Hickory House BBQ in Robertsdale to be showcased on WKRG-5 cooking segment

ROBERTSDALE, Ala. -- “So Good, Sauce is Optional” is the sign that greets you as you pull into the parking lot of The Hickory House BBQ restaurant in Hwy. 59 in Robertsdale, and owner Melinda Bowden is aiming to prove that theory on Friday as she shares grilling tips for making pork spare ribs on WKRG TV 5’s cooking show at noon in Mobile. “I will be given three minutes to cook my ribs and show the ingredients I use to make them and give grilling tips to the viewers. Because the Fourth of July is coming up soon, I thought this would be good to show. Three minutes is not much time but I will be able to get all my stuff together during the commercial breaks. It should be a fun time,” Bowden said. “Our first summer was okay as we were trying to get used to the business and then last year was horrible because of the economy and the oil spill. So far, this year, we have done really well and see a good mixture of locals and tourists. I used to hate having to deal with the traffic on 59 but now I love it because it means more business for us,” Bowden said. And because business has done so well in Robertsdale, Bowden is opening a second location in Foley on the corner of Hwy. 98 and County Road 65, where Casey’s BBQ used to be. “We are going to open next week and my daughter is going to run it. Our cook is going to be splitting his time between the two places and I am going to quit my work at the radio station to be here all the time. We are hoping we do well enough my husband can get out of the construction business and help me with both places. That’s the goal anyway.” Not really having role models she bases her cooking style on, Bowden said she does a lot of her cooking by trying new things and experimenting with different ingredients. “ I really don’t use a recipe book and call my mom all the time to get her advice on different dishes. In fact, she is going to eventually open her own restaurant in Fairhope and offer home cooking and take-home meals for families on the go. I do like to watch “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” on the Food Network though.

Kansas City Barbecue Ribs |

2 Cups BBQ sauce, your favorite

To prepare the rub

Combine all ingredients in shaker and use as “rub” on the following meats.

To prepare the baby back ribs

Peel membrane off the back of each slab. Then rinse the slab off to get rid of bone dust. Dry with cotton towel. Take shaker of “rub” and lightly coat both sides of meat.

Preparing smoker: Put charcoal in chimney with paper underneath and light. (Do not use charcoal lighter—it will taint the flavor of the meat.) Let coals get hot, about 30 minutes. Transfer coals into smoker, and add 1 hickory log per hour on top of charcoal if smoker is big. (Adjust if using small smoker.) Wait until temperature of smoker reaches 220 degrees.

Leave damper open so you don’t trap stale smoke in chamber. Over course of cooking, maintain heat with additional coal and wood, as needed. After placing ribs inside smoker, spritz with apple juice once an hour. After about 3 hours, when meat is nice dark color, spritz one last time and wrap in foil. Let ribs cook in foil for another 2 hours, giving you a total cook time of 5 hours.

You can feel when the ribs are tender rather than rubbery (they bend rather than bounce back). Unwrap them (carefully), lift them out of juice and place on cutting board, brush on room temperature BBQ Sauce. Slice into individual ribs and serve.

Are you going to try 's Rib Rub on a BBQ Skittler? ;)

article from : Review of Picky Vicki's Rib Rub

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