Tailgating Temptations

This time of year brings the season of outdoor events and tailgating parties. Some of my favorite foods are cooked on the smoker. I like the flavors of a spicy dry rub on a rack of ribs or trimmed pork butt cooked low and slow. When cooking pork, I like to use hickory wood. Hickory is the king of woods in the southern barbecue belt. The strong, hearty flavor of hickory smoke is perfect for any cut of pork, but it also works great on any red meat as well as poultry.
Here is an example of what a dry rub would consist of along with a nice mop (this is used to baste the meat).

Dry rub recipe:
5 tablespoons fresh ground pepper
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons coarse salt, either kosher or sea salt
1 tablespoon dry mustard
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 tablespoons cayenne

6 to 8 pounds of pork

Mop recipe (optional)
Remaining dry rub
3 cups cider vinegar
1 medium onion, minced
1/4 cup ground black pepper
2 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon dry mustard
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon cayenne

1. The night before you plan to barbecue, combine the dry rub ingredients in a small bowl. Massage the pork well with about half of the rub. Transfer the pork to a plastic bag and refrigerate it over night.
2. Before you begin to barbecue, take the pork from the refrigerator. Pat down the pork with another coating of the rub. Let the pork sit at room temperature for about 45 minutes.
3. Prepare the smoker for barbecuing, bringing the temperature to 200 to 220 degrees.
4. Stir the remaining dry rub with the mop along with 1 cup of water in a sauce pan and warm the mixture over low heat.
5. Transfer the pork to the smoker and cook it for about 1 1/2 hours per pound, or until the internal temperature reaches 170 to 180 degrees. Mop the meat every 50 to 60 minutes in a wood burning pit, or as appropriate for your style of smoker.
6. Remove the pork from the smoker and let it sit for about 15 minutes, until cool enough to handle. Pull off chunks of the meat, then shred or chop them as you like. Serve with your favorite sauce.