DRY CITRUS RIB RUB

The leftover skins from citrus fruits are aromatic and full of flavor. They can be dried out in the sun, in an oven, a dehydrator, or in a warm, dry spot in your kitchen or pantry. Then those dried skins can be used for creating a variety of culinary delights including a lovely barbeque rub.

Your citrus peels can be used in so many ways: added whole or powdered to baked foods and cakes, mixed into a stew or stuffing, but one of my favorite ways to use cirus peels is in a dry rub for grilling. It is so easy.  Blend everything together, store in a jar on the shelf.  Just remember, the quicker you use it, the more sophisticated the flavors, so keep your batches small.

Most dry rub recipes, used by 'grill masters', start with two basic ingredients, sugar and kosher salt, before adding your preferred spices at a ratio of 8:3:1:1.  The following is a simple example.

8:3:1:1 RUB

8 Tablespoons Brown Sugar 

3 Tablespoons Kosher Salt

1/2 teaspoon Cumin

1/2 teaspoon White Pepper

1/2 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper

1/2 teaspoon dry Coleman's Mustard


Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Store in an airtight container.
For the best results, the rub should have time to 'rest' with the meat. Rubs should be applied liberally to moist, thawed meat for a minimum of two hours. You have maximum flavor if you apply the rub 24 hours before throwing on the fire. This allows the rub's ingredients to marinade with the meat's natural juices. If preparing duck, chicken, or some other fowl for barbequeing, place the rub under the skin for best results. Play with the citrus to find your favorite flavor combinations.  For instance, orange peel works well with duck, lemon peels with chicken, and a combination of grapefruit and lemon blends wonderfully with pork.

Wrap your meat tightly in plastic wrap, this helps keep your rub married to the meat, and rest for the desired time in the refrigerator.  Pull out meat about an hour prior to cooking and let return to room temperature. Grill according to taste.

Personally, I don't consider cooking on gas grilling. For an unrivaled, full-barbeque flavor, Paul and I prefer cooking over a natural hardwood charcoal fire, but we all do as we must!





Dried grapefruit and lemon peels in the Mini Chopper.
Grind into small bits, store in a container in the fridge
or with your other dried spices.

 

DRY CITRUS RIB RUB

INGREDIENTS

2 Tablespoons Kosher Salt

2 Tablespoon Dark Brown Sugar

2 Tablespoons dried Citrus Flakes

2 Tablespoon Cumin

1 Tablespoon Paprika

1 Tablespoon diced Garlic

1 Tablespoon diced Onion

1 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper

1 teaspoon White Pepper

1 teaspoon ground Sage

1 teaspoon ground Thyme

NOTE: Garlic and onion may be fresh diced (added just before applying the rub) or dried. Dried citrus flakes can be any combination of lemon, orange and grapefruit.

DIRECTIONS

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Store in an airtight container. Pack the dry rub onto your next rack of ribs, pork roast, venison loin, or chicken. 



NOTE:  Purchase the best quality spices you can find. There is a huge difference between the older discounted spices, and the newer fresher bottles.

PUTTING BY THE PERFECT 'POT' OF MARMALADE

Here in the northeast United States, the bulk of preserving happens from June to September; however there are still plenty of fun preserving projects possible during the darker months of the year - like now, for instance. For those of us here in New England, all the citrus fruits stacked along the produce shelves are a wonderful splash of color (and taste) reminding us of sunnier days and the promise of spring. What better way to calm your spirits after a busy holiday season then to get back into the kitchen and put by some small batch preserves.

When my grandmother, Margery, was alive, each autumn she would send her sister, Aunt Alice, a box of crisp New England apples; in exchange, around the winter holidays or soon thereafter, a box of grapefruit from Aunt Alice’s tree would arrive by post from her home ion Florida. Granma would cut them in half and eat them for breakfast.  Of course a three minute egg, toast and jelly or jam were often served at for breakfast also.

Back then, my first taste of marmalade came from a stone crock. It was tart, bitter, with some rinds that weren’t quite soft, not as appealing to my young taste buds as sweet jams and jellies, but as I matured, so did my taste. Besides once I discovered marmalade was the spread of choice for James Bond, I was all in.

Marmalade is traditionally made with Seville oranges, but our local market had a sale on grapefruit and so I will be making a Pink Grapefruit Marmalade. Also, I have tended toward replacing or reducing sugar in many of my preserves, but for the marmalade I’m keeping with the traditional recipe as far as sugar goes.

CLASSIC TASTE

As I said, Seville oranges are the best for a classic, bitter-sweet marmalade, and this is the time of year to buy them. You can find them in supermarkets and they freeze well whole, as do a number of other citrus fruits, so, if they are on sale, get enough for several batches. You can defrost them when you have the time.

You will need 3 pounds of grapefruit (or whichever citrus you prefer), plus the juice of two lemons, six pints (12 cups) of water, 4 pounds (8 cups) of sugar, and 2 teaspoons unsalted butter.

DIRECTIONS

Wash the fruit, cut in half and remove the seeds. Keep the seeds; you need these for the pectin. Also, when peeling citrus fruits for marmalades be sure to keep some of the white membrane (pith) found just under the skin, the pith also contains pectin.

