Smokin' Recipes from The Neelys
Neely’s Barbecue Seasoning
1 1/2 cups paprika
3/4 cup sugar
3 3/4 tablespoons onion powder
Stir together the ingredients in a small bowl. Stored in an air-tight container in a cool, dry place, this seasoning will last for up to 6 months. Makes about 2 1/2 cups.
Note: For the best flavor, marinate the spice-rubbed meats overnight in the refrigerator, so they can absorb and “breathe in” the flavors.
Neely’s Barbecue Sauce
2 cups ketchup
1 cup water
1/4 cup light-brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons onion powder
1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard powder
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup apple-cider vinegar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 tablespoon Neely’s Barbecue Seasoning
Combine all ingredients in a large pot or a Dutch oven. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring frequently to prevent sticking. Reduce the temperature to very low and simmer, uncovered, for at least 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat, cool, and use as needed. Store in a tightly sealed container, this sauce will keep in the fridge for up to 2 months. Makes about 2 cups.
Note: We never salt our Barbecue Sauce because of the sodium content in the ketchup and because of the other ingredients like onion powder and Worcestershire sauce provide so much flavor. Since our sauce is mostly used on grilled items (that are seasoned) and combined with other foods (like Barbecue Spaghetti and Molasses-Baked Beans), we don’t want to end up with food that is too salty. So we err on the side of slightly underseasoning this sauce (although believe me, no one EVER says that it lacks flavor). If your taste buds yearn for a little more salt, you can season the sauce - at the end of the cooking time - as you please.
Memphis-Style Barbecued Pork Ribs
Four 3-pound slabs pork spare ribs (also called St. Louis-style ribs), untrimmed
Kosher salt
2 cups Neely’s Barbecue Seasoning, plus more, as desired (See recipe on this page.)
4 cups Neely’s Barbecue Sauce (See recipe on this page.)
Rinse the rib slabs in cold water, and pat dry with paper towels. Place the slabs on clean chopping board. Using your fingers, pull off the thick white membrane. Use a small knife to trim off the excess fat and meat. Using a sharp knife, trim off the brisket bone (or rib tip). Season both sides of the slab with salt and Neely’s Barbecue Seasoning, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to a day in advance.
When you’re ready to cook the ribs, preheat the grill to 250?F, preferably using a combination of hickory wood and charcoal. Place the slab on the grill away from (not directly over) the flame (using indirect heat). Cook the slab curl-side up for approximately 2 1/2 hours. Flip the slab over to finish the cooking about 1 more hour, or until you get the full “blend” in the slab. (See Tony’s Tip.)
For dry ribs, pull the ribs off the grill, and sprinkle more Neely’s Barbecue Seasoning over the entire slab. Cut between the bones and serve. For wet ribs, pull the ribs off the grill, and pour Neely’s Barbecue Sauce over the slab. Slice between the bones into individual portions, and serve. Serves 6.
Tony’s Tip: When you’re ready to pull that first slab of ribs off the grill, try to lift them with your tongs. Your tongs should make contact with the ribs only about halfway down the slab. If the slab is flexible (it should easily bend to a 45-degree angle downward), that’s a good indication that your ribs are ready. The meat should easily pull away from the bone.
Barbecued Chicken
Two 3- to 4- pound chickens, halved lengthwise (or 4 whole bone-in chicken breasts, or 10 bone-in thighs or legs)
1 cup Zesty Italian Dressing (recipe follows)
2 tablespoons Neely’s Barbecue Seasoning (See recipe on this page.)
1 cup Neely’s Barbecue Sauce, plus more for serving (See recipe on this page.)
Rinse the chicken halves in cold water, and pat dry with paper towels. Place the chicken in a large bowl or baking dish, coat with the Zesty Italian Dressing, and dust with Neely’s Barbecue Seasoning. For best results, allow the chicken to marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
Thirty minutes before you’re ready to cook the chicken, take it out of the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature, then preheat the grill to 250?F, preferably over hickory and charcoal. Place the chicken halves on the grill, cavity-side up. Cover the grill, and cook for about 50 minutes. Flip the chicken over, and cook until it turns golden brown, and the wing and drumstick become very tender and pull easily away at the joints, another 15 - 20 minutes. Brush the chicken with Neely’s Barbecue Sauce during the last 5 minutes of cooking, and serve with additional sauce. Serves 8 - 10.
