Sugar in rubs question


 
K

Ken Serwatowski

TVWBB Fan
I did my first rub the other day on chicken without any sugar in it with great results. I had a conversation with a guy at work as to why we add sugar to our rubs except for the obvious reason of sweetness. Then my new fine cooking magazine comes in the mail and they list no sugar in their rubs for ribs etc in this edition. Is there a reason IE. caramelization etc that you guys use sugar in your rubs or is it just for a hint of sweetness? Thanks in advance, Ken
 
I like to follow recipes to the letter the first time in an attempt to understand what the author is trying to say. Then, if I am not pleased with the results I may tinker with it to add my own twists and turns. I'll bet there are really only a handfull of original rubs and all others are variations on a theme much like what I do.

Having said that, some recipes call for white sugar, others brown sugar, others turnindao sugar, and still others combinations of these. I like the sweetness they provide.

I have found that white sugar burns a bit too easy. I generally use brown sugar when wrapping in foil and in sauces. ...and I like the level of bark turbinado brings to the party.
 
Dwain, thanks I guess I wasn't clear enough. I've made 100's of rubs in the past they just all had sugar in them until the other day when I did chicken. Just wondering if it had and benefits other than sweetness, Ken
 
Sugar helps balance saltiness of rubs and will as you mentioned assist with browning and crust/bark formation.

Also sugar is dominant in the wider American palatte, and in the last 20 years has been used as a crutch to prop up the flavor of "low fat" foods. Most largely successful commercial processed foods contain a suprisingly huge amount of sugar. Look at wheat thins or triscuits for example.
 
I think that it depends on what you're cooking and for how long.

Personally, on chicken, I'm not a big fan of sugar (except maybe in a glaze or sauce applied near the end or for wings).

For Pork - I do like a little sugar in the rub. It mingles with the fat / meat juices / smoke and other incgredients in the rub to produce a "bark" that enhances or accompanies the internal meat. I'm kinda' partial to turbinado - in most recipes that call for white sugar only, I generally sub turbinado. From what I've heard and experienced - it is less prone to burning / scorching.

Then again, honey, molasses, syrup, and agave nectar all all essentially sugars of various types...
 
I use little to none, depending on the meat in question, the other rub ingredients, the sauce(s) that will be served and the sides.

Most of rubs have <10% sugar by volume - not including the volume of the salt (so the figure is actually lower) and a few in the mid-teens to ~ 20% tops. (The BRITU rub is ~40% sugar by volume, salt included.)

Often I make rubs without any sugar or sweetener. Especially for beef and poultry. Again, it comes down first to the other ingredients in the rub. I have never been one to agree that sugar balances salt - particularly in rubs - but it can balance bitter ingredients (coffee, cocoa, e.g.) and sour ingredients (sumac, amchur, vinegar or citrus juice powder, e.g.).

Most Americans have a predilection for all things sweet, which is one reason one finds such a high percentage of sugar in commercial rubs. It's also cheap, adding bulk with little cost.

While sugar can balance the flavor notes of some ingredients too much can severely flatten flavors, an issue I have with most recipes and commercial formulations (that, and the inclusion of paprika and/or dry mustard, neither of which adds anything to the mix).
 
Kevin, I am surprised at your comment that mustard and paprika do not add any flavors to a rub. I am no expert in rubs, but is this a matter of personal preference or is it an observation that mustard and paprika has no particular flavor in themselves?

Sugar, on the other hand, is often used as a balancing agent, to allow other flavors to become discernible to the tongue. I once was treated to a taste test of a range of vinegars. When tasted straight they were simply little sips of pure pucker. Then we did them again, but this time using sugar cubes on toothpicks to dip into the vinegars. BANG! A whole array of flavors totally untasted before played across the tongue. They had white vinegar, wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar and so forth. When tasted straight the taste buds simply shut down. Tasted with sugar and those buds were working fine.

I do agree too much is a bad thing. If you think Americans are too fond of sugar, you need to visit the Philippines which makes most folks from North America look like real sourpusses.
 
It is not a personal preference. It's about how each item is affected by cooking. Paprika - not a very full-flavored chile in the first place compared to others (even the best Hungarian, which is all I use) - doesn't do so well flavor-wise in dry heat cooking. It is more suitable to moist cooking and in finishing sauces (or for color alone). Mustard requires moisture to activate its flavor volatiles. Dry, it has little flavor. Though the moisture that collects on the surface might activate its flavors, heat is its enemy. This is why classic sauces that rely on mustard or flavor are either made cold or only with brief heating - or the mustard is swirled in off heat at the end.

As I said, "ugar can balance the flavor notes of some ingredients...", so I agree with you there.

Ken-- Yes, I have and do use amchur in numerous rubs. One is posted, for example, is here. This was developed for a comp team. Were it me, I'd cut the sugar 50% or more.
 
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