Anybody Make Your Own Rub?

[IamMadMan]

Originally Posted by food4thot

Have tried a few store-bought rubs but usually make my own to control the salt. Not for any particular health reason but because I don't like the taste of processed salt and prefer to use a particular sea salt that I stumbled upon about 25 years ago. Been using it ever since. Very mild flavor without the metallic taste of table salt.

Celtic Grey Sea Salt ?

[food4thot]

Originally Posted by IamMadMan

Celtic Grey Sea Salt ?

Yes. Ever try it? Use it for everything except pasta & potato water and brines. Use Kosher for those.

[lankster35]

Originally Posted by RevZiLLa

I make my own. It makes me happy


· 2 tablespoons salt
· 2 tablespoons sugar
· 2 tablespoons brown sugar
· 2 tablespoons ground cumin
· 2 tablespoons chili powder
· 2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
· 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
· 1 tablespoon onion powder
· 1 tablespoon garlic powder
1/4 cup paprika (4 tablespoons)

This one is close to what I use. It is the Mike Mills Magic Dust recipe you can find on the internet (and here). It is really good on pork.

[IamMadMan]

Originally Posted by food4thot

Yes. Ever try it? Use it for everything except pasta & potato water and brines. Use Kosher for those.

Of course I have; I use both Sel Gris and Celtic Grey Sea Salt.

For those who have never tried either of these salts; Both salts appear to have slightly moist crystals and they grey color comes from the fact that have absorbed natural minerals from the clay bottomed evaporation ponds. Both salts are essentially the same product from the saltwater ponds in a somewhat general geographic area.

These two salts are totally natural and unrefined, which gives them their telltale grey color. As a result these salts come packed full of essential minerals which processed salts lack.

Celtic Grey Sea Salt has been hand harvested the same way for over 1000 years (since the 9th Century), still using the traditional harvesting methods. Both of these salts are indispensable for finishing moist, hearty foods like steak, roast chicken, and roasted potatoes because it leaves a light crunchy finish without the sharpness or the heavy taste associated with industrialized salts.

.

[Cat797]

Originally Posted by LYU370

.............That being said, Dr. BBQ's rub recipe is pretty darned tasty.

I was going to comment on here the same thing. I have my several go-to products I like (Oakridge, Kosmo's, etc.), but any time I do a bulk cook for someone or feel like MSU, I riff off of Dr. BBQ's Big Time BBQ rub. That is a heck of a recipe.

[Steve S]

Originally Posted by 1995droptopz

I assemble my own rubs, but I have been following some recipes.

One reason why I stay away from the commercial rubs is that they all have salt in them, and I like to dry brine most of my meat, and that would result in double-salting.

Great point. The rubs I make myself, I leave out the salt and salt the meat separately.

[SonnyE]

Originally Posted by 2dumb2kwit

For pork, I make my own rub, that is a slight variation of a rub I saw on a BBQ Pit Boys video. It's been my "go to" for a while now.

Chicken, on the other hand........I've tried and tried, but just can't seem to come up with a rub that I like better than Plowboys Yardbird. I have stopped trying to beat it. It's pretty dang good.

For Chicken, our Daughter-In-Laws Dad introduced us to Chef Merito Pollo Seasoning. Real tasty, ready to shake. But do note Salt is the first (and heaviest) ingredient.
We really like it on our skin-on air fryer chicken.

Since the Air Fryer makes nice crispy skin, I tried smoking mine for 2 hours, then air fry per usual. Made the wife's unsmoked. Real tasty smoked and made that way.

[SonnyE]

Originally Posted by SmokinAussie

I'm with IamMadMan here.

Small batch run makers take their trade very seriously. It's their livelihood in a very competitive and highly critical market. They can't afford to cut corners and you should expect to pay for consistency and quality.

Ask KCMike, SirPorkalot, or Steph from Simply Marvelous if they just get cheap spices from anywhere... of if they give any thought to quality control, you'll probably find that there is an enormous amount of work that goes into each batch before they even turn on the lights.

As for doing it yourself....sure we all do that. Personally I've got a cupboard full of base spices that I can throw together a custom mix at any time for anything I want to do at the time to meet a particular profile I'm looking for at the time.

Repeatable? No.
Marketable? No.
Any good? Hit and miss. Sometimes I nail it. Sometimes I wish I'd just put on some Montreal Seasoning.

Bottom line. Support our guys here and get a selection of their stuff. Make some of your own from time to time... but don't criticize them for being 2nd rate at what they do. These guys have a passion for what they do and have gone though the really bloody hard work of bringing excellent products to market over a long period of time.

Cheers!

I wasn't criticizing them, just stating the facts. Simple economics.
Just like crops will vary from year to year (Ask any wine drinker), so will "small batches" of anything.
I make my own, and one thing I use is pre-made Montreal Steak Seasoning. For no other reason than I like the taste of it, and it adds a level of coarseness to my BBQ. But not always.
And since I can make my own, I really have little need to look over the display racks of myriads of ready made rubs in the BBQ sections of the stores I go to.

Proper weighing of any ingredient will aid consistency. Maybe you don't do that and is why you think you can't hit the mark each time you blend.
Frankly, many good cooks don't bother because they can eyeball their ingredients. I have a Son-In-Law who never measures anything, but is a great cook. I do often eyeball and taste test my way through.
But all the commercial producers I've ever seen weigh the ingredients into their batches.

Lastly, meat varies from animal to animal. So some $5 steaks can be tough as a boot sole, or tender as wagyu. And nobody can convince me that meat doesn't vary. Or anything else we might stuff in our faces.
Including spices and rubs, no matter what source.

Grass fed Beef? Sez who?
Organic grown? Prove it.

I can't grow my own Herbs and Spices, either. So I buy brands I've known for my lifetime. Brands I grew up on.
I going back and try some of the rub recipes posted here, in test batches. Because folks took the time to share them.

[food4thot]

Originally Posted by IamMadMan

Of course I have; I use both Sel Gris and Celtic Grey Sea Salt.

For those who have never tried either of these salts; Both salts appear to have slightly moist crystals and they grey color comes from the fact that have absorbed natural minerals from the clay bottomed evaporation ponds. Both salts are essentially the same product from the saltwater ponds in a somewhat general geographic area.

These two salts are totally natural and unrefined, which gives them their telltale grey color. As a result these salts come packed full of essential minerals which processed salts lack.

Celtic Grey Sea Salt has been hand harvested the same way for over 1000 years (since the 9th Century), still using the traditional harvesting methods. Both of these salts are indispensable for finishing moist, hearty foods like steak, roast chicken, and roasted potatoes because it leaves a light crunchy finish without the sharpness or the heavy taste associated with industrialized salts.

.

Celtic grey is great on everything. Particularly like it on eggs. It never overpowers.

[davidparker]

I do both. If I'm cooking for others, I have a couple of simple rubs that I make which I can repeat every time and make consistent results. But, occasionally I do like to try a new commercial rub for myself, enjoy it, learn from it, and move on. (I think that is part of the fun!)

Competition cooking is a whole different ball game. There you have to layer up a taste bomb that is going to stand out.

Lately, I have been playing around with just Kosher salt and pepper mixes. It's kinda of fun to get back to basics. I definitely will have to give some of the "exotic" salts mentioned a try!