Making your own rub (how to get started?)

[markusm]

 
Don't ask me for advice, it'll have too much pepper! And no sugar.

One related thing - try making herb salts that can be rub components. For example, something like sage or rosemary, fresh and about half-dried, run with kosher salt in a blender or food processor to make a green-flecked seasoned salt. Something like that can be generally handy in the kitchen anyway.

As for the pepper, look for high-quality paprika, not all of them are hot and they can lend a very rich flavor. Some are smoked but if you're using this in a smoker then you already have that covered.

I suppose sugar helps as a binder, but I just don't have much of a sweet tooth.

Thanks for the tips, I also don't have much of a sweet tooth (drives my girlfriend that loves to bake nuts....) But I do like just a tad, I'm especially fond of adding a little cinnamon to mexican style rubs, and maybe a touch of brown sugar (though the time I did add some brown sugar, I added so little you couldn't tell at all. As to the Disney rub, I had planned to reducing the amount of sugar, as 2 pounds seems like overkill for my tastes, but it does look like a good place to start with some modifications. Foods that are too sweet tend to make me sick to my stomach, I once made the mistake of getting a jack daniels burger at TGI Friday's once, and added some of the sauce that came with it... I had to scrape everything off and pretty much just eat the patty it was so sweet. 

 

[badassbbqteam]

I have a fresh herb rub I use on pork.  My family and friends really like it, but I would not use it in competition.

1 Cup              Sage Leaves (Cut off stems)

8                     Garlic Cloves (Smashed)

1/3 Cup          Fennel (Freshly Ground)

1/3 Cup          Kosher Salt

½ Cup            Light Brown Sugar

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until smooth consistency.

 

[markusm]

 
I have a fresh herb rub I use on pork.  My family and friends really like it, but I would not use it in competition.

1 Cup              Sage Leaves (Cut off stems)

8                     Garlic Cloves (Smashed)

1/3 Cup          Fennel (Freshly Ground)

1/3 Cup          Kosher Salt

½ Cup            Light Brown Sugar

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until smooth consistency.

That sounds interesting... on the Fennel, is that Fennel seed or part of the plant? I know the girlfriend uses fennel seed making pizza sauce, but that flavor seems a little strong?

 

[bluewhisper]

Garlic Cloves (Smashed)

Yeah speaking of which, how about rubs that aren't just dry spices, but a paste made with garlic in a mortar and pestle? Instead of sprinkling it, you slather it.  And, smell like garlic. WIN

 

[foamheart]

You find people you realize that cook and enjoy the flavors you do, then I put my ears into record mode.

On of those folks I learned to enjoy was Alton Brown. No nonsense advise from the basics. He explained it then showed you his and challenged you to make yours. His rubs were based on the 8 3 1 1 ratio. I like that, its basic. If you get to many flavor profiles your mouth can not discern the tastes. 8 3 1 1 is Sugar, salt, herb, spice. How do you know what you do and don't like, unless you start with the basics. As your adventure smoking grows so should your pallet of flavors to use.

How do you know that smoked paprika tastes bad on pork if you do not try it. How do you like the difference between light and dark brown sugar as opposed to raw sugar, refined white sugar or canned syrups? What's the difference between turbinado and maple sugar? You've got to experience them. If you are trying pure cane syrup, Mediterranean pink Sea salt, Lemon Mint, coriander seeds. You've never tasted most before, so how do you know which or what doesn't compliment which type meat?

Enjoy the learning process and keep notes. Its where all the fun is.

 

[bluewhisper]

? I never said smoked paprika tastes bad on pork. On a cold rainy winter day in a pot of goulash on the stove, oh yeah.

But save it for use not on the fire. If you're going to use paprika, and it's going onto the smoker, then why use smoked paprika when the regular paprika is going to get smoked, anyway?

 

[foamheart]

 
? I never said smoked paprika tastes bad on pork. On a cold rainy winter day in a pot of goulash on the stove, oh yeah.

But save it for use not on the fire. If you're going to use paprika, and it's going onto the smoker, then why use smoked paprika when the regular paprika is going to get smoked, anyway?

It came to mind quickly as an example, was not meant to be used in any fashion as to what you said. I bought a bottle of smoked paprika and hated it, but I loved the idea. It just didn't taste like my mind thought it would.

 

[bluewhisper]

I have a lot of smoked pepper powders, some made by me and many given to me from longtime chilehead friends. They're all rather hot.

I just try to shout from the rooftops that not all red pepper is hot, and there are some really good flavors to be found without burning yourselves.

As for the sugars, yes I've tried various ones, mostly in baking, and I can see their utility in helping to make a caramelized crust on something grilled or smoked - I'm just not that crazy about sweetened meat.

 

[beerwagon]

I know you tasted earlier that your wallet was hit hard... however I would like to recommend big bob gibsons BBQ book. You can probably find itnon amazon for 12 bucks. Theres a segment in there on how to make rubs. Personally reading it was very eye opening and I've been making my own since. Really haven't seen a break down on flavor profiles like they put there anywhere else.

 

[markusm]

Wow... for a thread that didn't really seem to go anywhere at 1st... this thing has exploded with a lot of great suggestions! Thanks everyone for putting in your 2 cents. 

 

[oldcanalsmoke]

I think you got at least 25c worth, not 2c!!  Ha!!!!

