Making rub vs store bought

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Been around making rubs a day or two.

Rubs, like sauce or like how to smoke meats is completely about figuring out what you want for a finished product and then establishing how to get there YOUR WAY. There is no one definitive way to make smoke. Its what is fun about it. When you think you have your way perfected you look for slight mods. or ways to do it faster, better manage the pit, etc etc.... 

I still believe in the 8/3/1/1/1 method. AND keep records so you know what you have and what you've already tried. 8 = any salt or mixture of salts or salt substitutes, 3 obviously sugar, again your choice or mixtures. then you have three more parts of any herb, spice or flavor modifier. These can be combined to equal one part. Make what you think you'd like and try it!

I also love trying some of those market blends. I have a box on a shelf in the garage that is full of these types where folks being nice have given them to me. I get a wild hair occassionally and dive right in.... the bad part is even if I don't care too much for them, I just can't make myself throw them away....LOL  Then there are those I tryed and really liked. Currently I enjoy two store boughts', one for beef ("Tatonka Dust" from a board members bride's company) and one for pork called "Pig Squeal". I still use my own rubs mostly. Buying rubs to me makes the same amount of sense as buying canned air. I guess it does make sense but its just normally goes against my male ego. LOL

So make 'em, try 'em, buy 'em..... tell us what you think. I shared with you what I currently care for and I feel quite comfortable you'd like them too. I shared how I make them so you can enjoy building and trying your own. AND always be quite gracious about someone elses which they recommend or they are giving you.... you never know what you'll find.

Like everything else here, its just part of the fun of adventure! LOL..... Its always funny when you get the most outstanding rub you'll ever experience and can't get any more for one reason or another...  its like walking the yellow brick road.

Have fun, and let use know what you find that is good!
 
That's the great thing about freedom of speech, one can express an opinion or ideas without fear of retaliation.

  I find that when people who have made their own rubs to their own personal taste they taste pretty foul. Someone who smokes, drinks alot and consumes a large amount of red meat (usually BBQd) prefers a full on blast of salt multiplied with cayenne multiplied with garlic multiplied with onion powder with a dump of chipotle to boot. Over powering and a taste that lingers well into the next day.

You may call that freedom of speech....   I call it rude and self aggrandizing, arrogant and bourgeoisie....  especially in "our" house...
 
Foamheart, the first anti-caking agent that comes to mind is silican dioxide. Used in several powdered  products. Being around this place, I've started looking at the ingredients in packaged foods then googleing them to see why they are there.
 
I make a lot of my own rubs and injections and I buy a lot of rubs and injectable sauces. Some I like some not so much. I also mix a lot of store bought rubs together and they come out well. Jef sells a rub with very little salt in it, I use it s lot, not because of the lack of salt but because it tastes good. I am a recovering alcoholic and haven't drank in over 30 years and I quit smoking about 20 years ago so my taste buds are quit accurate which only means they may be different than that of someone who drinks and smokes and for that matter my wife doesn't drink or smoke either but we don't like all of the same things either. We don't argue about it we accept the we are all different and that our differences are all we have to share with one another. I don't force my tastes on her and she don't push her's on me yet we get together in the kitchen and put together some good eats.
 
 
Soooo, I would state, with some reservation, you are  
beatdeadhorse.gif
  if you think the "refined" palate, that you describe, lives here....

  I find that when people who have made their own rubs to their own personal taste they taste pretty foul. Someone who smokes, drinks alot and consumes a large amount of red meat (usually BBQd) prefers a full on blast of salt multiplied with cayenne multiplied with garlic multiplied with onion powder with a dump of chipotle to boot. Over powering and a taste that lingers well into the next day.

Perhaps, after that comment, another venue would be more suitable to you, your circle of friends / clientele....   
Agreed.  No need to be bashing others.
 
Hey bbq-rubz  you got a pretty good dressing down, as the Brits would say.  I see you are new, and don't want to see you go away.

What Disco and Foam said I agree,  There are a lot of talented people on here that make some pretty darn good stuff rubs included. If you think about most all the commercial rubs started in

someones kitchen, just like yours or mine. I make some of my rubs and buy some, My old stand by's are my own and a pretty even and mild balance of flavors. I like to taste the meat and not just the seasoning. Everyone has there own taste, and different parts of the country are definitely have different flavor profiles.

Everyone (Most everyone) tries to get along, learn, teach and share.

Gary 
 
I prefer making my own. Really pretty simple and have not found a store bought rub that wasn't too salty. I usually salt whatever meat i'm cooking the night before and apply a salt free rub before throwing onto the smoker. 
 
I don't see the difference between salting the day befor or adding the salt to the salt free rub the day befor.
The other thing I wonder about is how does everyone think rubs originated, I use a store bought rub called Grub Rub as a base for everything I smoke I go through about 10 bottles every year it was created by a Texas smoker years ago and is now being made and sold by family. Tonka dust was created by a woman in North Dakota, fact is almost all store bought rubs and sauces were created by people like you and me. The other thing is that anyone who brins uses a lot of salt. Salt helps tenderize and enhance flavors but if you like tastless food or you like just the taste of smoke and meat don't use salt or rubs. I live in a state where people eat a lot of tasteless foods yet those same people eat my smoked, grilled and cooked foods that are heavily seasoned and rave about how good it is.
 
