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Rick Thead--

The rub is the second most important part of the barbecue process, next to the smoking technique. There are two main concepts to keep in mind when formulating your rub. The proportion of salt should be great enough to trigger osmosis and begin to draw the moisture from the surface of the meat, and (some may disagree with this) the proportion of sugar should not be excessive because it will caramelize and burn during smoking and leave a bitter taste. However, since sugar contributes to osmosis, it is an important component and shouldn't be eliminated.

Beyond that, your rub should only be limited by your imagination. Other ingredients to consider can include paprika, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, cayenne pepper, chili powder, oregano, sage, or whatever sounds good to you.

I like to keep my rub in a shaker for easy application. Rub should be applied at least the night before smoking. Anything longer, up to three days, is better. Shake the rub over the entire surface of the meat to be smoked. Use a generous amount at first and then, as it starts to get moist and adhere, add more. I don't think it's necessary to "rub" it in. I find that that only results in uneven distribution, and besides, it stains your hands. Wrap the meat loosely in butcher paper and leave in the refrigerator until a couple of hours before smoking.

I find rubs to be far more useful than marinades especially for large pieces of meat such as briskets and pork butts. For cuts such as these, the internal and external fat melts through the meat during cooking keeping it moist. I believe that the texture of the meat is improved by drawing out excess moisture, before cooking, through osmosis. The dry surface of the meat and the rub itself combine to produce a flavorful and attractive crust on the finished product. Unless it is thoroughly blotted dry on the surface, marinated meat won't color properly.

My favorite rub comes from a great book, "The Thrill of the Grill" by Schlesinger and Willoughby.

All-South Barbecue Rub

Simply mix together. I usually double or quadruple the recipe since it is used liberally.

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Kansas City Barbeque Society Barbeque Rub

Combine all ingredients and store in a tightly-sealed jar in a cool dark place. Use as a rub for any barbecued meat.

[I see rub and sauce recipes calling for chili powder. What is this, just powdered chiles?]

Editor--

Pure powdered chiles are properly called 'powdered chiles'. A 'chili powder' is a combination of one or more powdered chiles and other ingredients. Below is Garry Howard's personal chili powder recipe. Use this mixture wherever chili powder is called for. Kit Anderson says compared to homemade recipes, the chili powders you buy in the store taste like cardboard.

Garry Howard's Personal Chili Powder

Garry suggests that for the best chili powder, roast the chiles first. Visit Garry's web page for complete directions on how to roast the chilies. Click here

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Kit Anderson--

Chris Schlesinger's Barbecue Rub for Fish

Mix ingredients well.

Carey Starzinger--

Latin-style Spice Rub

Combine all the ingredients and grind to a powder in a spice mill, coffee grinder, or with a mortar and pestle. Store in a tightly seal jar in a cool, dark place. It will keep for about 6 weeks.

Source: "The Great Barbecue Companion, Mops, Sops, Sauces, and Rubs" by Bruce Bjorkman

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Memphis-Style Dry Barbeque Seasoning

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Pour into a salt shaker. Sprinkle lightly on ribs or chops during grilling for "dry" barbeque flavor. Once ribs are ready, shake seasoning over meat to taste and serve. Use this method along with barbeque sauce for an extra spicy effect.

Source: "Mesquite Cookery" by John "Boog" Powell

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Kansas City Style Barbecue Paste

Mix all ingredients and rub paste onto the surface of pork or beef.

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[Do I have to use an exact recipe or a commercial rub for doing good barbecue?]

Belly--

There are as many ways of doing barbecue as there are people--there are no two going to do it just alike. I use both salt and brown sugar in my rubs and sauces and anything else I can find. I don't think I ever make a rub or barbecue sauce the same two times in a row. I may try but there is always something that is a little different. So just play with your sauces and rubs and get them to where you like them.

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Editor--I saw a post some months back (couldn't find it again for inclusion here) where the poster said that he kept a jar for combining left-over rubs, a little of this recipe, a little of that. He said one day he used his left-over jar for the rub on his barbecue meat and this 'special blend' produced the best barbecue he'd ever made. Of course, he couldn't recreate it!

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[When you use a barbecue marinade or rub, is it a good idea or a bad idea to pierce the meat all over to allow better penetration of flavor? Can this cause too much fat/moisture to leach out during cooking?]

Editor--

If you choose to use a rub or a marinade, do not pierce the meat. This will allow too much moisture to escape the meat.

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[I've heard of powdered Worcestershire sauce. Where can I get it and what can I do with it?]

David Jernigan--

I use it in almost all of my rubs--beef, chicken, pork, fish. I don't use a lot. Maybe a tablespoon whenever I make any kind of rub. I have four quart jars labeled 'beef', 'chicken', 'pork' and 'general'. When one gets low, I mix up another batch and add powdered Worcestershire in with whatever is left. So, say I am mixing 3/4 of a quart of rub for pork, I put about a tablespoon of powdered Worcestershire in that. For beef, I use a little more.

One thing you have to worry about with Worcestershire powder is that you have to keep it in an airtight jar. As it gets older, it has a tendency to clump into something close to granite. If you have it in a rub that sits around, make sure it is well mixed. Otherwise, you get small little rocks in the rub where the powder has clumped together.

I get Worcestershire powder at the grocery store (Albertsons). It's pretty much available everywhere around here. I think David Wade invented it or claims to have and he lives around here, so its pretty common. The stuff at Pendarys is better than what I get in the supermarket, but it is about twice as expensive. Of course, everything at Pendarys is expensive, but you can count on everything being a quality product and there are some things I just can't get anywhere else.

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[Can you tell me about using mustard on the meat before I give it a dry rub?]

Editor--Summary of several posts--

You can rub the meat (pork shoulders, butts or picnics, ribs, briskets, etc.) with mustard prior to rubbing on the spices for a different taste in the finished product. Just give the meat a good rub with plenty of mustard and then let it sit for a few hours in the refrigerator. Then put on the dry spice rub and let the meat sit in the refrigerator overnight. What kind of mustard do you use? Plain old yellow mustard works well but you can also use the fancy mustards. Experiment with different types and see what kind tastes best to you.

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BBQ FAQ Ver 1.0, 2.0 ©1997, 1998 William W. Wight. All rights reserved.