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Santa Maria BBQ Rub - Fine Grind
We recently wrote an article for Barbecue Mag Online that featured several Santa Maria BBQ recipes. This dry rub recipe is featured in that article. We find that it brings out much of the natural flavors of meats and vegetables while maintaining simplicity. This recipe can easily be made into a larger batch and stored in your pantry or spice cabinet.
Santa Maria Dry Rub:
5 Tsp. Kosher or Sea salt
2 Tsp. Black Pepper
2 Tsp. White Pepper
1 Tsp. Onion Powder
3 Tsp. Granulated Garlic
* To add more heat, add 1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper or Red Pepper flakes.
Suggestions: When making a dry rub, try to keep the ingredient “grinds” similar. They will be much easier to apply in an even manner. One more suggestion, smaller grind will melt into the meats faster and bond better during the cook. Rub a good olive oil onto the meat surface prior to seasoning, doing this will allow the dry rub to adhere better and dissolve even more quickly.
Check out the entire article in Barbecue Mag Online: www.bbqmagonline.com
Green Leaf BBQ is officially open for business in Livermore California. Our new shop is part of Livermore’s historic “Blacksmith Square”. The Brick building offers a great courtyard for our BBQ classes and events. Our neighbors offer local botique wine tasting, olive oil tasting and a tapas style restaurant for anybody visiting the Square. The weather here is great for a backyard BBQ – offering true wine country climate with warm days and cool evenings.
Our shop is open Thursday, Friday and Saturdays from 10:30 am to 7:00 pm.
As always we feature and specialize in The Big Green Egg line of BBQ Smokers. We also carry Green Mountain Grills, Traeger Grills, Weber Grills, and other products from Lodge, OXO, Victorinox/Foschner, Wicked Good and many custom BBQ Spices, Rubs and Sauces from the professional competition circuit that simply are not available in other stores.
Check back for our BBQ Class and event schedule.
Consider this a hearty welcome to our shop – oh, and we’re pet friendly too
Come in for a visit!
Green Leaf BBQ Shop
21 South Livermore Ave.
Livermore CA 94550
(925) 449-2135
Wood BBQ Fire
We know that to make Santa Maria BBQ there are very few “must haves”. Tri-Tip, Salt, Pepper…and nicely seasoned Red Oak. Even thought these requirements are few, true Santa Maria BBQ cannot be accomplished without these basics.
To those of us on California’s Central Coast, the Red Oak and many of it’s cousins are plentiful. However, to my friends around the country, Oaks are either of a less flavorful variety or nonexistent. These Oaks of California are not “furniture grade”, they have many twists, turns, knots and kinks…not to mention bark that can approach an inch thick on older trees. These Oaks are meant for Sublime Beauty and BBQ. We don’t take the bark off like other BBQ cultures practice; we treat it the precious maker of fine BBQ coals – the wood and bark give a coal bed of unique texture, burn and smoke rates.
In order to find the wood – several commercial wood companies contract to “prune” in the case of the California Live Oak – and cut the Red & White Oaks…It’s illegal to cut down a California Live Oak without a permit….so ask before you buy, exactly what kind of Oak you’ll be getting.
Visiting local newspaper websites will generally provide contact for people that are selling the Oak wood by the cord – these guys typically are for the local customer, and don’t have the ability to box & ship to a customer…this will however be a great way to get lots of wood much cheaper than “by the box” retailers.
I’ve found a great website for locating Oak BBQ woods near you – many will ship directly to you in boxes or bags.
http://www.totalescape.com/active/camp/firewood/cstwood.html
This is a very complete list and incorporates the major regions of California.
After you get your Oak BBQ wood coming, try this BBQ seasoning…
The Rub Co. – “Santa Maria Style” – purchase it at www.greenleafbbq.com – AWESOME rub for this genre of BBQ – and others – The Rub Co. and their BBQ team just won Reserve Grand Champion (2nd place) over all at the Wild West BBQ Bash…using this line of BBQ rubs!
