We are headed to Memphis, well not literally, but in Zoitsa Homely Produce’s kitchen!
We present to you our version of… Memphis Dust.
As many of you know Memphis is known as the home of the Blues and the Birthplace of Rock and Roll! Memphis is also famous for Graceland and Elvis but most importantly Memphis is The Mecca of Barbecue. Everything barbecues! From the meat to the sauces, to the marinades and to the seasonings.
There are a billion versions of this dust and as always, I like to put my stamp, and my version of the original recipe. Traditionally this is a dust, or a rub, which compliments pork and poultry. Especially with a rack of pork ribs but having said that I’ve also used it on oyster blade steaks and lamb chops, and it was spectacular!
Our version has sweet paprika, dark brown sugar, kosher salt, white sugar, cumin, onion powder, granulated garlic, black pepper, oregano, cayenne pepper and my secret ingredient…celery seeds.
I’ve had a few people ask me about celery seeds. Celery seeds are not widely available and are a rather “less common” herb. They are really tasty (and extremely nutritious). The flavour is warm yet bitter and they have a very earthy scent to them. Celery seeds have a very pronounced flavour, yet they really compliment and work so well in our Memphis Dust.
We have used both dark brown sugar and white sugar in our dust. Yes, the sugars do give a dash of sweetness, but the sugar is added so that the meat forms a nice crust, or a bark. It gives it such an extraordinary texture. I believe that if you have a barbeque charcoal smoker at home (My husband keeps asking for one!) this dust blend would be spectacular on your meats.
As a matter of course you should always salt your protein of choice before applying most rubs/dusts/blends, but I’ve done that for you. So, there is no need to add any more salt.
The best way to use our Memphis Dust is to rub it all over your protein of choice, no need to add oil, and place uncovered in your fridge overnight. Another option is to rub your meat down with mustard, place overnight uncovered in the fridge and then prior to cooking rub our Memphis Dust all over.
Our Memphis Dust is a great blend for a typical backyard barbeque. We hope you love it as much as we do!
Eat Up Y’all/Bon Appetit
