Viva Memphis Turkey Rub

I am posting this for Mother T ( Who definitely seems to be my number one fan) because she missed it the last time i posted it. Then again, i'm not sure if i posted it here or if it was on the now defunct Yahoo 360. I have something in the order of 500 posts there that are gone forever and this could very well be one of those.

So without further delay, This one if for you Mother T:

Viva Memphis Turkey Rub

Ingredients:

1C Brown Sugar (the darker the better)

3T Kosher Salt

2T Chili Powder

1T Jalapeno Powder*

1t. Cayenne Powder

1t. Celery Salt

2T My Home Seasoning or some type of Cajun Seasoning

2T Thyme

1T Rubbed Sage

Combine the sugar, salt, and spices. (There is a difference between spices and herbs) and mix well with your fingers. You have got to get this mixture, at this point, well integrated. Now add the herbs and continue mixing. As you get it better mixed the stickiness should ease up a bit and not stick to your fingers quite so much. Then comes the important part!!! YOU HAVE GOT TO TASTE IT!!! It should be sweet and then the heat should show up almost like an after thought.

You want the heat from the peppers to be a bit on the hot side. Cooking and the meat will mellow this out a bit. Make sure the sweetness hits you right away and that there is a delay between that and the heat in the back of your throat. I'f it isn't quite sweet enough a little salt sometimes does the trick. Now for the * on the Jalapeno powder. I dehydrate my own Jalapenos and mill them up. Some times you can find it at the store, but really any hotter pepper powder will work, even if you can find some chipotle powder, if not just use a bit more cayenne. Remember that cayenne's are four times hotter than jalapenos so i'd divide the amount needed by four and go by taste after that.

I use it as a rub mostly, put it on your bird. Let it sweat for 10 to 15 minutes and add some more. This works well on anything with feathers and not bad at all on pork. The thyme works with beef, but the sage really doesn't. So, if you want to adjust this for beef, substitute corriander seed, or rosemary, or plain old black pepper instead of sage. It's really up to you.

The other thing this seasoning works on, well that i use it on is to shake it onto sandwiches, salads, and even pop corn.

I sure hope you find this worth the wait,

Until i speak to you guys again, Peace be With You, D