RUB SNAFU!

[eman]

Last time i made my recipe of pig rub i decided to make a big batch and vacum seal it and use as needed.

 Pulled a packer, 2 butts and 3 racks ribs out the fridge and cut open the bag of rub. Stuff was so hard you could hardly break it w/ a hammer???

 Wasted a bunch of rub.

 Is this caused by the brown sugar? Or just moisture in the air getting in the rub b4 vacum sealing?

 Is there anything available that is flavorless that i can add to my recipe to stop this?

 Thanks, Bob

 

[gatorfan316]

The brown sugar makes it hard. Just put your rub in a jar or canister that seals tight.

 

[beer-b-q]

I put these in the rub that I bottle...  It keeps the moisture out and they are USDA Food Safe...

They come in various sizes, I usually buy the 1g and 5 g sizes... this seller ships super fast also.    The 1 Gram Packs has FREE Shipping also.

1 Gram Packs

http://cgi.ebay.com/100-Tyvek-Silic...633?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a0165a379

5 Gram Packs

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180465085093&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT

 

[arnie]

Thanks Beer-B-Q

This is good to know; I usually pull the rub out of the freezer and run it through the Ninja Chopper again.

It’s a pain, but I have just accepted it.

 

[eman]

I tried running this thru a spice grinder then a food processor and it was like grinding rocks . 

 Thanks for the info on the silica gel packs Beer.

That will be the easiest thing .That and not vacum sealing it.

 

[mballi3011]

I make my rub with a lot of brown sugar (fake for the wife) and I keep it in a tuberware plastic jug with a screw on top and it stays nice and soft and not stuck together. I might try this before you spend money for the silca packages. 

 

[Bearcarver]

Great idea Paul!

Thanks,

Bear

 

[eman]

Maybe it was vacum sealing it that caused it to turn to concrete.

 

[meateater]

Maybe it was vacum sealing it that caused it to turn to concrete.

Sounds like that was the probleem. I like to use spaghetti jars to keep all my spices in. Heck there already paid for.
 

 

[alblancher]

Living in Louisiana  you just kind of live with that problem.  I put my rock hard rub in the oven with very low heat for a while to drive the moisture out, then back into a sealed mason jar.  The wife and I put on a bit of Latin music and play the maracas with the mason jars.  Not only does this break up the solid rub it gives us our only exercise. 

In the words of the great entertainer Charo

cuchi-cuchi

 

[meateater]

I have a story about Charo but you'd have to PM me about that!

 

[alblancher]

Now I have to know!  PM me please, I promise not to tell anyone else.  Just curious, does it have anything to do with maracas?

 

[pkerchef]

You could take the brown sugar and dry it in the oven before you mix it in the rub. This would make it more like granulated sugar as most of the moisture would be removed . Pkerchef

 

[scarbelly]

There is a ceramic disc that I use for brown sugar. It is called a sugar bear and it really works. It is not very expensive, around $3 each

Here is the link for them

http://www.sugarbearsinc.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PLST&Store_Code=SBI

 

[eddiemonster]

Hey, First time caller here.  Smoking a butt on a refurbished Brinkman SNP this weekend.  Using Emans Pig Rub recipe found in Wiki but for the life of me, don't know what a 1/4 cup of cbp is.  Any insight?

 

[forluvofsmoke]

Hey, First time caller here.  Smoking a butt on a refurbished Brinkman SNP this weekend.  Using Emans Pig Rub recipe found in Wiki but for the life of me, don't know what a 1/4 cup of cbp is.  Any insight?

 Hey Eddie,

that's Cracked Black Pepper, as in Peppercorn (freshly ground version of extra course ground black pepper from a can).

Have a great smoke, brother!

Eric

 

[eman]

Sorry , cracked black pepper, you can use corse ground if you dont grind it yourself.

 

[forluvofsmoke]

Last time i made my recipe of pig rub i decided to make a big batch and vacum seal it and use as needed.

 Pulled a packer, 2 butts and 3 racks ribs out the fridge and cut open the bag of rub. Stuff was so hard you could hardly break it w/ a hammer???

 Wasted a bunch of rub.

 Is this caused by the brown sugar? Or just moisture in the air getting in the rub b4 vacum sealing?

 Is there anything available that is flavorless that i can add to my recipe to stop this?

 Thanks, Bob

Hey eman,

don't know how I missed this one...

I generally don't use brown sugar in my rubs any more, but when I did, I only blended up what I planned on using that day...well, I still try to make all my rubs fresh and use them right away.

In order to make sugared rubs keep well over time, I'd suggest adding the brown sugar immediately prior to using. Then, your blend won't be lumped up as badly, or rock hard as you mentioned. You'd just need to measure the amount of blend you planned on using and calculate how much brown sugar to add to it to keep the recipe identical to the original. A few more minutes during your prep stage of the smoke, but you'll dodge the rocky rub.

Eric

 

[heidir]

The old-fashioned method - stick a slice of bread in with your rub. I do that with my brown sugar and it never clumps up on me - have done it with rubs, too.

Also, it's a way to get some interesting flavors into your sugar or rub - try a dark rye with caraway or a sourdough - plain old italian or french bread is what I normally use though - no flavor from those.

 

[SmokinAl]

I use raw sugar (turbinado) instead of brown sugar & it doesn't seem to clump together as much. I just keep my rub in a zip lock bag in the pantry.