Substitute for Black Pepper in Smoked Pork

[John W]

A Substitute for Paprika?

Hey all! I've been making the Mr. Brown pork shoulder recipe for a couple years now, but I'd like to try to modify it a bit. A couple family members have been saying that they don't like too paprika, which the Mr. Brown rub has a lot of. Do you know what could be added to the standard Mr. Brown recipe to substitute the paprika? I could simply leave it out and add nothing, but would like to add something in its place.

Would pink or green peppercorns be a good substitute?, or chile/garlic powder? We all like the sweetness from the sugar and the black pepper is great.

Here's the original recipe:

1/4 cup ground black pepper
1/4 cup paprika
1/4 cup Turbinado sugar
2 Tablespoons table salt
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Thanks in advance!

 

[Len Dennis]

Too bad you can't change title to conform to the subject. Join the long line of those finding that out.

What don't they like? If it's the spiciness, they have different varieties: sweet medium and hot.


Chili powder, cayenne are good (just use less). A bit added honey/sugar will help cut the heat and some tomatoes will add back some of the "redness" lost by using less paprika.

 

[John W]

I know! I was hoping at least for a "delete post" option. Anyway, I think the biggest complaint is that anything true pepper-based gives them heartburn (bell peppers, dried peppers, jalapeno, etc). I could just leave it out altogether, but I think it would be missing something at that point. Black pepper doesn't seem to affect them though, oddly enough. It's not too critical since they will still eat second helpings

 

[Marc]

IMO Paprika is more of a filler then anything particularly after a long cook time. Maybe the original title of your post is more accurate.
A lot of people think that rub is a bit excessive with the pepper.

 

[John W]

IMO Paprika is more of a filler then anything particularly after a long cook time. Maybe the original title of your post is more accurate.
A lot of people think that rub is a bit excessive with the pepper.

I bet you're right. They were probably just thrown off by the bright red color of the paprika thinking that was the cause. It's probably a combo of the black pepper and cayenne. I'll play around with those Thanks!