First dry roast the fennel seeds and peppercorns. Heat a small pan over a medium-/high heat for 1 minute. Add the fennel seeds and the white, black and pink peppercorns. Stir for 30 seconds and immediately remove from the heat. Tip into a mortar or a spice grinder and reduce to a coarse powder.
Mix the fennel and peppercorn mixture with the remaining ingredients and stir together.
Then simply pat the ribs dry with kitchen paper and then apply the rub evenly all over. This will create a delicious seal when they are cooking and a fabulous crust when they are cooked. Place your ribs on indirect heat and cook. The rub can also be applied ahead of smoking the ribs if you wish.
Angela also likes to turn it into a marinade.. Take 2 tablespoons of the rub mixture and mix with the grated zest and juice of a medium sized lemon, 3 tablespoons of oil e.g. olive or rapeseed, and a small bunch of fresh herbs such as oregano, rosemary and bay. Mix everything together and use it to marinade a joint or cuts of meat and poultry overnight in the fridge. You can also briefly marinade chunky mixed vegetables or oily fish for an hour before cooking.
