BarBeQueMe: A Rub Recipe from a World Champion

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October 20, 2007

Sauce is key for Gold Bar griller

By Kristi O'Harran
Herald Columnist

The best barbecue sauce, featured at my house, is a mixture of Coca-Cola and ketchup.

No? You have a better recipe? Perhaps you would like to put it on the line, like Gil Ruiz.

Diners at his Depot Cafe and Smokehouse at 3201 McDougall Ave. in Everett may not know they're ordering award-winning grub the chef prepares as both hobby and career. On spring and summer days off, Ruiz enjoys traveling around the Northwest to compete in barbecue competitions.

"In May of 2005 I entered my first barbecue competition at the 'Cruzin' to Colby' event in Everett," Ruiz said. "I placed dead last."

Dazed and confused, he figured he better do some research to improve on the product.

"I had a custom barbecue pit built for me in Texas and had it shipped to the cafe," he said. "It showed up in July, very exciting. I started cooking like crazy."

He entered the Montana State Barbecue Championship.

"My oldest son, Peter, and I took three top-10 finishes that weekend out of the four meat categories. The game was on, and we were hooked on competition barbecue."

The drill goes like this: You cook four categories, pork shoulder, pork ribs, beef brisket and chicken. State championships must have 25 teams or more to make it a "qualifier" for national events. The grand champion of a qualifier may compete in a national championship.

He calls his team "Smokin' Red Wolf." In 2006, they won 11 cooking awards.

"This year we walked with a total of 19 awards including a grand championship," Ruiz, 49, said. "We scored firsts, seconds and really improved our scores."

Raised in the Bay Area of California, Ruiz aimed to be a rock star, but found working in restaurants actually paid the bills. He's been so low as to wash dishes at a Sizzler, then had an opportunity to learn the restaurant business from inside an Italian operation.

He was the general manager at Lombardi's on the Everett waterfront before opening his Depot, which marks its third anniversary Sunday. One regular customer, Barbara Andersen of Snohomish, said she loves a nonbarbecued dish at the Depot: crab cake salad. She also enjoys the pulled-pork sandwich and navy bean soup.

Ruiz commutes to work from a little farm in Gold Bar, where he lives with his wife, Sue, and Sam, 11, and Lilliana, 8, who often join him on trips. The team has yet to win a national qualifier, but the quest is on, he said.

Smokin' Red Wolf is ranked 433rd nationwide out of 1,033 teams.

Ruiz is tweaking ideas for next season. Everyone has their own ideas and philosophies about barbecue sauces, he said. Though he won't share any cooking secrets, he hinted at a "fruit component" to his chicken.

"I've kept that close to the vest," he said. "It adds a nice profile to it."

We toured his sparkling kitchen and I saw big old slabs of meat slow-cooking on a grill out back. My secret was safe. There didn't seem to be any bottles of ketchup and Coke.

Columnist Kristi O'Harran: 425-339-3451 or oharran@heraldnet.com.

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

A Rub Recipe from a World Champion

This is a wonderful site and blog about Larry Mayes and his wife. Not only is this recipe on the site but it is a video diary and show about them and many aspects of barbeque and associated products. I could have spent a half a day there watching videos, just fascinating. You immediately take a liking to Larry and I bet you will this rub.

2 Fat Larrys Rib RubFriday, December 29th, 2006
Ingredients
* 2 Tablespoons raw sugar (Turbinado)
* 2/3 cup dark brown sugar, packed
* ¼ cup paprika
* 2 Tablespoons garlic powder
* 1 Tablespoon cayenne pepper
* 1 Tablespoon black pepper
* 1 Tablespoon white pepper
* 2 teaspoon ground coriander
* 1 teaspoonInstructions

Mix together.Sprinkle over slab of ribs, both sides. Store any leftover Rib Rub in an airtight container until next use. Makes enough to season 6 slabs of ribs. Recipe courtesy of Larry Mayes, of 2 Fat Larrys Championship Barbecue Team

Cooking Up A Story, A Show About Food and People » Blog Archive » 2 Fat Larrys Rib Rub

technorati tags:two, fat, larrys, world, champion, barbeque, rub, ribs, recipes

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Tuesday, January 16, 2007

A Rub Recipe from a World Champion

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