Step 1

Prep. Mix the ingredients thoroughly in a bowl. If the sugar is lumpy, crumble the lumps by hand or on the side of the bowl with a fork. If you store the rub in a tight jar, you can keep it for months. If it clumps just chop it up, or if you wish, spread it on a baking sheet and put it in a 225°F oven for 15 minutes to drive off moisture. No hotter or the sugar can burn.

Step 2

Serve. If you have time, sprinkle on 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt per pound of meat up to 12 hours in advance. For most meats, wet the surface of the meat with water and sprinkle just enough Meathead's Memphis Dust on to color it. Memphis style ribs without a sauce, apply the rub thick enough to make a crunchy crust, perhaps 2 tablespoons per slab of St. Louis Cut (Center Cut) and a bit less for baby backs. To prevent contaminating your rub with uncooked meat juices, spoon out the proper amount before you start and seal the bottle for future use. Keep your powder dry as the old expression goes. To prevent cross-contamination, one hand sprinkles on the rub and the other hand does the rubbing. Don't put the hand that is rubbing into the powder or use it to hold the bottle.

Step 3

If you are doing whole hog on a cinderblock pit over direct heat, you don't want to risk the sugar burning, so use the same recipe for Meathead's Memphis Dust but omit the sugars.