I was ready for the sauciest bbq sauce and a pile of pulled pork. I placed my order and waited impatiently for my dinner to arrive. When the waitress placed it in front of me, I took one look at it and told her she had made a mistake.

‘There isn’t any bbq sauce on my pork.’ I explained.

The waitress just laughed as she poured me a glass of sugary iced tea. ‘Darlin’ that is real Southern bbq. We don’t use bbq sauce. The secret is in how we cook the meat, we don’t want to ruin it by drowning it.’ She saw my disappointment and brought me some bottled bbq sauce on the side. I did try her traditional pulled pork minus the bbq sauce and it was good, but for me, it tasted so much more familiar when I slathered it with my favorite sauce.

James L. Paleta is a writer for The Food Magazine. The site provides readers with the latest insights and write-ups on all things on food and other resources.

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It would seem that nowadays there are a lot of options for vegetarians. Meatless alternatives seem to abound everywhere, from the neighborhood deli, to the sushi shop, to the hamburger joint. The hamburger joint? Yes, you heard correctly. With the introduction of several brands of meatless “burgers,” vegetarians can brave the very den of carnivorous pleasure. Once viewed as an eccentric oddity, vegetarians have moved from the fringe to the mainstream. However, the truth is, all too often the meatless menu option isn’t vegetarian at allit’s just a menu item, minus the meat. Unfortunately, a white hoagie bun topped with iceberg lettuce, pickles, onions, mayonnaise, and mustard is about as unappealing to the vegetarian as it is to the carnivore counterpart.

So what about the vegetarian at the barbecue?

With its increased popularity, it’s highly likely you have friends or family members who’ve adopted this lifestyle. Don’t let this cause you angst the next time you invite them over for barbecue. With the tips below, you can be assured they’ll be licking their fingers and singing your praise as enthusiastically as your steak-loving comrades.

The first rule of thumb when barbecuing for vegetarians is that veggies are not just a sideshow anymore. Don’t doom your vegetarian guests to pick and choose among the sides to make their meals. Potato salad, relish plates, and devilled eggs? Consider. You offer steak, chicken, and fish to your meat-loving friends, but the vegetarian in attendance is offered only corn on the cob? Lame! If you want to really impress your vegetarian guests, you want to offer at least one meat-free main dish. While there are a few meat substitutions out there I advise you to think outside the box. A quick search on the internet will reveal literally hundreds of recipes for preparing veggies on the grill. A short-list of the easiest to prepare, and most popular vegetables would include potatoes, corn, tomatoes, and zucchini. If you’re willing to put in a little more effort, you can prepare a bowl of pasta to serve with the grilled veggies. Don’t blame me if your meat-loving friends fill up on this entr

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Dry rub is a culmination of a variety of spices that can tickle your taste buds. It is not only used for seasoning your poultry or beef, but also added to invite those unconventional yet delightful flavors to vegetables, salads and casseroles. Moreover, how on earth can one avoid the spiced up sandwiches, thanks to dry rub.

Rubs are either used in their dry form or mixed up with some sort of liquid preferably oil. And if dry rub is mixed with oil it might as well be referred as wet rub or paste. Wet rub or paste for that matter brings that heavenly flavor for grilled or roasted meat. The oil simply helps the spices to stick to the respective meat furthering the roasting process.

A mixture of rubs with mustard and horseradish and the subsequent paste can be used to coat briskets prior to their long slow smoking. No wonder dry rub is an absolute ‘must’ especially in barbecues. If you are arranging for a bar-b-q then make sure that you have rubs because that’s how the cuisine will become more delectable.

If you have tasted dry rub for once, you would no longer cater to chilies or pepper for that matter. It is not only hot but the hottest of all in the tinsel town of hot sauces. There are no boundaries, no limits as regards the usage of rubs. Be it the rub for marinating meat or for fish or other delicate items, you just name it. It may sound unorthodox but the fact of the matter is that rubs mixed with mustard or mayonnaise can make a sandwich doubly sumptuous. Again it goes without saying that they add an extra touch of flavor in salad dressing.

Presumably adding some rub to your sour cream or yogurt would mean a culinary shock but in reality it works wonders. Sprinkling hot rubs on baked potatoes, rice, french fries, popcorn not only makes them tastier but also shows that it doesn’t get any easier than this.

Speaking of rubs, ones that come to mind are Corky’s Dry BBQ Rub and the Jack Daniel’s BBQ Rub. The former sets any bar-b-q perk right up & is ideal for ranch salad dressing. The secret to its taste lies in its ingredients like paprika, salt, spices and garlic. While the latter is both an incredible marinade for pork, beef, chicken, seafood and also an excellent seasoning for vegetables, soups and stews. Surprisingly we find natural hickory smoke flavor, flavoring and Jac Daniel’s Black Label Whiskey amongst the ingredients other than the conventional combination of salt, sugar, spices, paprika, monosodium glutamate, onion powder and garlic powder.

Rubs are the ultimate culinary destination with its magical flavors that can transform ordinary taste to extraordinary. If you wish to pamper your appetite then you must indulge into rubs, it’s just a sprinkle away. So what are you waiting for? Run to your nearest store or login to the online stores to grab your rubs today!

Chris McCarthy is the owner of InsaneChicken’s Hot Sauce Catalog. InsaneChicken also has a wide vareity of Hot Sauces, BBQ Sauce and Rubs. Visit them at http://www.InsaneChicken.com

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