Chocolate Barbecue

Way back on April 28th, Phil - The Grand Poohbah of the BBQ Brethren and Sledneck of the South Shore Smokers and I got together and cooked 350lbs of meat for a KCBS judging class held by the Grill Kings.

When it came time to season the ribs, we were going to use an all purpose rub from Southside Market in Texas. Well, we didn't like it straight out of the bottle, so we decided to doctor it up. We were dumping all sorts of ingredients into it and had just about given the rub up as a lost cause when I came across a jar of chocolate sprinkles. We ground them up and added it to the rub. Hmm, not bad, said we. We kept doctoring the rub and added some Nestle Quick chocolate mix and some other secret ingredients to the rub. Even better! This recipe is a keeper.

So, there we were out on Long Island setting a new trend in barbeque and we didn't even know it. Chocolate Barbecue had arrived! Alright- I'll give you, it wasn't a new idea, but it was new to us. I know about Mole sauces - they were probably the inspiration for this rub.

Now I see that Diva Chocolates out in Clackamas, OR has introduced a line of five chocolate grilling rubs and spice blends, which it claims is ideal for seasoning beef, poultry and pork.

All Diva Chocolates rubs use either roasted cocoa beans or unsweetened cocoa powders, which pair well with the smoky richness of grilled meats.

The Diva Chocolates line includes Mocha Java Steak Rub, Orange Chocolate Chicken Rub, Spicy Cocoa Rib Rub, Kickin' Chocolate Beef Rub and Cocoa Fennel Burger Mix.

I can't wait to try them out. But remember - we did it first!