Dry Rub Recipe


 
OK, IMO. And now my Mal will lick any of you to death, he's very licky. He also is very intense, like watching me at all times. He makes me happy.
 
AdamM said:
Interesting. Garlic/onion powder are the last items two spices I would have looked to as the culprit. Do you recommend any savory spices that do not turn black?
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I just delay putting them on to towards the end of the cook. But if they're part of your rub, that's pretty hard to delay. Is it the color that's bothering you or the flavor? If it's just the color, then just say "it's part of the bark." :)
 
Bob Correll said:
You forgot to add, IMO :)
This might be helpful to the OP and others:
http://amazingribs.com/recipes/rubs_pastes_marinades_and_brines/the_science_of_rubs.html
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Interesting link, Bob. As usual, his essays appear completely logical, but contrary to what everyone else in the industry says! I guess I am just lazy, in that I have found a couple commercial rubs that I like and I use them, instead of blending my own. I do like Meathead's theory that leaving the salt out and adding it separately gives you more flexibility to adjust for different cuts. Maybe when my current supplies of Dizzy Dust and Bad Byron's run out, I'll try some home blending.

Adam, if the salt is going to be in the rub, then its relative position in your blend is out of whack, in my opinion. It should be at the top, or close to the top. You can add all the spices and herbs you want to a piece of meat, if it doesn't have an ample amount of salt on it, it will not satisfy most folks.

Stevia is a sugar substitute, and not one I would use for cooking. You'll find turbinado sugar also labeled "Sugar In The Raw", which I am pretty sure is a brand name. As liberal as I am with salt, I am stingy with sugar. I think most rubs and sauces are far too sweet. That's a personal taste thing, but it is a trend I see in restaurants all over the country, and it is starting to get on my nerves. Every entree is "candied", "glazed", "sticky sweet"...blah, blah, blah... The head chef can't develop flavor, so he just makes it sweet.

Good luck with your experimentation and let us know how it goes!
 
Alright folks. I'm back at today trying to improve upon the rub/appearance from what I did last week. Took everyone's advice and adjusted the rub quite a bit. It is still a paprika-based, but now has no stevia, no onion powder, and no salt. Instead it is equal parts brown sugar and cane sugar, a lot less brown pepper, and I also added dried orange peel.

This week I'm also cooking a second rack of spares with rub from the butcher. I'm less than an hour into the cook and so I cannot tell you yet which is better, but one thing that I did notice is that the butcher's rub produced a LOT more sweat than my rub. Pictures below.

Here is my question to y'all. Why? What do you think is causing the butcher's rub to sweat a lot more than mine? Is my rub missing a key ingredient? Does my rub not have enough of the ingredient that causes the sweat? Or, does my rub have too much of an ingredient that slows down the sweat? I would appreciate any help / ideas.


Thanks,
Adam

Rub by itself:




This is a few minutes before I put them on my 18.5 WSM. My rub is the left, the butcher's is the right:

 
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Most details about rubs are personal preference issues. My wife, for example doesn't like nearly as much black pepper as many recipes call for. That's the beauty of the "no salt" rub. You adjust the amount of salt to the piece of meat and to your liking.
 
As promised. Here are the photos from my last cook. MUCH BETTER appearance over last week. Still have room for improvement and will always welcome suggestions.

Finished (My Rub on the left, butcher's rub on the right):



Finished (My rub only 1):



Finished (My rub only 2):

 
Carl H. said:
Most details about rubs are personal preference issues. My wife, for example doesn't like nearly as much black pepper as many recipes call for. That's the beauty of the "no salt" rub. You adjust the amount of salt to the piece of meat and to your liking.
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Thanks Carl. But, doesn't the meat need to sweat more like the rack with the butcher's rub than the rack with my rub? If salt is what causes the meat to react like that, how much do I need to include? Is there another ingredient missing that would cause that reaction?
 
Dale Nichols said:
Bingo. You need salt because it is the transporter of your flavors.
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Is their a minimum amount of salt that is needed to cause that reaction? While I did not include any in my rub, I did sprinkle both sides of the rack in salt before I applied the rub.
 
Adam,

We need a definition of "sprinkle". If you waved a shaker over your rack a couple times, I am going to guess you didn't have nearly enough salt. Your taste buds should help you out here a lot. 99 times out of 100 (particularly among those new to cooking) "bland" equates to "not enough salt". When you go overboard, it's pretty easy to tell, too.
 
Jeff F said:
Adam,

We need a definition of "sprinkle". If you waved a shaker over your rack a couple times, I am going to guess you didn't have nearly enough salt. Your taste buds should help you out here a lot. 99 times out of 100 (particularly among those new to cooking) "bland" equates to "not enough salt". When you go overboard, it's pretty easy to tell, too.
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It was less than a teaspoon. I'm not new to cooking and taste was not an issue. It was most certainly not bland. In fact, I think I'm really close to nailing the flavor profile that I want in the rub. I'm just concerned at the lack of sweat - which was pointed out to me was because I did not add enough salt. It is my understanding that the meat needs to sweat in order to even out the rub and build the best bark. If that is not correct, than I'm good. But, all of the commercial rubs seem to cause that reaction very quickly. And, please do not tell me to simply let the meat to sit longer. Thanks again for everyone's help. I wish I could give you all a bite.
 
AdamM said:
It was less than a teaspoon. I'm not new to cooking and taste was not an issue. It was most certainly not bland. In fact, I think I'm really close to nailing the flavor profile that I want in the rub. I'm just concerned at the lack of sweat - which was pointed out to me was because I did not add enough salt. It is my understanding that the meat needs to sweat in order to even out the rub and build the best bark. If that is not correct, than I'm good. But, all of the commercial rubs seem to cause that reaction very quickly. And, please do not tell me to simply let the meat to sit longer. Thanks again for everyone's help. I wish I could give you all a bite.
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If you want to keep the salt content low, you could spritz the ribs with something like apple juice before applying the rub.
 
In my experience, the "sweat" isn't something that's necessary. If you (and your family) are happy with the salt level, that's all that counts.

That said, a teaspoon on a full rack would not be enough for me or mine. I'm guessing (from pre-mixed rub ratios) mine would be closer to a tablespoon (3x yours).
 
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