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Savory BBQ Rubs

Most people prefer natural tastes so don’t go for rubs that overpower this very thing. A common mistake in creating barbeque rub is the too strong taste due to excess seasoning used. Remember that these are designed to enhance flavor, not to spoil them.

Making good barbeque rubs takes some time of practice and experimentation. One must only be creative and must learn to anticipate the flavor that would come up after the seasonings are mixed. You need not be a good chef; you just have to follow your best judgment in mixing things up. Say, a slight change on the amount of pepper could have dramatic effect on the barbeque rub. The same goes with salt, garlic and onion powder, cumin and others.

A good rub begins with a good experimentation on the salt-sugar mixture. Each type of sugar creates various effects when combined with other ingredients. Say for brown sugar, this works well with ribs but take care though because it burns easily. In the end, you might find yourself dealing with a bitter barbeque.

Various kinds of slats work differently too. Among the common choices are kosher slat, table salt and sea salt. To complete the base for barbeque rubs, it is best to add paprika. This adds a mild flavor while providing dark red color on the rub. Spices can add great flavors and a couple of variations on your barbeque rub.

One good advantage of using barbeque rubs is that they send you away from classic gravies and sauces. But like marinades, rubs are best applied several minutes prior to cooking for better fusion of flavors into the meat or poultry. What's good with rubs is that they have long shelf life. Thus, once you find the rub that suits your taste you can easily create some of it to be stored for future use. Not all barbeque rubs are dry though. There are the wet rubs that have lemon, oil and butter blended into the spice mixture. Often, these come in paste form.

To help you get an idea of common barbeque rubs, we have prepared the basic ones here for you. Please read on.

Basic Barbeque Rub

½ cup salt
½ cup sugar
½ cup garlic powder
½ cup black pepper

Mix all these ingredients in a bowl. Freshly ground pepper works best as well as using sea salt or
kosher salt.

It is recommended that the rub be applied 10 minutes before grilling.

Hot-Sweet Barbeque Rub

½ cup chili powder
1 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp black pepper
1 tbsp salt
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp garlic powder

Mix all the ingredients together. If you are using ribs, it is advisable that you set the mixture on a plate rather than in a bowl.

For whole chicken recipe, ensure to it that enough rub is driven under the skin. This will prevent the flavorings from falling off apart from enhancing the meat, not the skin. Apply this rub 20 minutes prior to cooking.

Pepper Barbeque Rub

1 tbsp ground coriander
3 tbsp white pepper
1/4 cup black pepper
3 tbsp salt

Mix these ingredients in a bowl. Apply to recipe 10 minutes before cooking.

For extra flavor, you can add habanero. Be careful though not to mix in too much unless you want to make it sizzling hot.

About the Author

Bob Janeway is owner of http://barbeque.knowsmart.com/. Get help finding the perfect barbeque recipe.