sweet and spicy rub with simple ingredients?


 

Pinny

TVWBB Super Fan
Hi,

I have been scouring the internet over the last few days for rub recipes, but they all use lots of "more exotic" ingredients. That's cool, but most people don't always have lots of different varieties of peppers and such lying around the house (or even readily available at the supermarket).

Does anyone have any ideas for really delicious rubs that can be made entirely with spices for sale at the supermarket (the more mainstream the spices, the better).

Specifically, I am most interested in a hot and spicy rub as all the ones I have seen haven't been especially sweet (not many include sugar at all) and that's something that I'd really like (my own experimentation hasn't produced anything that good).

Thanks in advance for your suggestions!
-Pinny

Edit: Here's one recipe I found while searching around. What do you think of it?

1 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 cup Chili Powder
1 tbsp Salt
1 tbsp Black Pepper
2 tsp Garlic Powder
2 tsp Onion Powder
 
I use one of Dr. BBQ's rub recipes from his book
"Dr. BBQ's Big Time Barbecue Book". Here's the original recipe:

Dr. BBQ's Big-Time Barbecue Rub

1/2 cup salt
1/2 cup turbinado sugar
1/2 cup granulated brown sugar
1 tablespoon dried granulated garlic*
1 tablespoon dried granulated onion*
2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Combine all ingredients, mix well and store
in an airtight container.

*Granulated garlic and onion are coarser
than powder, but powders can be substituted.

I modify the above recipe by replacing the
thyme with dried basil. To me, dried thyme tastes like pencil shavings. I also add
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves.
Sometimes I replace the turbinado sugar with more brown sugar.
I use this recipe and never buy commercial rubs.
 
Pinny, The term chili powder is vague and one should not think that the McCormick chili powder you buy in a grocery store will add any heat to the rub IMO. Chili powder is ground chili's, and depending on what variety of chili you are going to grind and use, a 1/2 cup could be bad news. I have several chili's here from hatch New Mexico and while some are very flavorful, fruity, and mild, others will just light you up.
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Just be careful with using a 1/2 cup of chili powder.
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HTH
Another thing that could be helpful to you is to put in your profile where your at. This way others in your area can tell you where to find certain things.
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Does anyone have any ideas for really delicious rubs that can be made entirely with spices for sale at the supermarket (the more mainstream the spices, the better). </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Pardon me for being blunt, but the way you are framing the question, I don't think you'll ever be able to make a decent rub. Most of the spices that are sold in supermarkets are lacking in quality and freshness. If you try to limit yourself to only mainstream supermarket spices, it probably isn't worth your while to try to make your own rubs.
 
Pinny, Look up the recipe for Dreamland BBQ Sauce. Sweet and spicy. Plus I believe it uses ingredients that are readily available to you. Made some a few weeks ago. Too sweet for me. Gimme that vinegar sauce yeahhhhh
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. Hey found the recipe here it is:

DREAMLAND BBQ SAUCE

Makes 2 quarts

1 28 ounce can tomato puree
1/3 cup yellow mustard
2 cups water
1 1/2 cups cider vinegar
1/4 cup dark corn syrup
1 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon dry mustard
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons ground red pepper
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

In a large sauce pan, whisk together the tomato puree
and mustard until smooth. Stir in remaining ingredients.
Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes
 
Pinny
I understand what you are looking for. You are just starting out and want to develop a sense of what goes with what using standard ingredients. You have a taste in mind and are not sure how to acheive it. You want to keep it simple so as not to have flavours overpower each other.
From my travels in America I found that the general taste of food was a sweet taste but it was also regionaly based and varied, whereas in Australia it is a savory taste.
I think that you should give consideration to what you want to cook and what method you want to use. Chillis add heat but not necessarily flavour. I am always in favour of fresh herbs and spices and will dry roast spices to release the aromatics before grinding.
Mustard seeds, Coriander seeds, Fenegreek seeds, Cumin seeds and Black Peppercorns dry roasted and ground, mixed with fresh minced ginger, chilli and garlic mixed with some olive oil will give you a unique flavour. If you are doing indirect brush with some honey 10 minutes before you finish cooking ( I microwave a table spoon or two in a cup for 15 seconds before I brush it on.) Those seeds are available off the shelf in supermarkets here. The chilli, ginger and garlic is available in the fresh produce area of the supermarket.

These are also standard spices used in Indian cooking, with a couple of extra ingredients I could make a Goan curry.

Here is a thread where the Guru of flavours and spices gives a well informed discourse on the subject and may help you on your way to developing your own signature flavours.

Mulitiple Ingredient Enhancements

I hope that this helps.

Regards
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by paul h:
Pinny, Look up the recipe for Dreamland BBQ Sauce. Sweet and spicy. Plus I believe it uses ingredients that are readily available to you. Made some a few weeks ago. Too sweet for me. Gimme that vinegar sauce yeahhhhh
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. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Paul, I'm guessing you never had the real Dreamland BBQ sauce? I still have 2 quart jars of it here and it's anything but sweet. It's a very spicey, dry, runny/watery sauce that is dark redish/brown in color with very little tomato taste to it, heavy on the vinegar, and tastes nothing like a sweet red BBQ sauce, say like Head Country, Sweet Baby Rays, Bone Suckin or the like. It's very, very different. Looking at the recipe for cloned Dreamland I'd say it's not too close. Of course this is JMO.
 
Bryan, you're right. Never had the real Dreamland sauce. I saw the ingredients they looked like something that would be appetizing.They had labeled the recipe Dreamland sauce. I guess I need to do some further investigations on stuff in the future
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By the way you don't happen to have a clone for the REAL Dreamland sauce
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Pinny,

I need a little clarification. Are you looking for something "hot and spicy" or something more on the sweet side like your recipe?

At first glance, I would say your recipe has quite a bit of sugar in it and will come out very sweet. Sugar also will burn at higher temps (above 350).

One thing to consider is what type of meat will your rub go on. Some people like a hint of sweetness with pork, but don't want that with beef or poultry. Sugar tends to balance/diminish the effect of heat (as in chiles).

I suggest you start with very basic combinations, taste them before applying them to meat and work from there. Try to keep in mind a sense of balance and complimentary flavors. There are a lot of rub recipes listed on this site, pick one that looks promising and substitute ingredients with ones you can get or have on hand; there's no right or wrong.

Here's an interesting thread that may help you. As you'll read, Jamie doesn't keep an exotic stock pile of spices either. Another informative read is this one. Here, Jamie writes about spice usage.

This is the fun part; research, experimentation, and enjoying your results.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by paul h:
By the way you don't happen to have a clone for the REAL Dreamland sauce
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</div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Paul, Here's the problem with the copy cat recipes out there for Dreamland. They contain too much tomato sauce, puree, paste or whatever tomato product they list. From the label. First ingredient is Water second is Distilled Vinegar third is corn syrup and tomato paste is fourth. And one other thing is in my post above about it being different, it really is like no other "sauce" I've tried. I use the term sauce lightly because it's that different. HTH
 

 

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