Making a rub because I'm bored


 

Dave L.

TVWBB Pro
It's cold outside and I'm bored so here is a rub I would like to make. Any thoughts would be welcome. More or less of anything or omit anything?

1/4 Cup Graulated Maple Sugar
1/4 Cup Smoked Paprika
3 Tablespoons Black Pepper
2 Teaspoons Onion Powder
2 Teaspoons Garlic Powder
2 Teaspoons Celery Seeds
1 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
1 Teaspoon Mustard Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Nutmeg
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Ginger
1/2 Teaspoon Oregano
1/2 Teaspoon Thyme
 
Dave,

One thing is for sure...the maple sugar is a great idea. That stuff is delicious...I'm curing some bacon with it now.
Definately not cheap though!
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Thanks Phil,How does the rest sound? I'm new at making rub and still trying to figure out which spices taste with each other.
 
Dave,

What would you put this rub on? That would be one of the first things in my mind. There is no right or wrong answer as to what should go into your rub; it comes down to what tastes good to you. You probably want a rub that will compliment and enhance the flavor of the meat. This is just my opinion, but you've got a lot of paprika in the recipe. Personally I've never been able to taste much of paprika in a rub. It does add color, and I really think that's why a majority of the commercial rubs include it, but so do a whole variety of chiles. Chiles, like a nice ancho will provide both flavor and color. Your recipe also has a lot of sugar (by proportion) and with most meats, I personally don't like a rub with sugar. Some add it to balance out the heat of pepper or chiles, but I would recommend cut back on the heat. Jamie Purviance wrote about balance. Read that short thread and have fun experimenting! And if you can, but fresh or quality spices and herbs from someone like Penzeys, it will make a difference. Share your results with us!!
 
I was going to use it on spare ribs mostly. I took different rub recipes and put them together. My idea of the sugar was to replace brown sugar in the recipes with the granulated maple sugar. The paprika is smoked so I thought that would add a smoky flavor. As I said this is all new to me. I read the thread but with a lot of ingredients I can't figure out any balance
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. May be I should make it up with just a little sugar and add more if I think I need it?
 
If I were to adjust this...I might decrease the celery seed to 1 teaspoon.

Salt??? You have the makings of a fine rub.
 
I like the smoked paprika from Penzey's for dishes like Paella, but for BBQ I prefer non-smoked peppers better like Ancho. Paprika doesn't hold up as well to long cooking, and you are going to get all the smoke you need from your own smoker, so you don't really gain much from having smoke flavor in your rub.

I like Thyme a lot in BBQ rubs--I think you could easily increase it to 1 Tablespoon.

I agree with Steve on decreasing the celery seed--it can take over if you use too much.

I think you could increase the onion and garlic. Maybe 3 tablespoons of granulated onion and 2 tablespoons of granulated garlic.

Salt doesn't have to be included if you salt separately. That method works very well since it is good to have tight control over the amount of salt.
 
Hey John,

If you're down here (as in Sacramento area) Nugget carries it. It's pricey, about $6 for 8 ounces. Otherwise, I'm sure you can get it online.
 
John,
I picked up the maple sugar at a local orchard. I paid $5.99 for 5.8oz. It's made here in CT. Here is there web site.www.lamothesugarhouse.com

Thanks for the advice from the rest of you. I will go with sweet paprika instead of smoked and I didn't add any salt because I'm going to put on the meat first. The celery seed will probably be cut down also. Would a full teespoon of both oregano and thyme be too much?
 

 

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