March 21, 2007
Barbeque Rub Basics
Barbecue Rub Basics
Barbeque rubs basically consist of combinations of your favorite spice flavors,
designed to enhance the flavor of the meat you are cooking. These flavors are
basically the ones that you can taste, including salt, sweet, sour, and bitter. When
you are creating a rub, keep in mind that most people do not like to eat food that is
overpowered by seasoning. The purpose of a rub is to compliment the natural taste
of the meat.
Making a good rub takes lots of practice and experimenting. For example, slightly
reducing the amount of onion powder or increasing the amount of cayenne in a rub
will change the flavor of the rub dramatically. Trial and error is the key to
developing a rub that tastes good.
To make a rub, begin by combining salt and sugar; usually in equal amounts: lets
say 1/4 cup of each. Depending on the sweetness you are looking for, many sugars
work well. A few examples are Turbinado, white, and brown sugar. They each have
different properties that you may want in a rub. Turbinado sugar will not burn as
fast as brown sugar, but it adds a very distinct, unrefined flavor to a rub. Brown
sugar is great on ribs, but be careful, too much brown sugar will create a burnt
crust on smoked ribs if you do not know what your are doing. Different salts also
work well. A few examples include plain table salt, sea salt, and kosher salt. Next, a
great ingredient to add is paprika. It has a mild flavor, and it will also help you
achieve a dark-reddish color in the rub. Add about 1/4 cup of paprika.
You have built the base for the rub. Most rubs that I have created or read about
always start out with sugar, salt, and paprika. There are many different spices that
are available for you to add to your rub. I have listed a few basic ones below, but
the best thing to do is to get your hands on as many as possible and experiment by
mixing different combinations and amounts of each. You will eventually learn what
combinations you like more.
Now you can start building the flavors of the rub. First, determine what you are
going to use the rub on. A pork rub will be different than a chicken rub. You might
also want to make the rub spicy or sweet, it just depends on what flavor you are
looking to add to the meat. Trial and error play a big part in developing rubs that
taste good and will not overpower the meat. Below are a few herbs and spices that
work well in rubs:
Garlic powder, Onion powder, Cumin, Oregano, Comino, Cayenne, Black Pepper, Red
Pepper (Cayenne), White Pepper, Mustard Powder
Add the ingredients you choose a little at a time, and then test the rub to see how
the flavor changed. With a little experimentation, you will develop a personal rub
that tastes very good.
You can find a few rub recipes at my website listed below.
The Smoker King
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Aaron Ralston, also known as The Smoker King, is the owner of Outdoor |
