Have you ever made your own barbecue rub? It's really easy. And the nice thing about it is that you can customize it to suit your personal preferences. Last month, I was lazy and when I needed a bunch of barbecue rub to make ribs for my daughter's birthday party, I hit up Penzey's and bought a big bag of their BBQ 3000 rub. Sorry Penzey's, but I wasn't crazy about it. It has nutmeg in it, which I find kind of odd. I don't care for the flavor that gives it. And it doesn't have as much heat as I like in my barbecue rub. It did the job, but it was lacking that "wow" factor for me. I should have put in the effort to make a big batch of the barbecue rub I "perfected" last summer. It is adapted from one in Steven Raichlen's book How to Grill.
Smoky Barbecue Rub
Ingredients:
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp smoked paprika
2 tsp black pepper
2 tbsp kosher salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp ground celery seed
½ tsp ground chipotle powder
Directions:
Mix all ingredients together, making sure to break up any lumps of brown sugar. Use 2-3 tsp per pound of meat. Store rub in an airtight jar away from heat or light. It will keep for at least 6 months.
Makes about ½ cup.
I changed a few things from Raichlen's original recipe. He used sweet paprika, while I am totally obsessed with smoked paprika. And since it's for barbecue, the smoked flavor is perfect. (In his defense, he calls for hickory-smoked salt instead of regular kosher, but I think it's easier to switch out the paprika than to buy a special fancy salt that I won't use for anything else.) I also decreased the black pepper and used chipotle instead of cayenne. That adds more smoky flavor too. It does have a bit of heat to it, so if you are sensitive to that, you might want to cut the chipotle in half.
This is a really great rub. It's good on anything you like to grill: chicken breasts, whole chickens, pork chops, and best of all, ribs. Check out my recipe for "Fall-Off-the-Bone Ribs". And hey, if you're vegetarian or vegan, it would even be good on your favorite vegetable!
i love the sound of this rub!! smoky is great :)
ReplyDeleteYeah, it gives everything a great depth of flavor. Thanks for stopping by, Sarah!
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