Rib Tickler Rub - Reverse Engineering

Greetings all. Long-time lurker, first-time poster.


I've spent most of this year working on my ribs. I have been using Williams Food Co. Rib Tickler Rub to make the rib recipe commonly attributed to Johnny Trigg. It's been going over incredibly well!


I've been buying my rub online. Recently, it appears that my usual sources (Amazon, bbqrubs. com) are OUT and it doesn't look like more is on the way. Some moderate Google-diving indicates rumors that it may be discontinued. Given that my friends have been demanding these ribs, this situation cannot stand.


I've decided to try to recreate the blend myself. At the very least it will keep me busy until such time that more of the real thing hits the shelves. For laughs, I've decided to document and hopefully crowdsource the process here.



I made my first attempt this past weekend with the following recipe, based off someone else's attempt on another message board I found:


1 Cup Turbinado Sugar
2 Tbsp Kosher Salt
2 Tbsp Hungarian Paprika
2 Tbsp Granulated Garlic
2 Tbsp Black Pepper
1 Tbsp Red Pepper


The ingredient amounts align with the order they are listed on the bottle (most to least). The color was very close to what I have in my remaining half bottle of the real thing, probably a little redder. This may be due to the red pepper, which I'll discuss in a minute. I smoked them over apple wood on my offset.



How'd they turn out? This wasn't it. At all.


They lacked the same sweetness that RT had, and the aforementioned red pepper was way too much. I like a nice pop on my bbq, but this was more than I was looking for. Overall they were kind of bland.



My next pass is going to go to 1/2C turbinado sugar and 1/2C light brown sugar instead. I'm also going to add more salt...maybe 1/4C although I'd consider going to 1/2C. Finally I am reducing the red pepper to at least 1 Tsp, maybe even 1/2-3/4.


Does anyone else have any insight on the future of Rib Tickler rub or the recipe itself? I'll probably be doing this at least once a month until I either find something close or they start selling it again.


Cheers.

StevenC said:

Gave the company a call and they called me back and left this voice message:

Hi I'm returning your call in regards to William's food products. We had a passing of Mrs. Williams and the company is in probate so unable to produce any product but we appreciate your support and look forward to getting the product back to market place. Have a good day.

Sounds like it may be back on the market after legal issues are resolved

Click to expand...

Thanks for the update! Sad to hear about Ms. Williams.


Gonna stay on my quest to figure out the recipe regardless. Probate cases can take some real time, especially if there's a lot of family involved.


Plus I have a 6lb bag of sugar I'll need to use.

Attempt #2...

1/2 Cup Turbinado Sugar
1/2 Cup Light Brown Sugar
1/4 Cup Kosher Salt
2 Tbsp Hungarian Paprika
2 Tbsp Black Pepper
2 Tbsp Granulated Garlic
1/2 Tsp Red Pepper

Smoked them with apple wood in my cabinet smoker (works better in the cooler weather of fall in Michigan).

Results? WAAAAAAY closer than the first try. The light brown sugar and the added salt made a huge difference. I think I’m on the right track here.

The color of the rub itself was still redder than the original but I might contribute that to the fresher paprika. I also think that there might be more black pepper than I am using. The taste of the rub itself is more garlicky than RT too but again...fresher ingredients. That taste definitely cooked out on the final product.

Next time around I might tweak the ratios on the sugars: thinking maybe 2/3 light brown 1/3 turbinado. I also might bump the red pepper back up a bit because the light brown sugar definitely created more offset for the heat.

My hopes are to get to the point where I feel good enough to try a side by side with my remaining RT (half a bottle). Hopefully we’re on the way!