Editor's Choice: Dizzy Pig Shakin' the Tree Rub

We can't get enough of the chicken in my house. So this week we decided to try Dizzy Pig's Shakin' the Tree Rub.

I got my fresh, whole chicken, coated it lightly in olive oil, shook on the whole sample package of Shakin' the Tree making sure to cover the outside of the chicken and get plenty of spice on the inside as well, popped one quartered onion, one quartered lemon, and one apple (my standard juicy chicken stuffing) into and around the bird and put it in the oven for an hour at 400 degrees.

Shakin' the Tree is a pretty simple rub; it is a basic lemon/pepper mix with a few other flavors thrown in. I wasn't expecting to be blown away by this mix. This is basically what  I use at home for baked chicken; lemon juice, pepper, salt, sprig of rosemary or whatever else I have in the fridge and Bob's your uncle.

Frankly, this rub was delicious. As I was cutting up the bird, I tasted a little piece of the skin (my favorite part) and I was so pleasantly surprised. It tasted familiar, not unlike the bird I usually make, but better! I kept nibbling on the skin and a little piece of juicy delicious meat as I separated wing and thigh and leg and breast from body. By the time I was done, I had nibbled so much I was almost full! My boyfriend felt the same; that this was a good bird, not so much different from what we usually sup on but like a deluxe version of it.

I can only imagine this rub and any others from Dizzy Pig would only be improved by more marinating time (which I did not give it much of) and adding it to things that are going on the grill. With 11 spices in their catalog, Dizzy Pig has something for every meat lovers palate.

-Elizabeth Dugan

Editor's Choice: Curt's BBQ Sauce

Besides ice cream, barbecue sauce is my husband’s favorite thing to eat. We often joke that we should cut out the middleman and not bother with cooking meat: just pour some sauce on a plate and lick it up; better yet, drench a few pages of newspaper in it for a heartier meal.

Needless to say, I was excited when Curt’s BBQ Sauce (218/731-2432 or curtsbbqsauce.com) arrived in our office. I brought home a bottle of the Mild flavor and asked my husband to slather it on the pork chops that he grilled that night.

Both of us gave the sauce two thumbs up. The sweet, tangy flavor went well with the pork, but I can imagine it also being tasty with steaks, chicken, ribs or onion rings and French fries when used for dipping. The sauce is thin, so it means you can spread it out to go a long way, or use half a bottle between two people (like we did) to get as much sauce onto each bite as possible.

Curt’s offers its tantalizing sauce in Mild, Medium and Hot flavors. It also comes in sizes ranging from 4 pints to 1 gallon and ranges in price from $16—$52, not including shipping.

I had wanted to bring home the Medium flavor to satisfy my husband’s taste for hotter barbecue. But I didn’t move quickly enough—another staffer whisked away this flavorful sauce.

—Tara