# RUB SNAFU!



## eman (Oct 22, 2010)

Last time i made my recipe of pig rub i decided to make a big batch and vacum seal it and use as needed.

 Pulled a packer, 2 butts and 3 racks ribs out the fridge and cut open the bag of rub. Stuff was so hard you could hardly break it w/ a hammer???

 Wasted a bunch of rub.

 Is this caused by the brown sugar? Or just moisture in the air getting in the rub b4 vacum sealing?

 Is there anything available that is flavorless that i can add to my recipe to stop this?

 Thanks, Bob


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## gatorfan316 (Oct 22, 2010)

The brown sugar makes it hard. Just put your rub in a jar or canister that seals tight.


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## beer-b-q (Oct 22, 2010)

I put these in the rub that I bottle...  It keeps the moisture out and they are USDA Food Safe...

They come in various sizes, I usually buy the 1g and 5 g sizes... this seller ships super fast also.    The 1 Gram Packs has FREE Shipping also.

1 Gram Packs

http://cgi.ebay.com/100-Tyvek-Silic...633?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a0165a379

5 Gram Packs

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180465085093&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT


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## arnie (Oct 22, 2010)

Thanks Beer-B-Q

This is good to know; I usually pull the rub out of the freezer and run it through the Ninja Chopper again.

It’s a pain, but I have just accepted it.


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## eman (Oct 22, 2010)

I tried running this thru a spice grinder then a food processor and it was like grinding rocks . 

 Thanks for the info on the silica gel packs Beer.

That will be the easiest thing .That and not vacum sealing it.


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## mballi3011 (Oct 22, 2010)

I make my rub with a lot of brown sugar (fake for the wife) and I keep it in a tuberware plastic jug with a screw on top and it stays nice and soft and not stuck together. I might try this before you spend money for the silca packages.


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## Bearcarver (Oct 22, 2010)

Great idea Paul!

Thanks,

Bear


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## eman (Oct 22, 2010)

Maybe it was vacum sealing it that caused it to turn to concrete.


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## meateater (Oct 22, 2010)

eman said:


> Maybe it was vacum sealing it that caused it to turn to concrete.


Sounds like that was the probleem. I like to use spaghetti jars to keep all my spices in. Heck there already paid for.


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## alblancher (Oct 22, 2010)

Living in Louisiana  you just kind of live with that problem.  I put my rock hard rub in the oven with very low heat for a while to drive the moisture out, then back into a sealed mason jar.  The wife and I put on a bit of Latin music and play the maracas with the mason jars.  Not only does this break up the solid rub it gives us our only exercise. 

In the words of the great entertainer Charo

cuchi-cuchi


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## meateater (Oct 22, 2010)

I have a story about Charo but you'd have to PM me about that!


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## alblancher (Oct 23, 2010)

Now I have to know!  PM me please, I promise not to tell anyone else.  Just curious, does it have anything to do with maracas?


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## pkerchef (Nov 21, 2010)

You could take the brown sugar and dry it in the oven before you mix it in the rub. This would make it more like granulated sugar as most of the moisture would be removed . Pkerchef


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## scarbelly (Nov 21, 2010)

There is a ceramic disc that I use for brown sugar. It is called a sugar bear and it really works. It is not very expensive, around $3 each

Here is the link for them

http://www.sugarbearsinc.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PLST&Store_Code=SBI


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## eddiemonster (Dec 2, 2010)

Hey, First time caller here.  Smoking a butt on a refurbished Brinkman SNP this weekend.  Using Emans Pig Rub recipe found in Wiki but for the life of me, don't know what a 1/4 cup of cbp is.  Any insight?


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## forluvofsmoke (Dec 2, 2010)

EddieMonster said:


> Hey, First time caller here.  Smoking a butt on a refurbished Brinkman SNP this weekend.  Using Emans Pig Rub recipe found in Wiki but for the life of me, don't know what a 1/4 cup of cbp is.  Any insight?




 Hey Eddie,

that's Cracked Black Pepper, as in Peppercorn (freshly ground version of extra course ground black pepper from a can).

Have a great smoke, brother!

Eric


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## eman (Dec 2, 2010)

Sorry , cracked black pepper, you can use corse ground if you dont grind it yourself.


