RUBS: Why do you do store-bought rather than home made?

[smoke ninja]

Making runs was fun for the first few years. I still have a 6 year old jar of turmeric and I dont know what I'm ever going to do with a bag of juniper berries.

I got sick of buying a $10 bottle of spice to only ever use a 1/4 tablespoon of it. The real game changer was finding online vendors here. They offer unique spice blends and honestly I dont feel ten to fifteen bucks is a bad price when sourcing one unique ingredient will cost that much. What would I do with a jar of granulated honey or Worcestershire powder

 

[Fsonicsmith]

There are spices at all quality levels. While nothing is impossible you will not find good spices at a grocery store or at a Sam's Club, Costco, or GFS. You need to go to a Penzey's or similar spice specialist that imports and stocks the highest quality and fresh spices. And likewise there are commercial rubs that use all levels of spice quality. The rubs you will find at the local stores are mass-produced and made from cheaper, lower-quality spices. The rubs made and sold by many competition Q'ers, as a sideline way of of making money off of their competition achievements, are largely a) time-tested, b) made from fresh, high quality ingredients and c) due to economies of scale are often sold for less than the cost of duplicating at home.
There are caveats. As we all know, what impresses a judge with one bite in competition does not equate to what most of us enjoy when we sit down to eat lunch or dinner. As a result, those of us who buy commercial rubs from comp bbq'ers must judge for ourselves. I have found several that I love and have tried several that I said, "OK, but not for me".

 

[cayenne]

Interesting....

Interesting responses....thanks for all the replies so far!!

I'm curious....what seasonings do you think ARE required for a rub for what I'd consider the two main categories:

1. Beef

2. Pork

?

As I'd mentioned before, I got past measuring and fussing over exactly how much of this / that for a rub...since this is such an non-exact science....

So for my stuff, I just coat them liberally with kosher salt, coarse ground black pepper, granulated garlic and come chili powder.

I've seen some interesting responses here...with what I'd consider WEIRD for BBQ seasonings....cinnamon? Tumeric? Ginger?

Don't get me wrong, I love those seasonings in foods outside of BBQ, but would never think to put them on something smoked low and slow that's more like traditional BBQ.


What seasonings do you think would be essential for rubs for your fowl?

1. Chicken?
2. Duck?
3. Turkey?

I'll admit I don't have one down for this. And in the past mostly just used Tony Chacherie's cajun seasoning on them.

LOL...until I wrote this, I honestly hadn't ever thought about Tony's as a commercial seasoning 'blend'...haha. It is so ubiquitous here in Southern LA, that well, I've come to think of it just as its own "spice"....but I get it....I get it.

I'd also used Lemon Pepper seasoning on fowl too...again I guess that's also a blend.

But anyway, thoughts out there?

And....IF you do like to make your own rubs...would you care to share on there what your best ones are?


Thanks in advance,

cayenne

 

[SmokeOCD]

IamMadMan did all the work already
https://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=290924

I've got a Q though - why are there no Copycat rub/sauce recipes? Is there a BBQ code for rubs and sauces that says Thou Shalt NOT CopyCat ? I get we don't want to put the little guy out of business, there's BBQ giants too though.

 

[Qkooker]

I mostly do my own, old school way. Mainly salt, pepper, garlic powder, and brown sugar for beef including steaks. Do all spices separately mainly by appearance. Pork and chicken throw same SPG and add paprika and a little cayenne. Many commercial rubs use Msg, which add great flavor but gives the wife headaches.

 

[BackYardRob]

Modern, pathetic world???? Well, aren't you just a little ray of sunshine!
Like The Reverend Billy Ray Collins used to say, "Well now. He don't think too much of hisself, does he?"

That's out of context, sir. And I don't appreciate being singled out and mocked using a quote from reverend whoever. I'm entitled to an opinion like everyone else. Best I stop there. Enjoy your day.

 

[Negolien]

I personally like trying different stuff and I ran outta ideas after a while

 

[JIMSMOKES]

I can do my own but it aggravates my wife when I keep adding new rubs to my collections. LoL
You should see her roll her eyes when she hears I'm in a trade round.

 

[TravelingJ]

That's out of context, sir. And I don't appreciate being singled out and mocked using a quote from reverend whoever. I'm entitled to an opinion like everyone else. Best I stop there. Enjoy your day.

Singled out? You bring a lot of attitude to your "I make my own rubs, so I love cooking more than everyone else does" posts. So his message seemed perfectly within bounds. Maybe try to NOT insult the majority of a member base, if your skin is too thin to accept return comments.

 

[LloydQ]

That's out of context, sir. And I don't appreciate being singled out and mocked using a quote from reverend whoever. I'm entitled to an opinion like everyone else. Best I stop there. Enjoy your day.

Out of context? It was a direct quote.

