Rubs, marinades, and the diabetic. Need advice

[rmiddle3]

Hi
I love to smoke about every kind of meat. Tomorrow
I am going to smoke a ham. Trouble is being diabetic I
Cannot use any rubs with sugars. Fruit juices, honey, glazes etc.
Well you get the picture.
My question is is there anyone out there who can suggest
A good tasting rub or glaze with no sugar or carbs. Either
Commercial or home made? Thanks

 

[adiochiro3]

You might consider using stevia --  a natural sweetener that is 400x sweeter than sugar, but it is not a sugar/carbohydrate and will not affect blood sugar.  My wife drinks this in her tea every day.  Stevia could be mixed (sparingly!) into a non-carb rub or glaze.

Dry rubs (savory instead of sweet) and mustard glazes are a nice alternative and are generally carb-free.  There are lots of recipes for both here on SMF.

Good luck.

 

[forluvofsmoke]

Hey brother smoker,

if you have any dried ancho chilis, they have a great flavor for dry rubs and are relatively mild in the heat scale. I grind them with the seeds, glands...everything but the core/stem, and they're still mild enough to use a high ratio in the blended rub, and my wife and kids don't complain about any heat.

For cured hams, rubs with rosemary, paprika, oregano, garlic and black pepper make a good basic rub. You can add your personal touches with additional spices/herbs such as sage (low qty), thyme, gound cloves (low qty), onion powder, cinnamon (low qty), etc.

The items I listed as low quantities are those which a little is alot...they go a long way.

I rarely use sugar myself, but most of my recent dry rubs, brines and brine cures incorporate ground apple or cherry, but I am also very fond of ground red bell pepper. If you can get dried diced red bells or have a dehydrator, they are the bomb...mild spice, no heat and a sweet background...great basic flavor to build on for a unique profile.

Just remember that if it seems there are no alternatives, use the KISS method. Go back to the basic spices like garlic, salt and pepper...nothing wrong with doing that, and those three go well with pretty much anything including beef, pork, chicken, fish, seafood, taters and veggies.

Good luck & great smokes!

Eric

 

[Fife]

Just do a search for some rubs and chose the ones that dont have sugar in them if you must.

 

[justpassingthru]

Hey Rmiddle,

Welcome to SMF!!!

I understand your problem, I just started on insulin in March and having to be very careful about sugar I was pretty bummed about the list of foods I couldn't eat.

I found a natural sweetener called "Blue Agave", it's advertised as having a low glycemic index, works for me!  I use it in everything, sauces, marinades, lemonade, anything that calls for sugar, I even bake bread and cookies with it. My morning GI is on the average 115mg (the DR said he'd be happy if I could reach 130mg) and 2 hours after eating my GI is in the 160mg range, and the last time I measured I have lost 1" on my waistline, woo hoo!!! 

Sounds like a commercial doesn't it, I'm not affiliated with them in any way, it just works for me and I paid around $4.50 for a 23.5 oz bottle so it should be cheaper for you in the States.

Here's the link for it;

http://www.wholesomesweeteners.com/organicsyrups.html

And here's a link I use for what I can eat and the quantities I can eat (however I have found after training myself how to eat the quantities suggested are too much, so I will drop too a lower calorie count;

http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/eating_ez/index.htm

One last thing, fruits and juices that are pure can be used in moderation, the amounts we use in sauces compared to the quantity we actually consume will allow us to continue to use them.

I know it's too late for today, but this, some Agave and a few pineapple chunks would make a great sauce for your ham.

We have it in the Oriental section of the store, along with many other fruit flavors, if you can't find any PM me and I'll send you some.

Diabetes doesn't have to be the end of our good eating experiences if we follow the guide lines and exercise.

If you don't have a glycemie reader I highly suggest you invest in one, that way you can be sure as to how the concoctions you are making are affecting your sugar level.

I hope this helps and Happy Easter,

Gene