Big Meals for the Big Cigar

The last barbeque rib recipe you'll ever need.

Many of us love to talk about the best drink to pair with our favorite cigars. It's probably because there are so many great libations to choose from -- wine and port, rums, espressos and coffees. But I want to talk about something a little bit different and equally important -- matching great food with great cigars.

Now, most cigar fans are happy to pair a solid smoke with just about any food. I'm one of them. Give me a quiche and I'm ready to light up a full-bodied robusto. Still, during my family's last vacation, I decided to conduct an experiment: I wanted to find out what food does the best job of complimenting a premium smoking experience.

This experiment was an easy one for my family. Whenever we vacation, we often cook big meals that we wash down with even bigger wines. It was no different this time. We had porterhouse steaks with grilled vegetables and sweet potato fries one night, lobster with dipping butter and Old Bay seasoning the next. Each night we started out with a sauvignon blanc, Champagne or a St. Germain cocktail, and headed quickly into the rich and intense wines we love, like a Turley Zinfandel or a Lail Vineyards Cabernet.

After each meal, we sat back and enjoyed a rich and creamy Cohiba, or a nicely spiced Padron Anniversary 1926. All the while we debated what meal did the best job of setting up a first-rate cigar.

With all this qualitative research, you’d think we'd come up with some incredibly profound new findings. I hate to disappoint you, but I wasn't surprised to learn that when it comes to pairing cigars with food, you can apply a very common rule that is often used to pair food with wine: The bigger the flavor, the bigger the meal, the bigger the wine -- and the bigger the cigar. Follow this rule and you will certainly enhance the cigar experience.

By bigger, I'm talking about cigars with plenty of personality and character -- something that is memorable and bold. This has little to do with the size or shape of the cigar (though I personally like a thicker ring gauge after a big dinner). What does matter is the construction of the cigar (find the highest quality), and look for something at least medium-bodied. You want the tobacco to come through. You also want to match the flavor with the meal by pairing spicier and herbal-flavored smokes with spicier meals, and more creamy and cedar-flavored cigars with such things as steak, seafood and cream-based pastas.

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The Cigar Fan Bonus: My Secret Rib Recipe

Now, let me share with you one of the best meals of our vacation, and a meal that begs to be followed up by a big cigar. This is my family’s own dry rub rib recipe, which we’ve been perfecting every summer for years. Perhaps my most successful experiment this summer was pairing these ribs with a Cuban Cuaba Salomones, and finishing off the evening with a bottle of lusty Amerone. As big as that sounds, you've got to trust me -- no matter what you choose to smoke after these ribs, it'll be one of the more memorable cigars of the year.

Ingredients

• 1 pack pork baby back ribs (3 lbs)
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
• 4 tablesppon dark brown sugar

Cooking Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375
2. Mix everything together and rub into ribs
3. Lay foil shiny side down on baking pan, add ribs and cover with foil, again shiny side down
4. Cook for 1 hour or until meat is pulling away from the bone
5. Grill on medium heat, 3 minutes per side or until heated through
6. Brush lightly with apple juice or maple syrup before placing onto grill

Double recipe for 2 racks

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John von Brachel

8/27/08

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