1st St. Holland Baptist Church, Buffalo

Mayor Royce Dawkins shows his talents in ways other than being a city leader. Sherry’s Shots Members of the First St. Holland Baptist Church find joy in many aspects of their lives and one of their greatest joys is helping folks by preparing and serving food – good food!! The church is located in Buffalo and Joseph Brown who lives in Ennis, is pastor.

Royce Dawkins appeared to be the leader of the group as he sliced and diced a wonderfully, slow cooked brisket under the pavilion at the Buffalo Stampede. Not only was it delicious the smell was heavenly. When asked the secret to his meat cooking success he said “Slow and easy.”

According to Dawkins, several members of the church cook for groups frequently; sometimes to raise money and other times just for the fun of getting together and enjoying good food. Brisket is probably the specialty, but Dawkins says the church cooks can cook hogs, ribs, whatever anyone wants.

Currently the Mayor of Buffalo, Dawkins has served on the Buffalo City Council for fourteen years. He grew up in Buffalo and has raised his four children there. All four kids graduated from Buffalo High School.

Dawkins said the way he cooks meat is in a pit so I thought I would look up “pit cooking” and share it with you. However, it really takes a lot of preparation, especially in building the pit, so I scratched that idea. The next idea was to print a couple of really good rib recipes. One is cooked on the grill and the other in a slow cooker. Both are really good.
Barbecue Ribs
4 lbs pork spareribs
1 cup brown sugar
¼ cup ketchup
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
½ cup chili sauce
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp dry mustard
1 dash ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut spareribs into serving size portions, wrap in double thickness of foil, and bake for 1 ½ hours. Unwrap, and drain drippings. Place ribs in a large roasting pan.

In a bowl, mix together brown sugar, ketchup, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, chile sauce, garlic, mustard, and pepper. Coat ribs with sauce and marinate at room temperature for 1 hour, or refrigerate overnight.

Preheat grill from medium heat. Position grate four inches above heat source. Brush grill grate with oil. Place ribs on grill, and cook for 30 minutes, basting with marinade.
Slow Cooker Barbecue
Ribs
4 pounds pork baby back ribs
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups ketchup
1 cup chili sauce
½ cup packed brown sugar
4 tbsp vinegar
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 dash hot sauce

Brown ribs in hot skillet and drain fat. In medium bowl, mix together the ketchup, chili sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, oregano, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and salt and pepper. Place ribs in slow cooker. Pour sauce over ribs and turn to coat.

Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, or until ribs are tender.