Rubs for Smoking Grilling Meat and Fish

[snowangel]

So, over on the Butt and the Brisketbeef shoulder -- think smoking, not just grilling folks -- topic, there's much talk of rubs. There's even talk about rubs on Bacon that's been brined before the dry rub.

Me, I'm a fan of a nekked butt, but I want a rub on my brisket (I've never smoked a shoulder, but Pam's inspiring me).

What is your rub of choice?

Do tell all, and if your rub recipe is your own, do add it to RecipeGullet. Me, I've sort of been stuck on Klink's Dry Rub, but I could be pursuaded to try something else for the meat I'll smoke this coming weekend.

Do you rub just before putting the slab o meat on the smoker, or do you do in in advance by a coupla days?

[iriee]

klinks looks like a nice rub. i like to brine for a day,,,dry off and rub well and let it sit on a rack uncovered for one more day. then smoke away!

[rooftop1000]

Having unwrapped raw meat lolling around my fridge is one of the few things that scare me in the kitchen so I only rub about an hour before it hits the fire.

I usually use paprika, onion and garlic powders, kosher salt, oregano, black, white and cayenne peppers and pehaps a touch of thyme.

Sometimes I have it made up in a shaker, sometimes mixed in a bowl and sometimes I just pile it on a layer at a time.

For ribs I will also take some of the original rub and mix with brown sugar and pack that onto the cooked ribs for the last 20 min...sprinkled with cider vin.

I have discovered that my standard isnt so great when oven roasting meats in the winter...overpowers without the smoke

tracey

[Chris Amirault]

This chipotle ancho rub, revised from a recipe by Reed Hearon, is our go-to rub for grilling in the summer. Finish chicken, lamb, beef, pork, fish -- whatever -- with a bit of olive oil or butter and lots of lime.

[nikkom]

I usually rub mine down the night before smoking... In a pinch I have rubbed it down about an hour before smoking and it still turned out good. Just make sure to pull it from the fridge at leat an hour before you're going to put it on the grill to let it come up to room temp. Happy smoking..

[UnConundrum]

I always use Dizzy Pig rubs. They make some really great products.

[Batuta]

I like a good rub. It adds another dimension to the crispy pulled pork bits, and seems to make the ribs go even better with the sauce. A little chili/paprika/onion power/what-have-you makes pulled pork sing. And a brown sugar concoction makes my the Memphis-style ribs (and my tummy) very happy.

The wrong rub, however, can hurt an otherwise great barbeque. I'm probably in the minority here, but the pepper on the famous "Divine Mr. Brown" overhelms it all.

[Norm357]

<------- almost world famous rub for briskit.

1 part paprika

1 part salt

1 part pepper

1 part garlic powder

1 part brown sugar.

Try it, thank me the next day.

[Anna Friedman Herlihy]

I love, love, love the "Spice Rub for Pork and Beef" (or is it beef and pork) from the Complete Meat Cookbook by Aidells and someone else. No sauce necessary when the meat's done!

[C. sapidus]

We always have a supply of Memphis rib rub, from Steven Raichlen's Barbecue Bible. A very similar recipe is available here (click). Besides being great on ribs, it makes a nice marinade for grilled chicken. Just mix the rib rub with oil and lime juice and marinate the chicken in a ziploc bag.

[Chris Amirault]

When the weather is good for grilling -- like tonight -- I'll often: stop to grab a flank steak, some bok choy, cucumbers, shiitake, plump shallots, maybe a tomato or two if they're decent; prepare a basic dressing with kecap manis, lime juice, fish sauce, some mint, cilantro, black pepper, and salt; and make a rub for the flank steak that's along these lines:

1t cinnamon

1T roasted red chile pepper

1T black pepper

1T sugar

1T salt

1T ground galangal

While I prepare the coals, I let that rub soak into the scored steak at room temp, and then grill it up with the whole shallots and mushrooms all getting charred. Rest, slice, serve with jasmine rice.

[snowangel]

The galangal is intriguiging, Chris. How do you suppose it would marry with smoked brisket?

[Chris Amirault]

Sure. Works in beef satay, after all.

[Chris Amirault]

A thought I just had in the kitchen. I have found that it's important to be sure all ingredients are ground to the same size grains. I just made this rub and didn't really do that as well as I should have done. As a result, the turbinado and pepper tended to fall to the bottom of the bowl while I was applying the rub to the ribs. I appreciate the texture of a crunch of peppercorn more than most, but with meat that's going to be jostled about, consistent granularity is more important, I think.

[Toliver]

Just make sure to pull it from the fridge at leat an hour before you're going to put it on the grill to let it come up to room temp.  Happy smoking..

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Susan, if I recall correctly, you're a big fan of not letting the meat come up to room temp when you smoke. Am I remembering correctly?

[Chris Amirault]

It's true, she's not: the colder the meat, the longer it stays below 140F, the temperature at which the smoke stops permeating the meat.

[FoodMan]

Just make sure to pull it from the fridge at leat an hour before you're going to put it on the grill to let it come up to room temp.  Happy smoking..

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Susan, if I recall correctly, you're a big fan of not letting the meat come up to room temp when you smoke. Am I remembering correctly?

←

me neither. Not for smoking. I learned that from the Col Klink eGCI class on smoking. A cold meat takes a bit longer to cook and takes on more smoke and flavor. In any other instant, like direct heat grilling steaks or chicken..., I always let it come to room temp.