To Buy Or Make? Aye, there’s the rub..


 
S

Stone

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I’ve been buying my rubs from Texas BBQ Rub people. They’re good, and it’s easy.
They cost about $14 for a 2-pound bag. This seems pretty inexpensive compared with prices for some 10 oz spice containers I’ve seen.
I’m trying to decide if it’s worth the cost for the convenience.
Any thoughts?
 
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We had a discussion on this very point last July.

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Store bought rubs - worth it?

Looking to get educated here…. I have been making my own rubs for many, many years. I virtually have never bought dry rubs. I see lots of posts here for commercial rubs. Are they worth it? Too much salt? Too costly? After looking on-line, I have found more rubs available than I can count. How...
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I have posted this somewhere here, but to repeat.........
Yes, we mostly make our own spice blends, but what I like to do, about once a year, is clean out our spice cabinet of older spices and spice blends. Take a big jar and anything that is expired, dump in the jar. We wind up with a different taste every time. One of my favorite things to do with it is coat all over, on both sides, meat patties, and make SMASHBURGERS!!!!!! A great different taste every time. :giggle:
 
I have to watch my sodium intake, so I have a combination of homemade and store bought rubs. My rib rub I make I've been using for over 25 years. Alot of commercial rubs are really salt heavy, but there are some really good salt free ones also.
 
Rich, I just checked out a set of spice blends. All 6 of them started out with SALT!! :eek:

Some said yeast extract, natural flavors (?). Most bought blends are like that. At least when you make your own blends, you know what EVERTHING IS IN THEM. ;)
 
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Besides the obvious control of the salt and sugar, you can tailor flavor profiles to suit the application. And anyway, it’s really kind of fun! I used to make virtually all of my own but, there are some commercial rubs that have become stock items in my pantry.
 
Joan said:
Rich, I just checked out a set of spice blends. All 6 of them started out with SALT!! :eek:

Some said yeast extract, natural flavors (?). Most bought blends are like that. At least when you make your own blends, you know what EVERTHING IS IN THEM. ;)
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Yep, that's what I find mostly the main ingredient is salt. Weber and McCormick make a few salt free rubs and of course Mrs. Dash.
 
Timothy F. Lewis said:
Besides the obvious control of the salt and sugar, you can tailor flavor profiles to suit the application. And anyway, it’s really kind of fun! I used to make virtually all of my own but, there are some commercial rubs that have become stock items in my pantry.
Click to expand...
Yes, I think we all have a few favorites :unsure: :giggle:
 
With salt and/or sugar being the main ingredients in most commercial rubs, the freedom to control them is more than worth the time and effort, IMO. Making your own rubs allows you to dry brine without worrying about over salting. It's also nice to know how much salt you're using when applying a rub. Sometimes I like a really heavy coating without too much salt. Brown sugar can be a great addition to some rubs but can cause clumping so it's nice to be able to either mix it with your rub just before use or apply to the meat after the rub. Sugar can be added or adjusted to create a new rub from one you already make too.

As for the cost of some spices, I find that the pricey ones are generally used sparingly so cost isn't really a big factor. There are also viable substitutions in some cases. There are some spice blends that are almost as cheap to buy as they are to recreate, like Lawry's and Old Bay so I do make a few exceptions.

The only down-side I see is herbs and spices use a lot of cupboard space in our kitchen. Luckily, we have the space.
 
I buy a combination of ready-mades based on ingredients then mix together a batch to use for a specific cook.
And with each mix I keep a record of measures so they can be used again.
 
I make my own (almost exclusively).
I don't like a lot of salt, but do like a lot of spice, so I make rubs/mixes without salt.
That also gives me the choice of salt, fish sauce, soy, fermented black beans etc as salt-source
I buy whole spices and the pestle & mortar is my friend :)
 
For the most part I make my own.
There are a couple of mixes I will buy like Montreal Steak, Old Bay and Yoshida marinade.
I like salt but am overly sensitive to it when others add salt for me.
I dry brine a lot and then omit the salt from my rubs.

People say it’s cheaper to buy pre-made rubs but I’m not buying that.
I once spent $12 for a small jar of a boutique rub and I have been cussing about that salty crap for near 2 years now.
I couldn’t even feed that brisket to the dogs.
That $12 rub ended up costing me a lot more than that $12.

I kinda know what works for me and I’m ok with that.
I like to try new homemade blends but my days of buying a jar of rub are over.
 
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