Dry rubs are the backbone of backyard barbecue
Editor’s note: This is the second column in a Barbecue at Home series in which Reid provides how-to advice on becoming a proficient backyard pitmaster.
There are few experiences more intimidating for a new backyard pitmaster than visiting the spice aisle at the local supermarket. There are dozens of “dry rubs” (spice mixtures) for every conceivable protein, like steaks, burgers, fajitas, brisket, pork ribs and turkey.
It reminds me of the wine aisle where we are presented with a bewildering assortment of options and no real knowledge of what to choose. As wine marketers will tell you, the choice made by the average consumer comes down to price and how colorful the wine label is.
Dry rubs have taken a similar marketing tack. Among the dozens of choices you will see on the shelf are creatively and often provocatively named products that try to stand out from the crowd. For the backyard pitmaster, there’s a tendency to assume they are all the same.
But dry rubs are, in fact, quite different, as you can tell by checking the ingredient lists on the bottles. To make your own dry rub for barbecue, an understanding of the building blocks of these products is essential.
For many commercial dry rubs, the basic ingredients are sugar and salt. Salt, of course, is a fundamental seasoning ingredient for meats, but sugar is a relatively new addition to the barbecue canon. This trend toward sweetness in barbecue is both a result of sugar becoming a bigger part of the American diet and palate, and also a reflection of the influence of barbecue competitions that tend to reward bolder, sweeter flavors.
For that reason, I usually stay away from commercial rubs and make my own based on the foundation of Texas barbecue seasoning: salt and pepper. Traditionalists will say that salt and pepper are all that’s needed, full stop.
But many professional pitmasters vary their rub based on the protein. This is because the ratio of salt and pepper will differ based on the flavor of the meat. The other reason is to differentiate the flavor between menu items. If you use the same dry rub for all your meats, they tend to all have the same flavor.
Brisket and pork ribs are a good example. Due to the dense, fatty flavor of the brisket, a 5050 ratio of salt to pepper works well. The intense beef flavor is amplified by a generous application of salt and pepper, and eventually smoke.
Pork ribs are more subtle, flavorwise. In this case, dialing back the salt helps to coax out the pork flavor. Herbal flavors, like garlic and onion, in combination with a greater preponderance of black pepper, are also good for showcasing pork.
My go-to pork rib rub is two parts black pepper to one part salt, with paprika, onion powder and garlic powder added for flavor and color. I like to keep things simple. Experienced backyard pitmasters and competition cooks will note it’s a pretty standard recipe. The paprika, notably, adds the mahogany color for which great pork ribs are known.
Another factor in choosing or making a dry rub is texture. In general, you want the grind of the rub to be coarser rather than finer. There are a couple of reasons for this. Bigger grains of salt and pepper adhere to the meat better and stand up better to the multihour smoking process.
Also, according to professional pitmasters, the craggy, uneven surface of the dry rub on the meat affects the flow of smoke, forcing more smoke flavor to adhere to the bark of the brisket or pork ribs. In general, you want to use “coarse grind” black pepper and coarse kosher salt. Coarse grind black pepper is also called “16 Mesh.”
That said, if you still want to brave the supermarket spice aisle, I’d recommend choosing rubs that are lighter on the sugar and heavier on the pepper, with as coarse a texture as you can find. Beyond that, try as many as you can and choose based on taste and preference.