What I see first listed on the ingredients for a majority of the store bought rubs is salt. Salt is cheap & is more of a filler, keeping their production costs down. Most I have tried, the salt is mostly what I taste. When I want salt, I use kosher salt along with coarse black pepper for a rub. Otherwise I'm using Jeff's recipes or experimenting with my own. But that's just how I roll.......well I don't really roll anymore because it takes me so dadgum long to get back up.......
 
Another advantage of making your own is the ability to toast spices or bloom them in hot oil if you want different flavor profiles.  Nancy takes charge of mixing most of the rubs and steak seasonings.  She makes large batches and vacuum bags most of it.  The kids raid the pantry and freezers when they visit (yes, with permission and encouragement) so big batches still don't last long.

And as has been stated ad nauseam, I don't like paying spice prices for seasonings with salt as the first listed ingredient and just don't want that salt anyway.

Lance
 
Salt is also an enhancer, it's a tenderizer and it is a key ingredient in all brins. I can and have made things taste good without salt, but some things just require salt.
According to the dietitians fruits nuts and vegetables are what we should all be eating to stay healthy. I like those things, but some times I would rather feed them to the cows, pigs, and chickens and then smoke them up and eat them, that's how I roll. [emoji]128526[/emoji]
 
Salt is also an enhancer, it's a tenderizer and it is a key ingredient in all brins. I can and have made things taste good without salt, but some things just require salt.
According to the dietitians fruits nuts and vegetables are what we should all be eating to stay healthy. I like those things, but some times I would rather feed them to the cows, pigs, and chickens and then smoke them up and eat them, that's how I roll. [emoji]128526[/emoji]
That's how I like to have my veggies; let the herbivore eat them, then eat the herbivore.
biggrin.gif
 
Reviving another old post here. I've been making my own rubs for quite a while. Did the whole Google search, bought the 7000 different ingredients, and was never very happy with the results. One day I sat down with my 7000 ingredients (being dramatic with this number) and tasted all of them. Found out there's a lot of them I really didn't like. I'm sure a bunch of them taste different cooked but this was my baseline. I took a few of the simple ones and played with the ratios till I got what I wanted. Simple mixture of kosher salt, season salt, black pepper and a shot of cayenne. Don't know if I'm in the minority here but I do not like a sweet rub. No sugar at all. If I want something sweet I'll make a sauce. Now after all my experimenting I was curious how a "professional" rub tasted. Wanted to see if I was on the right track. Read a lot of lables. Not impressed. Bought the killer hogs rub. Big name to try. Tasted the rub. Really sweet no heat. Gonna try it on a cook - shoulder with the amount of sugar in it. Wouldn't put that much sugar on beef. Will post my taste test afterwards. Just wanted some of your guys opinions on the subject.
 
Some spices detract from the flavor of the meat...   That's why some folks like some rubs...    Subtle flavors that enhance the flavor of the meat is what I look for...  nothing powerful...

One example of BBQ sauce....  Cattleman's.....  not powerful but simple and good...
 
I hear exactly what you're saying. I'm a huge fan of the bark on my pork and beef and with a half cup of sugar and a half cup of paprika it really doesn't taste like beef or pork.
 
I did a spatchcocked chicken a few days ago. Someone gave me a box of Penzey rubs, so I used one of those.

Big mistake.

The problem with store-bought rubs are not only the salt thing, but also you have no idea what spices are really in them, and in what proportions. Also, they often aren't very fresh. Finally, they often don't have the spices that really complement the thing being smoked, whereas you can "tune" your own rub to be exactly the right thing.

Having damaged what was otherwise a fine smoke by using store-bought spices, I'm going to be using my own mixes for all smokes in the future.
 
 
No anti caking agents, no msg, less salt, and less expensive. Why would anyone not make their own rubs?
Speaking of those "anti-caking agents".....I'm sad to say that there is a certain PitMaster's Seasoning that I thoroughly enjoy for chicken, but no matter where I find his product, the damn seasoning always has several clumps in it.

Makes me want to try and duplicate his recipe because it's delicious but it drives me nuts. I've even grabbed a butter knife and slapped it around inside the bottle to try n break it up lol
 
 
Speaking of those "anti-caking agents".....I'm sad to say that there is a certain PitMaster's Seasoning that I thoroughly enjoy for chicken, but no matter where I find his product, the damn seasoning always has several clumps in it.

Makes me want to try and duplicate his recipe because it's delicious but it drives me nuts. I've even grabbed a butter knife and slapped it around inside the bottle to try n break it up lol
While most rub recipes specifically recommend that you NOT blend the spices in a food processor, that is exactly what I would recommend for this situation. However, I would not use the usual cutting blade. Instead, if you have one, use the plastic "blending" blade. Many food processors include this blade, but most people stick it in the drawer and forget about it because it is only useful for blending. However, the fact that it doesn't actually cut is a good thing when dealing with rubs, and it should do an almost perfect job of getting rid of the lumps.

Here is a picture of the normal cutting blade on my 38-year-old Cuisinart (on the left), with the plastic blending blade on the right:

 
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