In honor of Rodney Scott
If you’ve been to Charleston, you’ve likely heard about Rodney Scott, the James Beard Award–winning chef and barbecue pitmaster. We were lucky enough to have Rodney cook with us in Harlem during the spring of 2018 for Harlem EatUp! where he set up on the corner of 126th and Lenox with a large Jamaican barrel grill, a table, a sink, and a fire extinguisher. Rodney went to town. He cooked ribs from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. People could smell the pork and his famous sauce wafting through the Harlem streets. Being a Southerner to his core, Rodney would rip off a piece of rib meat and hand it to on-lookers to taste. When we think about BBQ, most of us only think about eating it. Observing Rodney, we see the labor, the tradition, and the community that are an essential part of it.
Rodney’s Ribs with Baked Cowpeas
Ingredients
For the Rub and Ribs
- 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup kosher salt
- 1/4 cup paprika (a generous 1/4 cup)
- 2 tablespoons onion powder
- 2 tablespoons garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
- 4 racks spare ribs
For the Mop Sauce
- 4 cups white vinegar
- 1/2 cup chili powder
- 4 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 4 1/2 tablespoons paprika
- 2 tablespoons Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
- 2 lemons
For the Cowpeas
- 4 cups cooked cowpeas or black-eyed peas, with liquid
- 1/2 cup chopped meat from Rodney's Ribs
- 3 tablespoons cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon rib rub (above)
Instructions
Make the Rub
- Combine the paprika, brown sugar, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, and cayenne in a small bowl. Sprinkle each rack on both sides with the rub, saving 1 tablespoon for the cowpeas, and set aside at room temperature for 1 hour.
Make the Mop Sauce
- Combine the vinegar, chili powder, granulated sugar, paprika, black pepper, cay- enne, and pepper flakes in a 2-quart container. Cut the lemons in half and squeeze the juice into a container. Drop the lemon halves into the sauce and stir to com- bine. Set aside.
- Heat a smoker or grill to 250°F.
- Place the ribs on the grill, meat side down and cook over indirect heat for 2 to 3 hours, until tender but not falling off the bone, flipping halfway through cooking. During the last 45 minutes of cooking, mop with sauce every 15 minutes.
- Serve hot with the cowpeas. (See instructions below)
To make the Cowpeas
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Combine the peas, rib meat, vinegar, and ketchup and rub in a medium mixing bowl. Transfer to a 2-quart casserole dish and bake until heated through and bubbly around the edges, about 25 minutes.
Notes
Excerpted from THE RISE by Marcus Samuelsson with Osayi Endolyn. Recipes with Yewande Komolafe and Tamie Cook. Copyright © 2020 by Marcus Samuelsson. Photographs by Angie Mosier. Used with permission of Voracious, an imprint of Little, Brown and Company. New York, NY. All rights reserved.