 

[bschoen]

Passions run high, clearly a time to invoke Smoke Ninja:
"Let's all just calm down and smoke a fatty"

 

[BackYardRob]

Singled out? You bring a lot of attitude to your "I make my own rubs, so I love cooking more than everyone else does" posts. So his message seemed perfectly within bounds. Maybe try to NOT insult the majority of a member base, if your skin is too thin to accept return comments.

That's too funny. Twice my words are misinterpreted. Anyway, cheers to all!

 

[cayenne]

Back to topic...

Well, to bring it a bit back to topic....

Considering that spices DO have a shelf life, and lose their flavor potential quickly after opening....

How often do ya'll go through your store bought seasoning collections?

C

 

[Maylar]

Well, to bring it a bit back to topic....

Considering that spices DO have a shelf life, and lose their flavor potential quickly after opening....

How often do ya'll go through your store bought seasoning collections?

C

I asked about that here a short time ago, as it had appeared that one of my very old rubs had lost its flavor. But after tasting again with a clean palate it seems I was mistaken. The responses that I got were saying that people have kept rubs for years with no degradation. That conflicts with the claims that herbs and spices lose their potency quickly.

Maybe the rumors were started by McCormick? :wink:

 

[locolobo]

Tony's is my go-to store bought. But I do mix it up every once in a while outta the spices Mrs. Lobo has in the pantry. Just to make things interesting. Sometimes it works out and sometimes not. But it is fun experimenting!

 

[cayenne]

Mostly salt?

I asked about that here a short time ago, as it had appeared that one of my very old rubs had lost its flavor. But after tasting again with a clean palate it seems I was mistaken. The responses that I got were saying that people have kept rubs for years with no degradation. That conflicts with the claims that herbs and spices lose their potency quickly.

Maybe the rumors were started by McCormick? :wink:

Well, if your commercial rubs are mostly salt....well, salt doesn't go bad, but I'd venture to guess anything else in there starts to degrade.

It would be interesting to taste the one you mentioned side-by-side with a freshly opened bottle and see the difference...

C

 

[Maylar]

Well, if your commercial rubs are mostly salt....well, salt doesn't go bad, but I'd venture to guess anything else in there starts to degrade.

It would be interesting to taste the one you mentioned side-by-side with a freshly opened bottle and see the difference...

C

Salt isn't the first ingredient. It has chilis, onion, garlic, celery seed and some spices. Celery and garlic are definitely present. It was a freshly opened bottle, albeit about 8 years old. Oakridge competition rub, which unfortunately is no longer available.

 

[BackYardRob]

I buy mostly small, supermarket sized containers. I think that even my Cayenne that I've had for 4 years now still has most of it's flavor because it has little air contact compared to a large bottle that dwindles over even more time. Not sure if that's correct, but it's been the experience in my humble kitchen.

 

[cowboyupbbq]

Copycat

Everyone thinks they are original, and there are a few exceptions like Cool Smoke, Dizzy Pig and Oakridge(RIP), but many “commercial” rubs sold by bbq teams are a copy/modified version of Head Country, Smokin Guns Hot, and Cimmaron Doc. They may add some different paprika for color, pecan, fruit, honey, or another rub.

Ive bought fresh bulk spices, Penzeys, etc., and can make a solid rub, but it’s not worth the expense or trouble. Give me a 5# bag of a good base rub and I can add or mix so I feel like I’m passionate and creative and the food is awesome.

Example: My family loves “mango chicken”, which is 3 parts base rub(Eat Barbecue Most Powerful):1 Part Dry Mango Jello Mix. It’s awesome and I don’t love chicken.

IamMadMan did all the work already
https://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=290924

I've got a Q though - why are there no Copycat rub/sauce recipes? Is there a BBQ code for rubs and sauces that says Thou Shalt NOT CopyCat ? I get we don't want to put the little guy out of business, there's BBQ giants too though.

 

[cayenne]

Base mix?

Everyone thinks they are original, and there are a few exceptions like Cool Smoke, Dizzy Pig and Oakridge(RIP), but many “commercial” rubs sold by bbq teams are a copy/modified version of Head Country, Smokin Guns Hot, and Cimmaron Doc. They may add some different paprika for color, pecan, fruit, honey, or another rub.

Ive bought fresh bulk spices, Penzeys, etc., and can make a solid rub, but it’s not worth the expense or trouble. Give me a 5# bag of a good base rub and I can add or mix so I feel like I’m passionate and creative and the food is awesome.

Example: My family loves “mango chicken”, which is 3 parts base rub(Eat Barbecue Most Powerful):1 Part Dry Mango Jello Mix. It’s awesome and I don’t love chicken.

First....you used a term that pique'd my interest..."Base Rub".

I've not heard that before. What defines a "Base Rub".....?

Second: Wow...using Mango Jelly in your mix for mango chicken....that's an awesome idea?!?!?

I'm curious....I can definitely see the flavor aspect of using it, but with the gelatin also in that mix, does it do anything special you can see with the texture of the finished meat?

Thank you in advance!!

cayenne