Coffee Rub on Brisket

[TimW]

Hey Folks!

I've seen allusions to coffee rubs on briskets on this board, so I searched forums here and also googled. I find the idea to be very interesting. I do not drink coffee, but I have found that I like it as a flavor/ingredient in other foods.

My question is this. Would anybody ever do something like a coffee rub in competition? My concern is that it would be a little out of the box.

Not that I would ever consider a real competition or anything.

 

[Jon Merka]

i wouldnt tune my bbq to for personal use for competition meat. i have been to a few now and then, not competed, just to have bbq and see what they are like and talk to folks and the trend i observed while no where a huge sampling was towards sauces so sweet they would qualify more as a candy liquer than a bbq sauce. there was some really good bbq and some really bad stuff as well.

i would say try it and see if you and the family like it that would be a better gauge than some judge who has to take a class on what to think about food

experimentation is everything when cooking. try it and see!!

 

[Paul H]

Tim, I use a coffee rub on my brisket. Even though it smells pretty strong in the jar,after it sits and cooks on that brisket it does get mellower. Adds a nice flavor to the meat. Thought about adding some dark chocolate into the rub next time.

 

[Brian Bo.]

I've used a rub containing coffee on a brisket and it was great. It was the first time I've tried something like that...Wasn't overpowering.

 

[j biesinger]

for comp flavor profiles, I tend to stick with universally accepted flavors and try to avoid flavors that some may reject.

for example, try to work in flavors like: butter, bacon, ketchup, etc.

I'd categorize coffee as a flavor that is not universally accepted. I know plenty of people that reject it outright, and even more that can only tolerate it with massive doses of sugar.

I'm slowly figuring out the judging side of things, but if my previous results are an indication, I'd bet you see a few taste 8's and 9's along with a 5 or a 6. My current brisket tends to be heavy on peppercorn, and has received a comment card that had straight 9's and said "personal favorite...I'd give it a 10 if I could." It also got a 5 from the same table. I rationalize the results by assuming the peppercorn had a polarizing effect. Same goes for heat, when my ribs were spicy my scores were all over the map.

Don't let me dissuade you from experimenting though:
here's a good recipe to try

 

[K Kruger]

Though I would dissuade anyone from using a coffee-based rub in a comp, for the reasons j notes, if thought of as a spice it can certainly be used in a rub for a comp, in proportion, to add depth and breadth to the profile. Correctly proportioned, it is highly unlikely it would be singled out during tasting. Coffee (don't use the cheap stuff; get good quality beans and grind them to a powder just before use) goes especially well with caramelized flavors, flavorful chilies, the 'sweet' spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cardamom) and sweet aromatics (onion, garlic, ginger).

 

[Clark "Harbormaster" Hodgson]

Hey Tim,
I actually created a coffee rub for my pork. It really does add an "earthy depth" to the flavor.

That said, I have only competed once, but I did use the coffee rub on my pork, and placed 6th out of 39 teams. I cooked the comp the same way I would have cooked all of my meats at home and did pretty well. (11 out of 39 overall)