Rubs for Meat, Fish, Poultry and Veggies

Let's start with some dry rubs:

Calypso Spice Rub 

Toast and Grind: 
2 Tbsp. Cumin Seeds
2 Tbsp. Black Peppercorns
4 Tsp. Yellow Mustard Seeds
4 Tsp. Coriander Seeds
4 Tsp. Whole Cloves
 Cool completely and place in a bowl (not plastic, it will stain)


Add to the above: 
4 Tsp. Cayenne or Habenero Chili Powder
4 Tsp. Ground Ginger
4 Tsp. Ground Cinnamon
2 Tbsp. Brown Sugar
4 Tsp. Salt


Jerk Rub

1 Onion-quartered
1/2 Cup Scallion (green onion), white and green, chopped
2 Tsp. Thyme
2 Tsp, Salt
1 Tsp. Allspice
1/4 Tsp. Nutmeg
1/2 Tsp. Cinnamon
1 Tsp. White or Brown Sugar
4 Scotch Bonnet Peppers***
1 Tsp Black Pepper


Place all ingredients in a food processor, grinding to a paste consistency.
*** Can use Jalapeno, Habanero -- whatever your palate can manage.  You can also decrease this to 1 or 2.  This should make 1 Cup of sauce.

Coffee Bean Rub

1 Tsp. Kosher Salt
1 Tsp. Black Pepper
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil, EVO
2 Tbsp. Coffee Beans, ground very fine (espresso setting)
1 Tbsp. Cocoa Powder (Special Dark is ok)
1/4 Tsp. Cinnamon Powder

This goes really good with beef - tri-tip, tenderloins, steaks.  Once it is combined, roll meat into the Rub and allow to rest for 30 minutes or so.  Always cook beef at room temperature, if possible. 

So, these are rubs.  Sauces I will do in a bit. 

 

 

Rub a Dub Dub

Seems to me it's been over 100 degrees here for over a month.  Makes it hard to stay off the BBQ, or away from salads.

I promised at one point to do some dry rubs.  Thought today would be a good day to do that.

Many of us buy 'ribs' to cook on the barbeque.  We also do Chicken, Fruits (pineapple, yum), Vegetables and oooh, I love sweet potatoes from the grill.

My ribs are usually 'baby back'.  This means they are loin ribs, or back ribs, taken from the top of the rib cage between the spine and the spare ribs, below the loin muscle. The designation "baby" indicates the cuts are from market weight hogs, rather than sows from a younger pig.  I like these as they are the most flavorful and usually have a lot of meat.

When I do baby backs, I almost always par-boil them for 45 minutes or so, depending on how thick they are and how many in the pot.  The pot always contains a bay leaf, vinegar, water and salt.  Other additions to the pot are soy sauce, garlic, onion, beer, wine, etc.  Amount of vinegar to water is 1 to 6, so for every 6 cups of water you want one cup of vinegar.  This helps tenderize and break down the meat.  If you need my recipe for this, I'll provide it based on requests.  I'm sure you have your own method.

If you don't par-boil them, you will want to use a 'rub' and medium to low heat for at least an hour or so on the barbeque.  I use charcoal (yes, I have a cylindrical starter), and if I'm doing from fresh (not par-boiled) -- I add 1/2 times more charcoal as the 2nd hour approaches to keep the temperature steady.

For those of you that can't use, or don't like store bought rubs or sauces, I am going to share some recipes in the next post -- so you don't have to do that dreadful 90% sugar stuff filled with lecithin and soy powder.


Another thing that you might invest in, is a Spice Grinder.  See the advertisement from Amazon above to begin browsing some of the options.  You can use your coffee bean grinder, but, your coffee might taste a little funny.  Many of the recipes call for 'seeds' and for 'toasting' the seeds, before grinding.

Toasting the seeds means placing them in a stainless steel heated pan, and toasting them for 3 to 7 minutes depending on the seeds.  Most of the time, you will know they are done when the aroma hits you.  Remember to continue to move the seeds around in the pan so they are evenly toasted.  ALWAYS let them cool on a flat surface (i.e. remove from pan) and don't use your fingers to touch and see if they are still hot.  Usually, you can place your hand 1/2 inch above them to check for heat.  Grind them when they've cooled.


If the recipe calls for seeds, and you are going to toast them - don't mix n match.  Don't throw already ground spices into a pan where you are toasting seeds.  This will create an unusual flavor/aroma and ruin the seeds to be toasted.  Also, ground spices usually will burn quickly when toasted in a dry pan.

Hmmm, what did I forget?  Well, the Calypso Spice Rub goes good on chicken, ribs and pineapple/peaches.....Jerk Seasoning works with fish, chicken, you're choice.  Let's see how many I can get out before I start naming them all...