Rubs -- Can You EVER Have Too Much, or Too Many?

[Eapples]

Hello, Everyone:

I just made up a batch of something called "14 Spice Rub."  I'm going to try it later on some chicken quarters.

I'm adding the batch of 14 Spice Rub to my arsenal of Memphis Dust (a la Meathead Goldwyn), and Myron Mixon's rubs for fish/chicken and beef/pork.  So, now I have four small tupperwear bowls with rubs occupying valuable real estate space in the pantry.

Is it possible to have too many rubs?  Or too much rub?  I'm still in the experimental stage, i.e., I haven't settled on any one rub.  Every time I see a new recipe, I want to try it.  Since we don't grill or barbecue that much, I'm worried about accumulating so much rub that at some point it loses potency or gets stale, and I have to throw it out.

My goal (and I don't know whether or not this is realistic) is to find one or two or three rubs that will be my go-to rubs for whatever I'm cooking on the grill or smoker.  I thought about scaling down the different recipes, e.g. if the recipe makes two cups, to ratchet it back to maybe one cup or just a few ounces.  I got really geeky once and actually calculated the fractional amounts of teaspoons, tablespoons...it did not turn out well.  So, I'm thinking that maybe the way to go is simply to make what the recipe calls for, to try it a few times, and if it doesn't hit the mark, then to just dump it, period.

Maybe this is just another part of what barbecue and grilling is all about, experimenting with different recipes and techniques.  I mean...that's just part of the fun.

Anyway, I'm asking my barbecue/grilling brethren and brethrenettes to weigh in with your opinions.  As always, thanks for your input.

[1buckie]

"Maybe this is just another part of what barbecue and grilling is all about, experimenting with different recipes and techniques.  I mean...that's just part of the fun."


You said it.......I won't even get you going on Mad Hunky (from Smoked Meat forums) or Big Ron's rubs

There's real good commercial ones besides those mentioned, so good, a lot of times I don't even bother playing around............

You can get a small 3 part sampler pack from Ron.....all three are off the hook good..........low salt, too.............

http://www.bigronswebsite.com/BigRonsRub.html

Hyper-nice guy with hyper good service & shipping..............

I think the Mad Hunky & others have similar samplers............

[Johnpv]

I pretty much just keep a simple/basic rub on hand than can easily be augmented to varying applications.  I'll usually take how much I need of the basic rub, thow it and the augmentations into my spice grinder and away I go.  I haven't gotten into any of the pre-made or bought rubs.  Not that I haven't wanted to try, it just seems to always come down to the GF going "But we like the one you make and we still have a bunch of it in the pantry, why do we need some one else's there too."

[Eapples]

The jury is in.

We used the 14 Spice Rub, in its original recipe, and it was heavy on the spicy side.  My wife proclaimed the death penalty for the rub, and it the trash it went.  We're going to tweak the recipe, removing the ingredients that add "spice," thereby adding more "sweet."

I found a recipe for basic rub, which I may make, following on to what Johnpv suggested, adding ingredients depending on what I'm cooking.  My wife half-liked the idea (she's playing a computer game, and is not really focused on what I'm saying or what I said.)  Also, I've considered, as Buckie suggested, trying small samples of some commercial rubs.

So, I guess that I answered my own question, and picked up some additional pointers from the forum.

The grilling/barbecue gods are smiling.

Thanks, guys.

[Johnpv]

Eapples, it sounds like you might have a similar pallet (spelling?) to mine.  I'm not a big heat fan, I prefer to taste the spices than just have my mouth/tongue catch on fire.  So for me I prefer stuff like Cholula sauce, where I get a little kick of heat but tons of flavor. 

Anyway where I was going with this is I think you guys might like the base rub I use.  It's 8 parts dark brown sugar, 3 parts kosher salt, 1 part paprika or chilli powder (depends on what your in the mood for) and then 1/4 part Cumin, 1/4 part Onion powder, 1/4 part Garlic powder, 1/4 part - 1/2 part Old Bay and then 1/4 part either Paprika or Chilli Powder (basically the one you didn't use before).

Everyone seems to like it, and I've used it as a base for rubs for Chicken, beef, and pork.   I use it straight up on Ribs and pork butt, and folks seem to really dig it. 

[1buckie]

 John, plus a bunch for level- headed thinking.......

that's a really good one......and a good way to think about applications.......a lot of sugar is fine if you want to tend toward sweet......I'm on board with that & don't really like the mouth burn type stuff either, once in a long while, but mostly not.................

One thing about sugar in rub is it will tend to burn, at high heat & even if cooked for a longer cook......one remedy I've seen from people who do a lot of their own mixing is to use turbinado sugar for the higher burn point......downside is I think it usually is not ground  fine but comes in sort of a small pellet type form, so there is a bit of work added to the mix........

palette, is the spelling you were going for......tricky one......

Eapples.....my suggestion about commercial rubs hopefully won't cloud or over complicate the situation, but like with Ron's stuff: $15 for all 3 rubs & a pack of chili mix, shipping included....

What's not to like about trying something that inexpensive?