The Spice House

http://www.thespicehouse.com/

As a newbie, I've been doing research on many aspects of bbq. A long time restaurant employee, I've been bugging Chef for a few weeks with questions on methods and technique. Fortunately he's a smoke guy and tolerates well all my silly questions.

I started asking about rubs and he threw up his hands and said "Spice House, dude". Meaning, don't even talk to me when you have experts just down the street at the Spice House.

I've known of the Spice House for a long time but never went in. I'm glad I finally did.

What a trip this place is, the kind of little store you'd really miss if you moved out of the city.

The depth of what they do is fantastic but so is their love for what they do.

Their website is fun (includes a BBQ section) and will give you plenty of ideas.

I hope you enjoy this little jewel as much as I have.

Their Back of Yards Butcher Rub is my go-to seasoning for steaks.

I get all my spices from their store in Chicago. Great prices and fantastic quality.

The Spice House is actually "family" to Penzey's...

Found this combo if you can't get to a Spice House:

Chicago Butcher's rub
Yields: 1/3 cup *Zest factor: medium
Called the Hog Butcher to the World for decades, Chicago was the meatpacking center of America. The stockyards, or "yards," as they were known, were built around the railroad tracks for easy access to the West, and they closed in 1971. Today, Chicago is famous for great meat and great butchers, and my favorite steakhouses are the old timers that are still located near the train tracks. This simple butcher's rub is what I envision they used back in the day. It enhances anything that you can buy at a butcher shop, particularly pork chops, veal chops, chicken pieces, thick steaks and ribs.

2 tbsp whole Tellicherry black peppercorns, toasted and ground
1 tbsp minced dried garlic
1 tbsp minced dried shallot
1 tbsp kosher salt, or coarse-grain sea salt
1 tbsp dried parsley
1 tsp hot pepper flakes
1 tsp dried sage

In a medium bowl, combine all the ingredients, and mix well. The rub will keep in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

No Spice House in Canada. I wondered what tellicherry peppercorns were. Luckily President's Choice sells them:

http://www.presidentschoice.ca...productId=prod850031

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Len Dennis:
No Spice House in Canada. I wondered what tellicherry peppercorns were. Luckily President's Choice sells them: </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Great looking spice mix! Of course to make it would mean buying a few more spices.

FYI, per Wikipedia, "Peppercorns are often categorised under a label describing their region or port of origin. Two well-known types come from India's Malabar Coast: Malabar pepper and Tellicherry pepper. Tellicherry is a higher-grade pepper, made from the largest, ripest 10% of fruits from Malabar plants grown on Mount Tellicherry." (I wonder if this is actually the case for us end consumers or if it is anything like other name-conscious exports like olive oil.)