Best of luck to you in obtaining the BBQ woods that made the Santa Maria Style, the equal of every other BBQ culture in the world.
-Tim
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- Big Green Egg BBQ Smoker
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- Big Green Egg
I know – this is a shameless plug for our BBQ shop. But, sometimes the information being delivered demands some attention – even if it is from within!
Our BBQ Shop is located at: 21 South Livermore Ave. Livermore, CA in the Historic Blacksmith Square. We regularly have Big Green Eggs on sale and offer prices significantly under retail. Please visit our website for more information at: www.greenleafbbq.com – We can drop ship special orders as well!
Here are 10 of the best reasons ever to invest in a Big Green Egg…
1. They can hover at the magic 250 degree mark for almost 24 hours with a good lump charcoal fire – making the “Low & Slow” style a reality.
2. They are supremely efficient users of fuel – Good charcoal is expensive and getting more so.
3. They can really do a great job as a grill – those temps can easily get to 500 – 700 degrees and stay there for over an hour – if you have a “steak night” for 15 folks, this will come in handy.
4. They look cool.
5. They make you cooler!
6. They will last forever & include a limited LIFETIME warranty – Parts are commonly available and easily replaceable.
7. The array of ceramic accessories will allow perfect indirect heating & a wonderful brick over flavored pizza on a Big Green Egg Pizza Stone.
8. There is nothing that cannot be cooked to perfection with a little practice of fire management & technique – a VERY forgiving BBQ.
9. Air flow is managed at both ends and the adjustments actually work, unlike junk grills that have air flow vents more for cosmetic reasons.
10. Cooking technique that is learned in a kitchen can easily be applied to this charcoal fired porcelain oven – learn fire technique & the world will be your oyster.
I don’t really need to go on any more – “Backyard Nirvana” is possible and now within reach.
Seriously, these are wonderful BBQ units that will be enjoyed for years…a true investment. Consider renting one from us for $50 a day – we’ll take the rental expense off of your bill should you decide to buy.
-Tim
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- Wood BBQ Fire
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- Santa Maria Red Oak BBQ Pit
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- Santa Maria Tri-Tip
“This sumptuous feast of barbecued sirloin, salsa, Pinquito beans, toasted French bread, and green salad has been called by Sunset Magazine, the “best barbecue in the world””
Simple aroma of the Red Oak burning in the bottom of an iron pit. The hot smokey air surrounds everything, changing everything. The deep crackle of the big oak logs, the fire is preparing to give up its gift. Men in jeans and boots, as authentic as the aroma itself prepare the 4″ thick Top sirloin “Block” steaks or tri-tips. Preparation is simple – shaking on some coarse garlic, salt & pepper. We have a few beers – waiting. We aren’t going to trim very much – the fire will need that. Families are happy, women talk. The fire wisps and cracks as we lower the iron grate on the rotating shaft. We control heat with the movement of the grate. This scene has been repeated thousands of times, more in this Central California region. We know nothing else. This is our lifestyle. Every important event. Every sad event. Grill marks, weeping, dripping fat into the fire, reddened meat, swollen. This is my BBQ. This is Santa Maria Style.
Families grill everyday in “backyard” California. Our weather is beautiful for 9 months of the year. Some slow smoke, others charcoal grill, others gas grill.
This style, like other landmark BBQ styles, is not the “only” way to BBQ, it is just the only true CALIFORNIA BBQ. It is ours. As simple as the corner of Mill and Vine streets in Santa Maria where the first Tri-Tip roast was discovered. Bob Shultz stumbled into the core of modern Santa Maria BBQ…only by accident. This discovery put Santa Maria BBQ on the map.
