Brisket rub???

[smoke ninja]

Originally Posted by kyleb76

I never tried Black Ops but I tried 3 of their rib rubs; the Dominator Sweet Rub, The Secret Weapon, the Beef & Pork rub, and they were all way to spicy for my family, even the one that was supposed to be sweet. They were even a little too spicy for me and I like spicy food. I love the Santa Maria though, I put it on just about everything.

I just assumed I did something wrong because all I got from any of them was heat, no sweet, no savory, just heat. I figured either I went too heavy with the rub or they were designed with competition in mind where people add all sorts of sweeteners like honey, brown sugar, agave, etc...

Has anybody else had this experience with Oak Ridge rubs? I still have some of each left and would be willing to try them again if someone could tell me what I may have done wrong, even though what I have is a few years old now. I figure they must be good since so many people like them and have won competitions with them, that's the reason I ordered them in the first place. Just about every list of top rubs I could find at the time had Oak Ridge on it so I ordered 5 or 6 different rubs from them and the only keeper for me was the Santa Maria.

I tried the steak rub with the coffee in it and I couldn't even finish the steak, every bite just tasted like a mouth full of black pepper. Did I go too heavy? But then again, I've ordered an AU POIVRE steak at a high end steakhouse here and it tasted like a mouth full of black pepper too so maybe I just don't like that much black pepper on my steak.

I dont believe any of those are very spicy. you can put them on pretty heavy. the coffee steak rub does need a good hot sear or it can be gritty, coffee forward not so much pepper.

[Norm]

I can't stand cilantro either, well just a little bit but that's it. Now me I love a strong pepper flavor on steaks, steak au poivre is one I go really heavy on with a strong fresh ground pepper. Just because I like it though doesn't make it good, you have a different flavor profile and that's fine. Heck I've tried the CC and didn't care for it, too much for me to want again. Plenty of folks love it so I know it's good just not what I prefer. Santa Maria is one of my favorites also!

[kyleb76]

Originally Posted by sudsandswine

Everybody's palettes are obviously different and "spicy" is subjective, but I am surprised anyone might eat any of those 3 rubs and think they were spicy, unless somehow Habanero Death Dust made its way into the bag instead of whatever was supposed to be in there. I usually add HDD to pork ontop of the sweeter rub whenever I want to give it a small boost in the heat department.

What did you cook it on?

I cooked the ribs on my old Weber Smokey Mountain, this was before I got my 270.

[kyleb76]

Originally Posted by smoke ninja

I dont believe any of those are very spicy. you can put them on pretty heavy. the coffee steak rub does need a good hot sear or it can be gritty, coffee forward not so much pepper.

Its so weird, I've tried dozens of different rubs and these were the only ones I've tried that I thought were spicy. But I do tend to go for the sweeter rubs for ribs, I'm a sucker for anything with honey, I've probably tried every honey rub on the market. Lately I've been using either Butcher BBQ's Honey rub or Memphis BBQ Supply's house brand honey rub which I've been told is very close to Jack's Old South's honey rib rub.

[jermoQ]

Originally Posted by kyleb76

I never tried Black Ops but I tried 3 of their rib rubs; the Dominator Sweet Rub, The Secret Weapon, the Beef & Pork rub, and they were all way to spicy for my family, even the one that was supposed to be sweet. They were even a little too spicy for me and I like spicy food. I love the Santa Maria though, I put it on just about everything.

I just assumed I did something wrong because all I got from any of them was heat, no sweet, no savory, just heat. I figured either I went too heavy with the rub or they were designed with competition in mind where people add all sorts of sweeteners like honey, brown sugar, agave, etc...

Has anybody else had this experience with Oak Ridge rubs? I still have some of each left and would be willing to try them again if someone could tell me what I may have done wrong, even though what I have is a few years old now. I figure they must be good since so many people like them and have won competitions with them, that's the reason I ordered them in the first place. Just about every list of top rubs I could find at the time had Oak Ridge on it so I ordered 5 or 6 different rubs from them and the only keeper for me was the Santa Maria.

I tried the steak rub with the coffee in it and I couldn't even finish the steak, every bite just tasted like a mouth full of black pepper. Did I go too heavy? But then again, I've ordered an AU POIVRE steak at a high end steakhouse here and it tasted like a mouth full of black pepper too so maybe I just don't like that much black pepper on my steak.

I got into my Black Ops today and did a taste test with a a little bit scooped on the end of a spoon. In that case, I could feel the heat from the spices. I have not tried that with any if these three. But in the past, whenever I try rubs plain like that, I can feel heat, even if I dont notice too much on the meat. I would guess, that your reason for feeling the heat, was due to using a heavier amount of rub on the food. I am sure that some red pepper and/or other types, are included. Like someone else said, our tastes are different.