 

[eman]

My wife and i both learned to cook by trial and error, The way i create my rubs is use 1/8 1/4 1/2 and 1 tsp amounts to make a small amount of rub . Use it on a couple of pork chops or chicken breast or burgers to test the flavor. I know this is dating me ,but years ago i mounted a dictaphone recorder under my kitchen cabinet. Has recorder w/ foot pedal on / off.  Record EVERY thing you add by amount or weight. If it is good transfer to paper or puter file . If not erase and try again. Now you can use recorder app on smart phone. Only change one ingredient at a time .If you change more than one you do not know which one changed the taste whether good or bad,

 

[hap12]

Homemade rubs are the bees knees. I haven't used a store bought rub in ages. Not saying there aren't any good ones out there, there are some great ones, I just like making my own to tweak to my own liking. I don't have any recipes written down, just taste alot as I mix them. Need to keep in mind though, some ingredients change alot after being cooked or smoked. Fresh ground black pepper intensifies drastically, as well as most hot spices. Rosemary can become quite bitter after smoking, but will tame down after setting in the fridge overnight. I have to remind myself of this while making a rub. Also, a good cyan seasoning that you like can help cut back on ingredients, as most already have salt, garlic, paprika, and other herbs comonly used in rubs. Also for seafood, old bay comes in handy.

 

[markusm]

 
. I know this is dating me ,but years ago i mounted a dictaphone recorder under my kitchen cabinet. 

 
 Only change one ingredient at a time .If you change more than one you do not know which one changed the taste whether good or bad,

I have gotten much better about this... It's hard to resist the urge to try throwing every idea you have at something, especially when you're not smoking that frequently. (At least for me)

 

[eman]

This is my rub . We don't often use added salt as both of us have HBP.So it is salt free. 

This is the rub i have decided to make as my go to for any pork.

first instead of plain yellow mustard . i mix

1 cup yellow mustard

1/2 cup molasses

1 tsp liquid crab boil
Brush this liberally on your pork.

The rub:

1/4 cup hungarian or spanish paprika

1/4 cup onion powder

1/4 cup garlic powder

1/4 cup cbp

2 tsp celery seed

2 tsp ground mustard

2 tsp cumin

1 tsp nutmeg

1 1/4 cup dark brown sugar.

it helps to get the lumps out if you run this thru a grinder or food processer.

Coat the pork w/ a heavy coat of the rub. wrap and in the fridge overnight if possible.

B4 you smoke hit the pig w/ another dusting of rub and smoke away.

 If you want to use salt you can add 1/4 cup.

 

[eman]

That is a good basic pork rub that you can add to or subtract to make it your own

 

[eman]

Oh, for the record, cinnamon ROCKS in some seasonings and most people will argue with each other trying to figure out just what that flavor is! 

I have found the same thing happens w/ nutmeg. Or chocolate in chilli LOL

 

[markusm]

 
Oh, for the record, cinnamon ROCKS in some seasonings and most people will argue with each other trying to figure out just what that flavor is! 

I have found the same thing happens w/ nutmeg. Or chocolate in chilli LOL

I don't think I've ever seen cinnamon rocks, but I am a big fan of adding cinnamon, especially when grilling chicken fajita meat, and my girlfriend has won chili cook offs at work with a recipe that uses cocoa and dark beer. 

Also.. what this? "1/4 cup cbp"

**Edit**

Nevermind... I assume it's ground black pepper? I was going over every herb/spice I could think of... for some reason didn't even think of pepper lol. 

 

[the smoke break]

IF you like what you're putting on your meat already, but not sure of the measurements... try this:

NEXT time you're about to cook.... take all the ingredients down that you're planning on using. Try putting a measured amount in individual spice bowls. For instance...IF you're using salt, then take a teaspoon, or tablespoon of salt and put it to the side. IF the next ingredient is pepper, take a tsp or tbsp of pepper and put it to the side. Do the same for ALL the spices you plan on using. THEN, when you season your meat... use the spices you put aside in measured amounts. See how much of each you used and WRITE IT DOWN. If you used half of the tsp you put aside...then you know it's 1/2 tsp of salt. If you added more...document how much more. Once you're finished, you should have a basic outline of how much of each spice goes on your meat. Try making it again...in a bowl using the amounts you wrote down. If it's not quite what you want...add or take away until you get it. Once you've got it down.... a few calculations and you can figure out how to make it in bigger amounts.

Hope I explained that well enough...if not, message me and I'll try better.

 

[markusm]

Thanks for the tip! I get the gist of it. This was basically the same idea I had for a recipe I tried (on the package of ribs) that I wanted to add to. I like just a hint of cinnamon/sweetness, especially with Mexican style stuff so I tried adding just a tad of cinnamon and brown sugar to the recipe (I think about a teaspoon). The ribs turned out delicious, but you couldn't even detect the slightest hint of cinnamon or sugar. Next time I try that recipe I planned on adding another teaspoon of one or the other, or both. I think it was a link someone on this thread posted that I followed that gave some general guidelines about how much of what kind of herbs/spices to mix together that gave me the idea to start with a teaspoon with the cinnamon.

While I'll probably ask my girlfriend what types of herbs to try starting with depending on what style I'm after, but with all the advice I've gotten in this thread I'm getting excited to take a shot at it, and probably will pretty soon. 

I don't think I've posted any pics of rubbed or smoked ribs on here since I started coming here, but I'm really just starting to get the hang of smoking on a smoker rather than my old grill. (Smoked some chicken breasts for mother's day yesterday with our "famous" marinade she came up with and I think it very well might have been the best, most flavorful, juiciest chicken I've ever cooked). If successful, maybe I'll use my 1st homemade rub as an excuse to finally post some pics.