Hey everyone, just bought my first smoker recently so I'm just getting started. I had a couple of cheap steaks in the freezer so I tried those for my first smoke and they turned out great. I have read about the differences between a rub and seasonings. I'm wondering if anyone has tried seasonings for smoking or should you just stick with rubs? I have done a ton of grilling so I have a lot of McCormicks Grill Mates seasoning options. I'm wondering if those would work to smoke meat or if you need to use a rub exclusively. Any advise or thoughts from experience would be great.
Thanks.
Hi there and welcome! I think the guys have it well covered and here's my 2 cents to add onto the pile.
Seasoning and Rubs are pretty much the same in my book.
The biggest difference I noticed is that the word "Rub" is often used or even thrown around to make a combo of spices sound extra special or exotic hahaha.
If you look at any seasoning or rub out there chances are the first 4 ingredients are Salt, black Pepper, Onion, and Garlic also known as SPOG. These what I call "The Big 4" of seasoning.
If you season any meat out there with SPOG you will find it comes out amazing. Fish and seafood dont really need much of any of SPOG and can go without the OG but again small amounts and the fish/seafood are still awesome!
I always encourage people to simply try SPOG on something as simple as a burger and see how great it is, of if you are smoking something simple like boneless skinless chicken thighs just use SPOG and be amazed.
Then I tell them how understanding seasoning de-mystifies the magic seasoning and rub combos that people pay premium dollars for.
If you start with SPOG and add 1 to 3 more ingredients you end up with all kinds of different flavors:
- Mexican - SPOG + Chili Powder and a little Cumin (also sometimes some Paprika)
- Italian' ish - SPOG + Thyme, Basil, and/or Oregano (sometimes fennel or caraway, etc.)
- BBQ - SPOG + Paprika ( for pork and chicken, doesnt hurt on beef but buff usually omit the paprika or use a little Cayenne
- Asian - sPOG + Ginger, Soy Sauce, and some toasted Sesaame Oil (little "s" for a tiny bit of salt as soy sauce does the trick)
- Cajun - SPOG + Cayenne and sometimes some Bay leaf (other cajun dishes can have more or less seasonings added)
- Steaks and Chops - SPOG + a pinch of Cayenne (this gets close to montreal seasonig though they may omit garlic)
- Rosemary anything - SPOG + Rosemary
- etc.
So you see you can make any kind of rub or seasoning combo for meat and also for soups and stews if you understand the basics of how they start and how you do simple changes to go down a different flavor branch.
Always read the back of your seasoning and rub labels and think to yourself "hmmm am I paying $8 for 6 oz of seasoning that is mostly SPOG???".
Try some of these combos out on simple pieces of meat you grill, smoke, or cook in a skillet and you will be amazed.
Finally, if you like a seasoning or rub you buy in the store there is nothing wrong with that. It's just good to know you can make as good (maybe not the identical but amazing) AND you can control all the amounts of the seasoning yourself.
Right now I have my own self mixed combos in big shaker containers of:
- SPx2OG (times 2 on the pepper, I use this for briskets and for anything that needs The Big 4)
- SPOG+Paprika (my chicken and pork go to)
- POG+Paprika (my go to for ribs and any chicken and pork where I want to have tight control over salt. Pork ribs are super easy to oversalt so I mostly use it on them)
I get tempted at times to so a Tex-Mex and Taco seasoning blend of SPOG+Chili powder (a lot), Paprika (a lot) and Cumin (a little) but I find myself just using my shaker of SPx2OG and then adding the other spices separately. I just dont have more space in my spice pantry for more combo shakers hahahha.
I hope this info helps :)
