bosco Posted February 9, 2016 Report Share Posted February 9, 2016 I was just having a conversation with tony and thought that I would start a thread to see what everyone is using. I have some of my own recipes that are really good, however, over time I have developed a new appreciation of pre-made rubs. One thing that I really like about pre-made rubs is that you get to try a variety and not be bound to one flavor profile. The second thing is that spices are expensive and its easier to just get an all in one. With that said.... You do go through a trial and error phase and some rubs are just not that good. A lot of them use far too much salt which I don't really appreciate. Anyways, last week I had a massive clean out. I gave away in excess of 30 bottles of rubs to a buddy and narrowed my cupboard down to the following: Plowboys yard bird - chicken wings Dizzy Pig Dizzy Dust - Burgers!! Mediterranean-ish - chicken and Greek potatoes John Henry's Summertime Peach - ribs Cilantro and Lime - shrimp, chicken, fajita mix Mojave Garlic - steak Pecan rub (very close to meat church Deez-nuts. Haven't decided yet what one is my favorite) Meat Church Holy Cow - low and slow beef ribs brisket Deez-nuts - chicken breast, shrimp The Slabs Birds and Bones - everything chicken!!! Lanes have them all and still experimenting. So far, I think that the sweet heat is my favorite. So what about you guys??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinyfish Posted February 9, 2016 Report Share Posted February 9, 2016 Thats quite the collection after the clean out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted February 9, 2016 Report Share Posted February 9, 2016 I might have to follow Ryan's suggestion and purge a bunch from my pantry. I literally have no more room for bottles of rubs! Love me some Dizzy Pig - have most of them. Favs are Dizzy Dust, Bayou-ish, Pineapple Head, Raising the Steaks, and Shaking the Tree. Haven't tried the new ones yet; the IPA sounds interesting. Sucklebusters - Hoochie Mama, SPG, and Campfire Steak Seasoning. Plowboys - Yardbird, Bovine Bold, and Fin & Feather. Oakridge BBQ - Competition, Black Ops, and Santa Maria Steak. Their Habanero Death Dust earns its name. Trying out the Carne Crosta. Butcher BBQ - not rubs, but they have nice injection mixes - Bird Booster - Original, Brisket and Pork are all very good. Billy Bones - Competition and Original rubs, Triple Cherry (rub and sauce). 3 Eyz BBQ - rub (they only got 1). Got the sampler pack from Lanes and falling in love with them. As soon as I clear out some space in the pantry, I'm loading up! Their Ancho Expresso has knocked off Dizzy Pig's Red Eye as my coffee-based rub. And their Signature might displace the 3 Eyz BBQ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homepro01 Posted February 9, 2016 Report Share Posted February 9, 2016 I make my own rubs. I have just short of 100 spices. I find buying spices in small amounts from spice purveyors is far cheaper than buying some the mixes. I also struggle with the amount of sodium in the mixes. I make the spice rub based on what I feel or recipes that I have amazed over time. For bulk spices, I like Savory spice shop, World spice and Wholespice in Napa. One tip, never order 4ozs of parsley. I took almost a year to finish!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted February 10, 2016 Report Share Posted February 10, 2016 I can see that approach for health reasons - watching sugar and/or salt intake or food allergies. As far as economics go, I'm not sure it makes more sense. 100 spices at an average of $2 per, is the same as 25 jars of $8 spice blends. I do make some of my own rubs/spice blends, but only where I have something that works for me better than a purchased one. I often combine commercial rubs to get the flavor profile I'm looking for. Example, I have a custom blend of Penzey's Greek, Turkish, and Berbere spice blends that I use as my "house" lamb seasoning. I make my own cajun blend, too. But others, it just makes sense to buy - example, Moroccan Ras El Hanout - takes somewhere in the neighborhood of 25 different spices/herbs/flowers to make, such as rose petals. Why buy rose petals to make one thing out of them? Just sayin' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bosco Posted February 10, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2016 A member on the guru, Dub once told me that I was missing out on a flavour explosion by making my own. He was right, I really enjoy the variety and improvements to my cooking. I do try and find sodium reduced rubs and do not enjoy the really strong salt flavour rubs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilburpan Posted February 10, 2016 Report Share Posted February 10, 2016 I've been making my own rubs, using the approach that Aaron Franklin uses in this video: https://youtu.be/dGwmaq6y6iU Basically, he starts with a 50/50 mix of salt and coarse ground black pepper. That's his brisket rub. To get fancy brisket rub, add a little garlic, onion, and/or chile powder. For pork butt, add paprika for color, and a little dry mustard. For pork ribs, add some more coarse ground black pepper. For chicken, add some brown sugar. I've found that for brisket and pork butt, aiming for 1/2 cup total when done works well. For two slabs of ribs or a whole chicken, 1/4 cup of rub is enough. There are some modifications that I make. Instead of chile powder, I usually use ancho chile or chipotle, and I've used cayenne on occasion. I'll skip the additional black pepper for ribs, and I'll add in some brown sugar when making a rub for pork butt and ribs. Aaron Franklin leaves out the sugar for those rubs because of a concern for burning the sugar. I've not found that burning the sugar is an issue for me, but I do low and slow cooks at a lower temperature (200-225ºF) than he does (275ºF). You'll probably make your own adjustments as well, but I think this is a terrific backbone for DIY rubs. And it is a lot cheaper to buy the individual spices than the premade blends, which tend to be heavy on the salt and sugar because those are the cheap ingredients. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EGGARY Posted February 11, 2016 Report Share Posted February 11, 2016 Let me give a shout out to Simply Marvelous Rubs. They are thru Big Poppa Smokers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoFrogs91 Posted February 14, 2016 Report Share Posted February 14, 2016 Dizzy Pig Tsunami Spin on salmon is sublime<br /> <br /> <br /> Benton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckreef Posted February 15, 2016 Report Share Posted February 15, 2016 Dizzy Pig Tsunami Spin on salmon is sublime Benton I have some of that. Will try it on my next salmon cook. Charles - Prometheus 16.5", Cassiopeia 19" TT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted February 15, 2016 Report Share Posted February 15, 2016 Dizzy Pig Tsunami Spin on salmon is sublime<br /> <br /> <br /> Benton I've used that (it's in my pantry), but have become a fan of Fin & Feather from Plowboys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bosco Posted February 15, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2016 tony ^^ please try a bottle of the slabs birds and bones!!!! If you don't like it I will send you a care package!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted February 15, 2016 Report Share Posted February 15, 2016 On my "wish list" Bosco! Need to do a pantry clear out like yours first before ordering any new ones (including the Lanes). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
