Probably should have asked this before, but . . .
As I've gotten older, my stamina has diminished considerably. I find that if I do all the prep work at one time then do the cook, I'm pretty much too tired to enjoy the results. I'm not whining, just making and observation and trying to figure out things I can do to shorten the time between starting a smoke and finishing it. I figured that I could cut out the time required to prepare a rub by just making up a big batch ahead of time. I read up on Jeff's rub suggestions and decided to blend all the ingredients except the brown sugar so that the next time I prepare ribs or whatever I can just take the prepared spices, add sugar and go. Yesterday, I did a quadruple mix of the spices and placed the results in a double ziploc and put it in the 'spare' refrigerator. Anyone have any idea how long it will keep? Should I store it differently . . . perhaps in a screw top bottle or something?
Today, I'm going to make up a batch of ABTs. I've got a dozen and half good jalapenos which will make a bunch of sliders. I think I will store (some of) these in the freezer in a plastic container with a sealing snap-locking lid. I'm concerned about the cream cheese making a mess if I put them in ziplocs.
Anybody got any other suggestions for things that can be done ahead of time to reduce the time it takes to do a smoke? Please share 'em along with any storage techniques that have worked for you.
As I've gotten older, my stamina has diminished considerably. I find that if I do all the prep work at one time then do the cook, I'm pretty much too tired to enjoy the results. I'm not whining, just making and observation and trying to figure out things I can do to shorten the time between starting a smoke and finishing it. I figured that I could cut out the time required to prepare a rub by just making up a big batch ahead of time. I read up on Jeff's rub suggestions and decided to blend all the ingredients except the brown sugar so that the next time I prepare ribs or whatever I can just take the prepared spices, add sugar and go. Yesterday, I did a quadruple mix of the spices and placed the results in a double ziploc and put it in the 'spare' refrigerator. Anyone have any idea how long it will keep? Should I store it differently . . . perhaps in a screw top bottle or something?
Today, I'm going to make up a batch of ABTs. I've got a dozen and half good jalapenos which will make a bunch of sliders. I think I will store (some of) these in the freezer in a plastic container with a sealing snap-locking lid. I'm concerned about the cream cheese making a mess if I put them in ziplocs.
Anybody got any other suggestions for things that can be done ahead of time to reduce the time it takes to do a smoke? Please share 'em along with any storage techniques that have worked for you.
