Critique my spicy pork rub

[Roguejim]

I know it's near impossible to critique a rub without tasting it, but do you see any ingredients in this rub that appear to be out of proportion?

Spicy Pork Rub

3/4 C. TURBO SUGAR
1/2 C. KOSHER SALT, COARSE
1 TBLS GRAN GARLIC
1 TBLS GRAN ONION
1 TBLS BLACK PEPPER, COARSELY GROUND
2 1/2 TBLS CHILI POWDER, HOT
3 TBLS PAPRIKA
1 TBLS MUSTARD POWDER
1 TBLS DRIED THYME
1 TSP CAYENNE

[OakPit]

Looks good, but more of a Sweet & Spicy rub. That sugar will mute some of your desired heat if you prefer a true Hot Rub. How hot is your Chili Powder? That looks to be the kicker ingredient at 2 1/2 T. My Chili powders have more of a smokey roasted taste than pure heat like a Cayenne. The mustard powder also gives a heat sensation, but different than pepper does.

My .02 would be to reduce the sugar to 1/2C, Reduce the Chili Powder to 1 1/2 T, Increase Cayenne to 1 1/2 and add 1/2 tsp. of Crushed Red Pepper & 1/2 tsp. of White pepper. That will give you a broad spectrum heater of a pork rub with just enough sweetness to keep things somewhat balanced.

As always, just my .02...have a great BBQ!

[Matt_A]

Take a pinch and taste it, roll it around on your tongue, once it's nice and moist, swallow it with a tiny sip of water. Your personal taste is what will be the judge. Is it too salty, too sweet, does one flavor stick out? Is the heat in-your-face from the first, or does it sneak up on you?

[thirdeye]

I agree with lowering the sugar to balance the salt. Under balance it if you want the spiciness to come through.

I like to test rubs on a flour tortilla. Slightly butter it, then sprinkle with rub and warm in a skillet. the tortilla is a good delivery tool as it's kind of neutral. The fats in the butter let you what the rub will taste like once it's heated.

[OakPit]

I agree with lowering the sugar to balance the salt. Under balance it if you want the spiciness to come through.

I like to test rubs on a flour tortilla. Slightly butter it, then sprinkle with rub and warm in a skillet. the tortilla is a good delivery tool as it's kind of neutral. The fats in the butter let you what the rub will taste like once it's heated.

Great idea with the tortilla & butter - I'm going to try that. Thanks!

[Roguejim]

Thanks for the input. I was looking for a sweet and spicy rub, a little more on the sweet. The chili powder is hot. Thanks for the tasting tips.

[thirdeye]

Thanks for the input. I was looking for a sweet and spicy rub, a little more on the sweet. The chili powder is hot. Thanks for the tasting tips.

Just for comparison, here is a hot-n-sweet rub I use...

Hot-N-Sweet – A rub suited for chicken, pork or vegetables like corn-on-the-cob or squash.
Ingredients:

1 ½ cup turbinado sugar
½ cup onion salt
½ cup garlic salt
2T mustard powder
3T top hat chili powder
1T green peppercorns, crushed
1T red peppercorns, crushed
1 T black pepper
1 T lemon pepper
2T cayenne
1t dried rosemary
½ cup paprika
1T dried basil
1t rubbed sage

Combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly

[landarc]

Hmmm, I have found that you have to cook a rub under normal conditions to really understand what it will do. I cook country style ribs with various rub combinations to test them out. I suggest you consider using parts instead of measures, as it makes scaling easier.

[cliffcarter]

I suggest you consider using parts instead of measures, as it makes scaling easier.

"Parts" are "measures", it doesn't matter if it's cups or ounces as long as you are consistent.

If you are looking for heat increase the cayenne by 1 teaspoon and add 2 teaspoons of white pepper.
If it were me I would decrease the salt to 2 TBS and increase the garlic and onion to 2 TBS.

[landarc]

Yes, at it's most straight forward level, that is true and simple. But, let's say I normally make 1/4 pound of rub for doing a couple of pork butts, but, suddenly need to do a catering cook. And now I need 10 pounds of rub. Do I want to do 40 batches of rub, or do I want to break out my scale and throw it all together quickly and easily. To each their own, no argument, just an observation.

[cliffcarter]

"Parts" are "measures", it doesn't matter if it's cups or ounces as long as you are consistent.

Yes, at it's most straight forward level, that is true and simple. But, let's say I normally make 1/4 pound of rub for doing a couple of pork butts, but, suddenly need to do a catering cook. And now I need 10 pounds of rub. Do I want to do 40 batches of rub, or do I want to break out my scale and throw it all together quickly and easily. To each their own, no argument, just an observation.

Perhaps my comment is unclear as it it written, or I am not communicating the idea well enough so please bear with me while I try again.

One common parts ratio for making rub is 8:3:1:1:1. If you use this ratio, or something else that you have worked out, then you can make a rub at anytime, anywhere, using anything to measure the ingredients. You can use a paper cup as a measuring device as long as you use the same paper cup to measure all the ingredients.

Thus- "parts" are "measures".

[captndan]

To complicated. Every one makes the best rub because they like it that way. But, to many ingredient mask each other. I like a rub that I tell you each ingredient by taste. You can't do that with 10. Don't mean to step on any toes.