The fire lighting tips are simple:
Traditional Oak Pit: as pictured, load it with 5 or so logs and light it up. When those logs burn down, to coals, put one log in the back of the pit at the edge of the fire. This log will smolder and give you new coals slowly as the main fire burns down. Continue to add logs to the rdge of the fire as needed to continue making coals. Rake or drag the coals to the center as you BBQ. (If you have one of these pits, my information probably isn’t new or revolutionary. Have patience for those that are new.)
Charcoal grill or any “Stick Burner”: make a fire with BBQ oak wood chunks/small logs make a large pile, light them up, add more until you get a nice bed of coals 3″ thick. During this process, you probably won’t have seen your grill emit this much fire, so add sparingly to keep the fire manageable. A person could add charcoal to the BBQ chunks, but that isn’t what we’re talking about here. This is a process, enjoy it. Have a glass of wine, enjoy friends around that huge pile of burning oak wood.
Gas Grill: I don’t know what to tell you. Oak chips soaked in water don’t do it. Use this an excuse to buy another type of BBQ. After all, two or more isn’t bad.
Cooking Tips:
Let the coal bed rest until you can keep the back of your hand over the coals for about 2 1/2 seconds. It’s gonna be hot… On the charcoal grills, move the coal bed to one side, block the fire with foil covered bricks or something firm, creating a slightly indirect heat.
In this temp range, the term “indirect” sorta goes out the window. We could be looking at 600+ over the fire, and around 450+ on the “cold side” In a charcoal grill, where you don’t have much control of the heat/grill height. Wait until the heat is within the 350-400 degree range before even thinking about putting that $30 dollar 4″ Sirloin Block or tri-tip on the grate. If you have an Oak Pit, lower the grate as the fire cools to maintain the 350 degree range. Oh yeah, you probably aren’t going to need that lid on the charcoal grill or Big Green Egg, Weber etc. Cook this on the grate, moving it around as needed to keep things in line.
Lets see, what else…yeah, your arm hairs may be singed, and you eyes may sting from that cookable clear smoke – that’s a sign that everything is normal. Just keep that meat moving a bit, don’t burn it & make sure to serve it with a great salad (and strawberries if you can get them)
This BBQ Style will take practice, and will probably cause a newbie some degree of frustration at first. Stick with it, and you will begin to unconsciously begin to “feel” your BBQ & it’s sumptuous rewards.
We’ll continue to have more on Santa Maria Style BBQ in the future…
I saw this video and thought I’d pass it along. In case you haven’t noticed, I like to focus on techniques that create sound fundamentals. I’m aware that in order to get great BBQ, many additional techniques are advised that can only be applied when the fundamentals have been established. We’ll be adding a few of those expert tricks along the way to truly make great Q.
Notice that this guy uses a Weber WSM to cook these ribs. If a person is using a different style of BBQ, Like a Traeger, Big Green Egg, Horizon Offset or a Gasser etc…keep in mind that the attainable temps may be different and should be accounted for in overall cook time.
Oh yeah, don’t depend on your charcoals flavor – add wood chunks or chips to your BBQ to give it a unique flavor & use a fire starter chimney or paper to light that BBQ — Please no lighter fluid.
Green Leaf BBQ is excited to present a new online store – we’re even MORE excited to add more unique product. We’ve tried hard to locate quality spices and sauces. We carry complete lines of Weber, Traeger & Big Green Egg.
Visit us when you’re looking for an addition to your BBQ repertoire. We’re adding products every week so check to see what’s new. Store: http://stores.greenleafbbq.com/StoreFront.bok or website: www.greenleafbbq.com
Remember that our store is client driven — if you’d like to see something here, make a suggestion & we’ll try to make it happen.
Thanks!
Saturday August 1st, We present a Backyard style BBQ competition. Anyone interested in late sign-ups, call (209) 668-2452 and get more info. Also, please visit our website at www.greenleafbbq.com
The contest will feature pork ribs – you decide how best to season and BBQ them. Set up begins at 7:30 am and judging begins at 4:00pm. Join us if you can!
Green Leaf BBQ Shop - Gourmet BBQ Products 