Somewhere between the Florida Keys and Jamaica....

It was just one of those weekends, so I decided to do some spare ribs in the barbecue pit; being one of those weekends, I decided to experiment a bit (and hopefully improve) on a http://foodsoftheworld.activeboards.net/sunkist-florida-or-caribbean-pork-barbecue_topic1328.html - Florida-style concept that I had tried a few years ago :

http://foodsoftheworld.activeboards.net/sunkist-florida-or-caribbean-pork-barbecue_topic1328.html

Looking back, that idea, in spite of tasting pretty good, wasn't really what I was looking for, so I decided to ask a friend who knows that part of the world well - we all know him as MarkR!

Mark has a great insight for this type of food, and he immediately had an understanding of what I was trying to do. He shared a recipe for Jamaican Jerk Barbecue, and another for a Latin-style Mojo. But Mark, being the cool dude that he is, took it a step further toward tailoring this to my needs; he knows that The Beautiful Mrs. Tas doesn't do spicy heat well, so he suggested replacing the hot peppers normally found in Jerk seasoning with...citrus zest! This is perfect for my needs, and also has the effect of keeping the Florida concept strong.

While I was looking the two recipes over, searching for ways to fuse the unique and new-to-me profiles together, I remembered a dish called http://foodsoftheworld.activeboards.net/roast-pork-calypso_topic305.html - Roast Pork Calypso that I have made a couple of times in the past:

http://foodsoftheworld.activeboards.net/roast-pork-calypso_topic305.html

This was really a favourite of mine, and I've always wanted to incorporate it into barbecue, so I added elements from this dish to the drawing board, as well.

The result is something that had a slightly more elaborate ingredients list than I originally intended, but it is my understanding that this is not unusual with foods from the Caribbean. It could be said, with some authority, that barbecue originated here, and the folks who live here have had centuries to perfect the art. Considering that this is a first attempt at something whipped up over the course of an evening, I think I have something pretty good here, although it could definitely use a little tweaking.

I'll post the "recipe" as I am using it today, but this is not the final version, as you will see in my notes below:

Robichaux’s Sun-Kist Adobo Jerkado 2 lemons - zest and juice 2 orange - zest and juice 1 grapefruit - zest and juice* 2 bunches green onion** 1 Onion 4 to 6 cloves garlic 2 tbsp ginger 2 tsp salt 2 tbsp paprika 2 tsp black pepper 1 tsp allspice 1/2 tsp nutmeg 1/2 tsp mace 1/4 cup coconut sugar (wonderful stuff!) 1/2 cup oil

* I used grapefruit as an experiment, because there was not a single lime to be found in Chinook, Montana yesterday. If I had my way, I would use two limes in place of the 1 grapefruit - or possibly in addition to the grapefruit and the rest of the citrus - but I will reserve judgement until after I've tried the finished product.

** Looking back, I would probably prefer to use 2 onions, rather than an onion and the green onions. The green onions seem a little too harsh, or with too much bite right now, but I will reserve judgement until after I've tried the finished product.

The recipe above (when whipped through the blender) makes an interesting-looking concoction that is enough for two full slabs of spare ribs. I trimmed mine Saint-Louis style and then slathered the ribs (and trimmings) with the marinade, then wrapped them up and refrigerated them over-night. There was enough "marinade" left over for basting a little while cooking, so I will give that a shot, as well.

The ribs are currently sitting in the pit, soaking up pecan smoke and hopefully turning into something wonderful. My plan is to serve them with http://foodsoftheworld.activeboards.net/jamaican-red-beans-and-rice_topic352.html - Jamaican Red Beans and Rice :

http://foodsoftheworld.activeboards.net/jamaican-red-beans-and-rice_topic352.html

http://foodsoftheworld.activeboards.net/banana-bread_topic3180.html - Banana bread :

And iced tea, lemonade or beer - as the diners prefer.

Anyway, other than those two notes above, which still need a little working with, I think I have something good here that accomplishes my goals in a great way...we shall see!

Huge thanks to Mark for the advice and inspiration - I am indeed grateful, sir!

Another suggestion from Mark - shallots, rather than onions. I like that idea, so I will go with it next time.

One other thing I noticed was that the wonderful Caribbean spices that I had added to the marinade may have been a bit too subtle for my taste - I would have preferred to have them a little more in the foreground, and as such would be tempted to increase the amounts; however, I will leave them as they are, for now.