Spice pastes instead of rubs

[Matthew Brealey]

Does this work?

When I make curry, I always use fresh spices, instead of powder.

A (SE Asian) curry paste would be something like:

fresh lemongrass
fresh galangal
fresh chilis (Thai)
fresh shallots
fresh garlics
fresh turmeric
fresh ginger
fresh kaffir lime leaves
freshly ground cumin
freshly ground coriander
freshly ground fennel
freshly ground nutmeg
freshly ground cinnamon (or whole if braising)
freshly ground cloves (or whole if braising)

salt
palm sugar

for satay, grilled over direct heat, I would use the freshly ground spices, and the fresh spices pureed (you should use a mortar and pestle or grindstone but a blender is ok), mixed with some sweet soy sauce and a little vegetable oil.

I'm just wondering if anyone has done anything along the lines of a SE Asian spice paste for smoking, and if it works well?

 

[JimH TX]

I've been wondering the same thing but using mayo as the base. Question is, will it penetrate the meat?

 

[Matthew Brealey]

Mayo as the base for what? Thai spices?

As I see it a BBQ rub is dried spices, salt, and usually sugar.

Mayo is an emulsion of egg and oil. The oil might help, but I can't see the egg doing anything?

 

[JimH TX]

I'm not talking about using Thai spices, I use BBQ spices. Thinking about how a mayo mixture would cling to the meat. With a marinade you have to submerge or put in a zip lock and force the air out.

 

[JimH TX]

Matthew your paste should work. I do something similar with a rub for ribeyes.

 

[Steve Petrone]

Those are some wonderful flavors...the majority of those go in my dry rubs.