Spice Mix and Zesty Italian Dressing:
Make two batches: one to have on hand for several batches of salad dressing, the other to use as a seasoning for grilled or roasted chicken.
Spice Mix
1 tablespoon garlic salt
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon celery salt
2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning
Zesty Italian Dressing
1/4 cup white-wine vinegar
2/3 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons spice mix
In a small bowl, whisk together the garlic, salt, onion powder, sugar, oregano, pepper, thyme, basil, parsley, celery salt, and Cajun seasoning. Store the spice mix in a tightly sealed container, and use as needed. To prepare the dressing, whisk together the vinegar, olive oil, water, and 2 tablespoons of the spice mix. Makes about 1 cup.
• We use kosher (salt). It comes in a big blue box at the supermarket. Kosher salt has a much larger crystal size than table salt, and generally imparts a cleaner flavor to whatever you’re cooking Kosher salt crystals are so big they will not fit through a traditional saltshaker (we use a parmesan cheese shaker instead). We also keep a small bowl of the stuff by the stove, and dip in with our fingers whenever a dish needs a little more salty goodness.
• There’s no substitute for freshly ground black pepper. If you don’t have a pepper mill, go out and get one. You’ll thank us later.
• Propane (in a gas grill) has no flavor, but you can achieve a smoky nuance when juices and fat drip onto the heating surface, and by using wood chips. To use wood chips on a gas grill, simply place the soaked wood chips in a smoker box, pie tin, or loaf pan, and place the container directly over one of the burners. Heat over high heat until the chips begin to smolder, then reduce the heat to the desired temperature for barbecuing.
• Wood chips don’t need much soaking time. You don’t want them to become waterlogged, because they’ll snuff out the coals. Instead, you want the wood chips to be wet on the outside, but not soaked through. The soaked chips should smolder some but also have the ability to hold a little fire and help heat the grill. As a general rule, soak wood chips for three to five minutes and baseball-size chunks for about fifteen minutes.
• For indirect grilling, all you need to do is reduce or turn off the heat directly underneath the meat. If your grill has three burners, you simply turn off the center burner and cook the meat in the center.
• Clean grates mean healthier grilling and a purer taste, because there will be less buildup of charred debris. I like to clean my grates when they are still warm. I put on heavy, heat-resistant gloves, spray the grates with a mixture of water and degreaser (available at Home Depot or Lowes), and scrub them down with a good wire brush.
• When it comes to meats, we start with fresh (not frozen). Frozen meats lose too much juice (and flavor) when they thaw, and can dry out on the grill.
• When it comes to seasoning meats, the earlier the better. The night before is preferred, or even season in the morning and cook at night). But life doesn’t always work that way. Meat seasoned even an hour before grilling will taste more flavorful than if the seasoning is sprinkled on just before you cook.
Simply put, the Neelys are all about good food and good times. In this, their eagerly awaited debut cookbook, the Neelys share the delicious food they have been cooking up for years both at home and in their restaurants.
Pat and Gina hail from families with a boundless love of cooking and bedrock traditions of sharing meals. At the Neelys’, mealtime is family time, and that means no stinting on “the sauce.” Indeed, that’s one of the Neely secrets: the liberal application of barbeque sauce to almost anything—spaghetti, nachos, salad, you name it. Of course, there are other secrets as well, and you will find them all in the pages of Down Home with the Neelys, along with more than 120 mouthwatering recipes.
Here are the tried-and-true southern recipes that have been passed down from one Neely generation to the next, including many of their signature dishes, such as Barbeque Deviled Eggs, Florida Coast Pickled Shrimp, Pat’s Wings of Fire, Gina’s Collard Greens, Grandma Jean’s Potato Salad, Nana’s Southern Gumbo, Memphis-sized Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Slaw, Get Yo’ Man Chicken, and Sock-It-to-Me Cake. Certainly, no self-respecting southerner would dream of offering a meal to a guest without a proper drink, so Pat and Gina have included some of their favorite libations here, too.
Get it here on Amazon.
