Here’s a way to infuse the evocative spice and smoke flavors of true barbecue into a conventional fast-cooking burger. It uses a smoke-scented barbecue rub. Steven Raichlen calls it The Barbecue Burger; you might call it smoky nirvana.
American
Steven Raichlen’s Righteous Ribs
Eating these ribs can be almost a religious experience, especially when coupled with Sweet-and-Smoky Barbecue Sauce.
Steven Raichlen’s Smoke Wrangler’s Bacon Bourbon Barbecue Sauce
Bacon and bourbon—two flavorings with deep roots in American barbecue. They come together in this smoky tangy barbecue sauce created by Project Smoke smoke wrangler and frequent Barbecue Board contributor, Rob Baas.
Steven Raichlen’s Sweet-and-Smoky Barbecue Sauce
Ask most Americans to describe the perfect barbecue sauce and they’ll invoke a thick sweet red ketchup-based sauce with a zing of vinegar and a whiff of liquid smoke. In short, the sort of sauce Kansas City barbecue buffs have slathered on ribs and briskets for decades.
Steven Raichlen’s Cider Squirt
You wouldn’t want to eat this stuff straight, but spray it on roasting or smoking meat and it adds a world of flavor.
Steven Raichlen’s Basic Barbecue Rub
There’s a heap of flavor in this simple rub—the molasses sweetness of the brown sugar, the heat of the pepper, the vegetal sweetness of the paprika, and the slow burn of the cayenne.
