Dry Rub Help?

blakeas

Ok - so I have dizzy dust, swamp venom, etc and my wife hates them all!  dang it!  I have used in the past a homemade rub that includes ALOT of brown sugar and some cayenne, old bay, S&P that she seemed to like.  Any suggestions out there on a good dry rub for baby back ribs?  or for all meats for that matter?

RRP

Here's one that I have used for years.

Memphis Style Rib Rub 

Adapted from "The BARBECUE BIBLE - Steven Raichlen" 

• 1/4 cup paprika 
• 1 1/2 tablespoons ground black pepper 
• 1 1/2 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar 
• 1 tablespoon salt 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground celery seed 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin 

This is a versatile rub that works on any cut of pork, though I’ve also used it on hamburgers!  Ron Pratt

fishlessman

with the dizzy products, if its for me i add heat, if im serving it to others i add sugar, crowds seem to have a sweet tooth

gdenby

Has your wife given any reason why she doesn't like the rubs you've tried? My wife can't tolerate much heat, so I don't put hot rubs like SV or jerk rubs on ribs I serve to her.

Most pork rubs are pretty high on sugar. Beef rubs tend to have more salt. Poultry tends to have more herbal flavors. I don't think there is a universal rub outside S&P.

You mentioned Old Bay. The copycat recipes I've seen for that tend to have ingredients that don't show up a lot in standard rubs. Things like cardamon, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, and mace. Perhaps you might try adding some garam masala to the sugar and S&P. Or a Chinese char sui blend.

Alternatively, keep the rub simple, and offer various sauces.

blakeas

she said the following

"I think that its just not tasty – I don’t like the overall flavor of it.  But I did like it with the bbq sauce"

So not much help!  she really loved the alton brown dry rub but we don't have Jalapeno seasoning so we leave that out:

Dry Rub:8 tablespoons light brown sugar, tightly packed3 tablespoons kosher salt1 tablespoon chili powder1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper1/2 teaspoon jalapeno seasoning1/2 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning1/2 teaspoon rubbed thyme1/2 teaspoon onion powder

What other rubs should I try?

johnkitchens

My wife doesn't like any rub at all. NONE! 

When I cook for her I only use salt and pepper for seasoning no matter what I cook. 

fljoemon

@blakelas .. try the Oakridge Dominator Sweet Rub ... I'm sure your wife will like it.

http://www.oakridgebbq.com/shop/dominator-sweet-rib-rub/

In fact try a sampler pack from them for $5.00 and that includes free shipping.

http://www.oakridgebbq.com/shop/sample-rub-pack/

fishlessman

cabellas has a sweet rub called open seasons baby back rib rub, she might like that rub as well

QDude

The Simply Marvelous cherry rub is great!

Acn

QDude said:

The Simply Marvelous cherry rub is great!

+1 on this. My seven year old would sprinkle this on yogurt or cereal if we let her.

smokeyj

My favorite pork rub is grand champion from Texas BBQ rubs. Really good stuff.

Zmokin

blakeas said:

Ok - so I have dizzy dust, swamp venom, etc and my wife hates them all!  dang it!  I have used in the past a homemade rub that includes ALOT of brown sugar and some cayenne, old bay, S&P that she seemed to like.  Any suggestions out there on a good dry rub for baby back ribs?  or for all meats for that matter?

I guess my question is, what is wrong with "what she seemed to like"?

DMW

I really like the Memphis Dust recipe from here for ribs:

http://amazingribs.com/recipes/rubs_pastes_marinades_and_brines/meatheads_memphis_dust.html

The one @RRP posted sounds good as well, need to try that one.

Maccool

I've become fond of McCormick's Bourbon and Brown Sugar. I've used both the rub and the marinade. Good stuff.

TonyA

Your wife probably has a relatively narrow window of the rub flavor she enjoys .. at least right now.  I would just go with the one you know she likes for a while... then start introducing other flavors that you think or hope she will enjoy down the road.  You will likely just frustrate yourself trying to reinvent the wheel.

Is she tasting it out of the jar or final product?  it's been my experience that in long cooks rub flavors become pretty muted and all the little secret ingredients tend to disappear anyway.  Think about it - a lot of guys coat ribs in mustard. you ever have a rib taste like mustard? and that's a pretty bold favor.  I keep it simple now.. I only use 3-4 ingredients in any rubs that are spending more than 2 hours cooking.

HogHeaven

I agree with DMV... AmazingRibs.com is where to go to learn everything you need to know about making your own rubs, marinades and sauces. You can mix up Meathead's suggested rubs or you can make your own variations. Store bought rubs, marinades and sauces include many, many ingredients that are there to extend shelf life. Make your own and save money and stop consuming shelf life extending chemicals.

revolver1

Some of Amazingrib's rubs are salt free.  A double + for some of us.  

SGH

I like RRP suggestion above. Also a very good general use rub that I use and really like is just salt, black pepper, white pepper and cayenne. It just works well or so I think. Mix all 4 in equal amounts by weight and not volume.