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Overview
Have a sweetheart who loves to grill outdoors? Build a gift basket around that passion. The star of the basket is a special barbecue rub you can blend yourself with just five ingredients. Instead of a basket, use a pub style 6-pack ice bucket to hold all the goodies. Your griller will think of you every time a burger gets flipped or an icy beverage is popped open.
Jeff Farris 
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Things You Will Need
For the barbecue rub you'll need kosher salt, turbinado sugar ("raw" sugar), Chesapeake Bay-style seasoning, chipotle powder (optional), smoked paprika (optional), garlic powder, black pepper and a half pint canning jar. For the basket you will need a pub style 6-pack bucket, a heavy duty kitchen towel and your choice of grilling gadgets and tools.
Jeff Farris 
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Mix the Spice Blend
A barbecue rub is a blend of seasonings applied to the surface of the meat before cooking. Most rub recipes have dozens of ingredients, but this one uses Chesapeake Bay-style spice blend as its foundation, taking advantage of its depth of flavor and limiting the number of things you have to buy. Simply measure the ingredients into the jar in the amounts shown in the slide. Shake vigorously until uniformly distributed.
Jeff Farris 
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Spicy or Mild?
There are two ways you can go with the spice blend. Chipotle powder is ground smoked jalapeno peppers. "Pimenton" or smoked paprika is ground smoked sweet red peppers. The touch of smoked pepper in the rub gives your meal a hint of smoky flavor, even when you can't get out to the grill. The chipotle powder will add a little kick of heat, too. If that doesn't excite you, the pimenton brings the smokiness without the heat.
Jeff Farris 
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Lid Cover
Fold a 5 1/2-inch square of printed material twice. Use pinking shears to cut an arc from corner to corner. Unfold the material and you'll have a perfect (or nearly so) circle. Place that over the lid and under the ring of the canning jar.
Jeff Farris 
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Line the Bucket
Instead of lining the bucket with tissue paper, like most gift baskets, use a colorful heavy duty kitchen towel. You get the color and fill of tissue, but your griller gets something to use instead of something to throw in the landfill.
Jeff Farris 
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Arrange Items
You can add as many or as few grilling gadgets as you want. Some ideas for items that will thrill your griller include long handled tools, an apron, a high temperature silicone oven mitt, an instant read thermometer and a long reach lighter. Fill out the bucket with a few of your griller's favorite beverages.
Jeff Farris 
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Dress It Up
Add some colorful ribbon streamers to finish off the festive look of your gift basket (or…gift bucket) and get ready to enjoy some great grilled meals.
Jeff Farris
