Paging Dr. Bubba

Ok. Either my plumbing is clogged or this world is moving WAY too fast. Didn’t we just celebrate New Years? I think I just barely finished digesting Christmas dinner and it’s already summer . Well, actually summer doesn’t officially arrive until Summer Solstice on June 21st, but where I’m from summer can start as early as the first week of April.

Anyway, I should know this because that’s the day after my birthday (hint, hint). Yes, I’m a spring baby, barely. My mom tells me that I was born so fast the doctor didn’t believe I was on the way. So, I was born in the hallway around 10 at night. I think it’s because I wanted to be born a Spring baby, which is weird because I love summer.

No school. Everyday is a Saturday (which only works if you’re a kid). Swimming in pools and lakes (You can tell when someone is a native of Arizona because they‘re amazed that a river has water!). Drinking up gallons of lemonade (of all different flavors, of course), and more importantly - NO SNOW! Ok, so that’s not the most important thing about summer, but it works for me. Actually, the most important thing about summer is Barbeques.

I’m not talking about hamburgers and hot dogs, either. I’m talking about juicy, succulent, mouth-watering, smoke infused, sizzling heaven. Many indeed claim it as their religion. They brave near frigid weather in the stadium parking lots in the fall, or scorching backyard heat in the summer. They’ll fire up the grill for grandma’s Christmas fruitcake if they felt it would help. Others take it to the other extreme. They’re the ones who have everything to an exact science. The heat has to be exactly right, the meat marinated just long enough, and the grill is never cleaned to insure the perfect seasoning. And then there are the grillers in the middle - the religious scientists. Or the scientific religion. The Scien-gion. Naw, I’m just kidding.

But seriously. The religious BBQ fanatics usually hail from the North. I call them Packer fans. They don’t care what you grill as long as it’s grilled. Usually sausages - bratwursts and the like. The scientists come from the South. I call them Dr. Bubbas. And like real scientists with real science degrees, BBQ recipes vary depending on the region and it’s not uncommon to find the formulas closely guarded secrets.

To the rest of the country, BBQ is as BBQ does. We don’t care. Just throw some meat on the grill, slap some sauce from a bottle on it and there ya go. Packer and Bubba would never think of putting salmon on the grill and yet in Seattle it’s as common as buying a new umbrella because the last one wore out after fifty straight days of rain.

What we in the west associate with BBQ, particularly the sauce, is actually more of a Texas style BBQ, or what I call Generic Dr. Bubba. Compared to sauces from other regions, there’s really not a whole lot to it. There’s also Memphis, St. Louis, Kansas City, Carolinas, Deep South, just to name a region or two.Each region has its own style, its own signature. Even Santa Maria, California has it’s own style.

Many of the sauces have similarities which sometimes makes it hard to distinguish the different regions. For example, Memphis, Kansas City and the Carolinas all use a lot of mustard compared to others. But Memphis is more sweet while Kansas City is more tangy and the Carolinas don’t use tomatoes at all. Also, Memphis, Kansas City and St. Louis are more about the ribs while the Carolinas and Deep South are more about slow smoked pulled pork. Whew! It’s kind of convolutedly complex. (is that even a word?)

For you recipe hounds, I’ve included several BBQ sauce recipes -

Generic Dr. Bubba BBQ Sauce

1 cup chopped onion (1 medium-sized)
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 cup cider vinegar1 quart tomato sauce
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 cup molasses
1/2 tablespoon salt
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tablespoon Liquid BBQ Smoke
1/4 cup bourbon (optional)

In a large sauce pan, sauté the onions in a little olive oil. Add the garlic and mustard and sweat forjust a minute until nice and aromatic. Add the next four ingredients, mix well. Reduce the heat to low and simmer covered for about 1 hour. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for another hour. Strain well. Pour into an airtight container and chill.

This next one is my favorite. It’s meant specifically for pulled pork. You can do pulled pork easily in the oven. Season a pork roast (about 2-3 lbs) with any rub you like. Rap it tightly twice with plastic wrap and twice with foil so there are no seams. Don’t worry the plastic won’t melt. Then roast it for at least 3 hours at 250° F. Shred it finely with a pair of forks.

Carolina BBQ Glaze

2 cups molasses
1 cup cider vinegar
1 tablespoon crushed chili
2 tablespoons dry mustard
1 tablespoon fresh minced garlic
1 teaspoon pepper

Mix the ingredients well in a large saucepan. Bring just to a boil and remove from the heat. Mix with the pulled pork and let sit for 15 minutes or so. Put some pork on a bun and top with coleslaw.

This sauce is the quintessential Carolina sauce. Brush it on your ribs while they’re on the grill, toss your chicken wings in it or dunk you fried chicken.

Carolina Moppin’ Sauce

1 C mustard
¼ C honey
½ C molasses
¼ C cider vinegar
¼ tsp each thyme, oregano and black pepper
Dash of Cayenne pepper
2 T Olive oil

All you need to do is whisk everything together in a bowl. You could even try using Dijon mustard.

So here’s hoping you have a great BBQ season! As for me…I’m going to see if I can decipher the Dr. Bubba code.