Adding Spice to Ribs

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Q: Dear Dr. BBQ:

I am looking for something that I can add to my ribs to make them a sweet-hot.  I have the sweetness part down (I think) but don’t know what to add to make them spicy. Could you please help me in this area? Thank you,

Roger

A: Hi Roger,

Like any cooking, you have to balance the flavors to get them working together. When you add a bunch of sweet, it kills the heat, and then the salt needs to catch up too. Keeping that in mind, I do have a great suggestion that I think will fit your need: habanero jelly. I put my normal rub on some ribs at a cookoff in New Mexico last year, and being that Dave DeWitt was with me, I felt the need to spice them up before serving. So instead of Barbecue sauce I glazed them with habanero jelly towards the end. Dave loved them, and most of the judges did too. I”m not much of a fire eater, but I must admit they were very good.

The Jelly I used was from a company called Brimstone, and I had gotten it a few days earlier at the Fiery Foods & BBQ Show. It was a great product. There are plenty of other good manufacturers out there, but I can vouch for this one.

Dr. BBQ

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