So….We had a bbq rub taste test at my house last night. I made 3 racks of St. Louis style ribs, one with my Rub #3, one with Yardbird, and one with McCormick Applewood rub. The ribs were not sauced.
I cut off one rib of each rub for each member of my family. The first taste of each had to be without sauce, then they could sauce it up.
Results:
My rub technically tied with Yardbird (my son & I like Yardbird, My wife and daughter liked my rub) but since I am the cook, I’ll give the tie to Yardbird.
Comparison:
Here is what is in my
Rub #3
• smoked paprika
• ground black pepper
• chili powder
• garlic powder
• celery salt
• dry mustard
• cumin
• onion powder
• cayenne
My rub has good flavor but has a savory profile (note no sugar) and I use the sauce to get the sweetness (SBR hickory and brown sugar is our favorite)
Yardbird- I’ve seen this comment several times “it just tastes like BBQ” and I couldn’t agree more. It seemed to have a better smokey flavor without being oversmoked.
McCormicks Applewood rub – the taste was ok , not great, but the texture of the rub I think screwed it up. The rub is just powder (think flour or powdered sugar) with dried minced onion. All of the rubs I have seen have more of a granular structure.
Request:
So going forward I will be using more and more Yardbird. However, Yardbird lacked the heat that I like. I know many of you mix commercial rubs together or layer one over another to get the flavor your looking for. I would like to get a layer of heat (could just add some cayenne I suppose) do any of you have suggestions for a rib rub that would add some heat? I look forward to exploring more rubs, thanks!
