Christmas Rub


 
S

Steve Petrone

TVWBB Platinum Member
Christmas Rub

1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup kosher salt
2 T granulated garlic
2 T granulated onion
2 t celery seed
2 t fennel seed
2 t cumin seed
2 t sage
1 t cinnamon
1 t Raz el hanout (sp)
(or tumeric or curry)
4 T black pepper
1 T cayenne
1 T cascabel pepper
2 T ancho pepper
2 T guajillo pepper

This is an attempt to bring in a little mystery to my everyday rub. I think the cinnamon and Raz really add new layers of flavor that help set this rub apart. I see no reason why just tumeric
or a good curry would sub for the raz.
 
This has been my go to rub since Christmas. Tonight I used it on pork tenderloins. My wife commented,"Too salty..." There always seems to be a little room for improvement. May have to try Kevin's no salt, no sugar approach.....
 
Interesting. I didn't see this when you first posted it.

Try skipping the salt in the rub, salting the meat separately first and letting it sit to moisten. Then you can top with as much or as little rub as you want without worrying about the salt level.

If you want some sweetness here (and basing it on the quantities notes sans salt and sugar), try 2.5 T sugar for use with pork, .5 T for beef, 1 t for lamb. Your mix would work well as a seasoning for sausage made from pork, lamb or turkey, perhaps with minced dried cherries, peaches or apricots.
 
Change is tough. I have had a very difficult time thinking about removing salt from my rubs. It's all in my head. Next batch, I will come around to your undoubtedly superior method.

P.S. I must not forget your very constructive comments on the fresh sauce as well!
 
I see your trepidation--but the point is not to have a salt-free finish, it's to apply the salt separately to the meat first so that you can apply the rub as heavily or lightly as you wish without affecting the salt level since the salt was already applied.
 
I'm not sure why unless you simply didn't want any sugar.

Salting separately first means that no matter how little or how much rub is applied the salt level is unaffected, a common complaint especially for those inclined to rub more heavily.

Though rubs can certainly be too sweet, it's usually better to simply cut the sugar amount in the rub--though one certainly could apply it separately. It would add a step that doesn't seem worth it to me.

Just an FYI: The BRITU rub comes in at 44% sugar, a whopping 65% if you subtract the salt first, which I do when I figure sugar levels since I don't include salt in rubs. Yours above comes in at 31%. Mine run 0-12%, mostly. A 'sweet' rub, to me (and I make some sometimes, mostly for butt), runs 20% tops.

Everyone likes different things of course. I can't quite fathom the attraction to the taste for BRITU; as written (with the KC sauce-mixed-with-honey thing) it is, to me, essentially meat candy. Not at all my thing.

I'm not saying mine are better, just less sweet. I find that some sugar can boost other flavors nicely, a little more will read as 'sweet'. Much more than that and flavors tend to flatten, especially the high notes which can't break through the cloying sugar flavor. Try cutting the sugar by half sometime and see what you think.
 
You are dead on again...if one salts the meat first then some sugar in the rub makes sense. I think there is an interplay between salt and sugar in regards to taste enhancement. When I said drop sugar, I just plain forgot about salting before rubbing.

As I read your post, I thought to myself...just cut the sugar in half! Dang you do get it and even better you don't mind sharing and teaching us.
 
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