Cole Cooks: Classic Dry Rub Recipes
When cooking or smoking meat, a rub can make all the difference. A rub is simply a blend of spices added to the meat before cooking. These are a couple of my favorite dry rub recipes that work well with pork and beef dishes.
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Overview
There are all kinds of commercial rubs you can buy. We have several in our pantry. However, nothing beats making a rub on your own. They are also great for experimenting with flavors.
I try a lot of different rubs and test them in small portions. If I like the rub, I will make a large batch to have on hand. I store the rub in a spice container or Mason jar with a lid.
These are dry rubs where you just mix the spices and coat the meat before cooking. This is different from wet rubs, brines and marinades where you may want the meat to marinade for a period of time.
It is important to note that the rub will generally not penetrate deep into the meat. This is unlike a salt brine which will absorb into the meat. This makes it easy to throw together a rub and apply it right before cooking.
My two most popular rubs are what I call Dave’s Dynamite BBQ Rub and Dave’s Coffee Rub. Both are primarily designed for pork. Dave’s Dynamite BBQ Rub is designed to have a little kick. Leave out the cayenne pepper to tone down the spice.
Dave’s Dynamite BBQ Rub is a favorite for smoking pork shoulder or pork ribs on our Big Green Egg.
The coffee rub works greater on leaner pork cuts such as pork chops or pork tenderloin.
Note both rubs have chili powder. Once again, we like to make our own chili powder. However, I will admit we have substituted store bought chili powder in a pinch. Making, chili powder is a bit more complicated than making these basic rubs.
Experimenting with rubs can be a lot of fun. Currently I am trying to work on some rubs with Asian flavors. I am not happy with store bought Chinese five-spice and am trying to make my own variation. Once I get a recipe I am happy with I will post it here
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Dave’s Dynamite BBQ Rub
Dave’s Dynamite BBQ Rub
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoon kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoon dry mustard
- 3 tablespoons paprika
- 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper optional
- 2 tablespoon cumin
- 2 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a bowl combine ingredients and mix. Store in a airtight container.
Dave’s Coffee Rub
Dave’s Coffee Rub
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon ground coffee
- 2 tablespoon ginger minced
- 8 cloves garlic minced
- 4 teaspoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoon cumin
Instructions
- In a bowl combine ingredients and mix. Store in an airtight container.
