Learn the basics of making your own dry rub for meat

If you are looking to put some more flavor into your grilling this summer, adding a dry rub to your meat will help you put more flavor into your meat of choice without having any additional sauces. Although creating a dry rub might seem like a job for professionals, creating your own signature flavor is easy once you understand the basics of a dry rub.

Here are some tips, according to Charbroil.com:

Base for making a dry rub

• Salt: Salt should make up about half of your mix. Along with adding flavor, salt also pulls moisture from the outer part of the meat, which develops a seared crust to hold the rest of the moisture in. Give salt a 10-part measurement (i.e., if 1 part = 1 tablespoon, then start with 10 tablespoons of salt).

• Sugar: Sweetness creates balance, but too much sugar may leave the meat slimy. Use 3 parts brown sugar to the 10 parts salt. If using white sugar, use only 2 parts.

• After the salt and sugar, add 6-8 parts total of all other spices. This provides you with a half salt/half “the rest” ratio.

Spices for making a dry rub

• Be generous: Garlic powder, onion powder, paprika.

• Be sparing: All spice, cinnamon, cardamom, clove, nutmeg.

• Know your herbs: Any dried herbs will work with your rub, but keep in mind that dried herbs taste different than fresh.

• Know your peppers: Chili powder (mild heat, southwest flavor), ancho chili powder (medium heat, slightly sweet raisin-like flavor), chipotle chili powder (high spice, smoky flavor), cayenne pepper (used to add heat) and black pepper (medium heat, used almost universally in tandem with chili powders listed above).