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## forluvofsmoke (Dec 2, 2010)

eman said:


> Last time i made my recipe of pig rub i decided to make a big batch and vacum seal it and use as needed.
> 
> Pulled a packer, 2 butts and 3 racks ribs out the fridge and cut open the bag of rub. Stuff was so hard you could hardly break it w/ a hammer???
> 
> ...


Hey eman,

don't know how I missed this one...

I generally don't use brown sugar in my rubs any more, but when I did, I only blended up what I planned on using that day...well, I still try to make all my rubs fresh and use them right away.

In order to make sugared rubs keep well over time, I'd suggest adding the brown sugar immediately prior to using. Then, your blend won't be lumped up as badly, or rock hard as you mentioned. You'd just need to measure the amount of blend you planned on using and calculate how much brown sugar to add to it to keep the recipe identical to the original. A few more minutes during your prep stage of the smoke, but you'll dodge the rocky rub.

Eric


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## heidir (Jun 1, 2011)

The old-fashioned method - stick a slice of bread in with your rub. I do that with my brown sugar and it never clumps up on me - have done it with rubs, too.

Also, it's a way to get some interesting flavors into your sugar or rub - try a dark rye with caraway or a sourdough - plain old italian or french bread is what I normally use though - no flavor from those.


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## SmokinAl (Jun 1, 2011)

I use raw sugar (turbinado) instead of brown sugar & it doesn't seem to clump together as much. I just keep my rub in a zip lock bag in the pantry.


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## boykjo (Jun 1, 2011)

I am having the same problem with the my home made rub hardening. I keep it in a zip lock container and have to break it up with a large spoon.  I bet if I vacuum sealed it, it would be like a rock . Some how there is a way to make rub with a sugar in it because I order 10 lbs of john henrys pecan rub and vacuum seal it into 1lb pkgs and it will crumble by lightly squeezing the bag when opened...........


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## shellbellc (Jun 1, 2011)

I use the sugar in the raw also.  Also has a higher burn temp than regulard brown sugar.


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## ransom51 (Jun 1, 2011)

HeidiR said:


> The old-fashioned method - stick a slice of bread in with your rub. I do that with my brown sugar and it never clumps up on me - have done it with rubs, too.




I've done the same thing with rubs that have brown sugar. 1 slice of white bread works great.

And if it's already hard you can still add the bread and it will be soft in a couple days.


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## Dutch (Jun 1, 2011)

If I make a large batch of rub that will take a couple of weeks to a month to use I'll go with Sugar in the Raw. If it's a batch that I know will be completey used in one run (like a big ol' batch of ribs), I'll use brown sugar.


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## flyweed (Jun 2, 2011)

hmm...I make my rubs in bulk..and they have SOME Brown sugar in them..I always vacuum seal them in bags..and have never had clumping or "the brick" issue with any of them..they are all powdery, like the day they went into the bag.

Dan


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## chef willie (Jun 2, 2011)

hmmm, this happens at times with my granulated garlic & onion also....think I'll go stick a piece of bread in each now.


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## tinkerin (Jul 7, 2011)

A bit late on this topic, but here's how I do mine.  I have not had a problem with the brown sugar.  My rub has 1 part brown sugar, 8 parts other stuff including white sugar. 

For containers, I re-use the big spice bottles from Sam's/Costco that the garlic powder, onion powder, ground cumin, pepper, etc come in.  They are a great size for me and have shaker caps so the rub is easy to apply.  Then, after I mix up and fill the containers, I just stick them in the freezer.  I do make sure I have the rub well mixed, so maybe the powders kind of combine with the brown sugar granules and it doesn't stick back together, and I fill the bottles loosely, I don't compact them at all.  At any rate, my mixes have stayed 'shaker loose' for 4-5 months.  Don't think I've ever had any in longer then that before they get used up.

Another way to keep brown sugar soft is to put a slice of apple in the container.  Keep it so the skin sits on the brown sugar.   The moisture gets drawn out of the apple.  Replace it every couple of months.  I use about a 4th of a small apple.  You can refresh a container of hard brown sugar this way, just takes a couple of days. 

Now, this thread has me wondering if putting a couple of hunks in a rub bottle might make for a more interesting rub flavor...


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