Adding a touch of heat to rubs and sauces


 
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Paul B

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What I would like to do is add just a touch of heat, the kind that hits you on the back of your throat, to the commercial rubs and sauces I have been using.

I'm looking for sweet with heat especially for the ribs I have been making with dizzy dust and sweet baby rays sauce.

So BBQ gurus...what are your preferred methods of obtaining that perfect level of heat?

Thanks!

-Paul
 
You'll need to see what types of chilies and their heats you prefer but I'd suggest starting with hot New Mexico, guajillo, cascabel or chipotle--for its heat plus smoky notes.

For the sauce, see if it has fat in it. If not, add 2-3 teaspoons or so per cup, either oil or, my preference, a 50-50 mix of oil and unsalted butter. Heat the sauce before adding the chile powder(s) and allow several minutes between additions for the flavors to release and blend. Note what you do so that you can replicate it.
 
I'm with Kevin, a cascabel or chipotle would probably do the trick. My preference is chipotle as I like the smoky flavor that accompanies it. Give all a shot and make sure to make tasting notes, otherwise you'll lose track of what tasted like what. Hope that made sense.
 
Ditto with the others. I did some wings last super bowl that had a raspberry chipotle glaze on them. That was a great 'sweetish' glaze with some heat. For the sauces you can buy the canned chipotles in adobo sauce. For the rubs, buy or make your own powder from the dry chipotles.
 
Thanks for the replies everyone. I ordered some powders from Sweet Freedom today. Looking forward to doing some experimenting with some rubs and doctoring up some sauces.

I have a feeling I won't be buying many store-bought rubs/sauces much longer.
 
Let us know how it all comes out. I don't buy any rubs and very little sauce from the store. Mainly I enjoy experimenting and making my own.
 
I cooked some back ribs from Sams club 2 weeks ago. I used the Texas BBQ rub and made 3 small batches of rub to test out the peppers.

Each batch was 1/3C Texas BBQ rub and one teaspoon of chile powder per batch. One batch was guajillo, one chipotle and another had hot new mexico red.

The ribs turned out fantastic however, I think I was too conservative with the chile powder as there was no big difference in heat and flavor among the 3 rubs.

For small test batches of rub I am going to try 1/3C Texas BBQ rub and maybe 2-3 tsp of chile powder....the Texas BBQ rub is a winner tough..very impressed with that rub.
 
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