Powdering a wet rub

racer944

Alright, I've hit a brick wall and I need your help. I've been dialing in my super duper secret rub, and have ended up with a paste that comes mainly from soy and Worcestershire sauce (with some bourbon in there when I'm not too busy drinking it). Now, I like pastes or wet rubs, but I'd really like to put this sucker in powder form. I tried putting the convection oven on, with the door open, to 170 degrees but it just stuck to the wax paper. Any ideas?

nolaegghead

You probably want to get the stuff freeze dried, then grind it up in a spice mill.  If it sticks together, there are anti-binding agents you can add (salt, flour, silicone dioxide, etc.).

As long as you don't have too much oil, grinding shouldn't be a problem.  Since not many people have a vacuum pump and freeze dry chamber, you can send it off.  There are a bunch of companies that provide freeze drying services.

You can bake it in the oven, but you're going to lose many of your aromatics.  I suspect you didn't dry it long enough - it can take many hours at 170.

racer944

Pretty much the rub got it's moisture from the soy and Worcestershire. I can't imagine those have too much oil in them. After reading up on it today, it looks like freeze drying is a great way to go, but I'm gonna need to try out powdered soy and powdered Worcestershire before I spring for something like that. Does anyone have any experience with powdered soy, Worcestershire, or anything like that?

SteveWPBFL

Vacuum dry? If you can put it in a small volume and pump out the air to near vacuum you can vaporize the water to remove it and perhaps the residual is what you're after. Add a little heat will speed it up. 

The Cen-Tex Smoker

You can but worchestershire powder for sure and I'm almost positive you can but soy powder as well. That would be a good start.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Here is your W powder

http://spicebarn.com/worcestershire_powder.htm

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Here is your soy sauce powder

http://spicebarn.com/soy_sauce_powder.htm

Now if anyone can find bourbon powder, I'm all in.

nolaegghead

Does snorting bourbon powder screw up your liver?  If not, I'm sold.

nolaegghead

Oh, @racer994 - if you use the powders, base the amount of powder on the amount of equivalent wet ingredient you used.   Basically, I'm saying you need to calculate the ratios based on the wet ratio equivalents.  arg.  You know what I mean.  If it's 2 parts soy to 1 worchestershire, it's not necessarily gong to be 2 parts soy powder to 1 part worchestershire powder.

racer944

Ok, I think I understand what you're saying NOLA. Steve, I'd love to make a homemade freeze drying machine, but we're probably still a long way off from that. I think I'm going to give centex's idea a try. Thanks for the product endorsements, payday is tomorrow so that should cover me from the wife for a little bit anyways. Bourbon powder, didn't they have that in the fifth element or something?