Set the seeds and pith aside on a square of cheesecloth (available in any good kitchen store or the canning aisle at your local hardware store) draped over a bowl.

Next, remove and discard the remaining pith from the grapefruit and lemon. Finely chop the segments, adding any seeds and membranes to the cheesecloth, make sure to capture all the juice. Place everything into a large heavy bottomed pot – a Dutch oven is great if you have one.

Add water. As a rule, two pints of water are used for every 1 pound of fruit. This will all need to reduce by a third before you add the sugar and will take a couple of hours of slow cooking, so keep the fire on medium - low for now. Be patient and stir often so nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot.  You also need to add the cheesecloth with the seeds, piths, etcetera, tied securely. Just let it float in the juice.

Cut the rinds into thin slices and add to the cooking juice.  The amount of peel you add is personal preference. You do not have to use all the peel in the marmalade. Set the extra peels aside on a wire rack for drying.  Later they can be ground and saved for seasonsings.

In about 2 hours, check to see if the peel is soft (pull one out and take a bite) and the juice has reduced, squeeze the cheesecloth bag to extract the pectin and set aside.

Add granulated sugar a little at a time. Stir until all the sugar dissolves. You don’t want it crystallizing in the jar. This step may take a little time - focus, be zen about it and give the sugar time to dissolve - it will be worth the effort!

Once the sugar has completely dissolved, turn up the heat. You need to get the mixture up to a rolling boil (if you have a candy thermometer, you want to hit 220F) so the marmalade will set, a process that takes about 20 minutes.

If you don’t have a candy thermometer dip in a wooden spoon and then hold it high over the pot letting the marmalade drip from the edge. If the mixture is sufficiently cooked, the drops run together to form a hanging flake. This is known as the flake test.

You can also test the mixture by putting a spoonful of marmalade on a plate and putting it somewhere cool (but not in the fridge). The surface should set within a few minutes and crinkle when pushed with the finger.

If you feel your marmalade has not set, continue the rolling boil for a few minutes longer and re-test. When the mixture is ready, remove from the heat and add the butter. Stir slowly until the butter is incorporated into the juice. If there is any foam on top, remove.

Ladle into sterilized pint  or quart containers leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Seal, place in Hot Water Canning Bath. 10 minutes for pint jars; 15 minutes for quarts.  Give several weeks to set.

You should end up with 9 to 10 half pints or 4 or 5 pints.

CLEMENTINES IN HONEY- SPICE SYRUP

Throughout the winter, when they are in season and readily available, clementines sweetly provide needed Vitamin C. Small, easy to peel, sweeter than tart, with few if any seeds they are easy to preserve.

Historians believe that the clementine was developed early in the 20th century by Father Clement Rodier, a French missionary, in the garden of his orphanage in Misserghin, Algeria. Cardamom plays an important role in Algerian sweets; paired with star anise in a gingery honey syrup this recipe produces a romantic aroma. Leftover syrup makes a creative base for fruit salads, a sweetener for smoothies, or as a saucy reduction for pork or chicken.

Usually available from December through February, canning these and other delectable citrus delicacies makes them available throughout the year.

CLEMENTINES IN HONEY- SPICE SYRUP

Variations: Substitute 1-1/2 lb. seedless thin-skinned oranges, such as Valencia or Tangerines. Blood Oranges or grapefruit with their tart flavor also blend well with this spiced syrup.

 

INGREDIENTS

½ Cup Honey

2 Cups Water

¼ cup thinly sliced peeled Ginger

4 Green Cardamom pods

1 whole Star Anise

3 whole Cloves

1 Cinnamon Stick

1 and 1/2 lbs. firm Clementines (5 to 7) or other citrus, peeled and segmented



DIRECTIONS

Tie Cloves, Cardamom Pods, Star Anise and Cinnamon Stick into a cheesecloth or muslin bag (I call this Spice Garni).

In a 4-quart saucepan, bring the water, Honey, Ginger, and Spice Garni to a boil over high heat, boil 3 minutes to concentrate the flavors. Let rest for several minutes. Remove Spice Garni from saucepan.

In the meantime, gently pack the slices into canning jars.

Ladle hot syrup (evenly distributing the ginger bits) into the jars over the slices leaving ½ inch head space; discard any excess syrup.

Process in a Hot Water bath for 10 minutes. Rest on shelf for at least one month before serving. Refrigerate after opening. 

If you would like to skip the Hot Water Bath and make a batch to keep in the refrigerator for several months bring the water, Honey, Ginger, and Spice Garni to a boil over high heat.

Remove from stove top, gently slip in Clementine segments, return to boil. Boil gently for 2 minutes.

Remove pan from stove top, using slotted spoon pack segments into jars.

Return syrup to stove top; boil 3 minutes to concentrate the flavors.

Remember that this is a small batch process so you should end up with three half-pint jars to enjoy.

Remove Spice Garni from saucepan. Ladle liquid into jars. Cap, cool, refrigerate, enjoy!

If you would like to store on the pantry shelf for up to a year, following the guidelines for safe Hot Water Bath Canning and process for 10 minutes.  Store on cool, dark shelf.

There are many ways to use these preserved Clementines.  One of my favorites is baking a Honey Spice Pound Cake.  Dense and sweet you can customize by adding other dried fruits.