Meat Seasoned Right with Casa M Spice
What’s the Rub for Spicing Up Your BBQ?
Summer is upon us and what better way to enjoy the outdoors than to grab a beverage and throw some proteins on the barbie.
But before you invite the neighbors and light up the grill, you have to prepare the meat. No one likes bland tri-tip or flavorless, un-crispy chicken skin so that’s why we learn how to season meat. Now, you can go to the store and buy salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, cayenne, etc. … Or you can grab a premade meat rub and be on your way. There’s no way to know who makes the best seasoning for meat because there are so many to choose from, like good ole Lawry’s seasoned salt to the most complex science experiment of spices. Casa M Spices, based out of Dallas, Texas, took a restaurant favorite of theirs and mixed in other spices to make a plethora of meat rubs whether you’re making a whole hog or a jerked chicken.
Casa M Spice is the brainchild of two men named Manny and Mike Hernandez. Amateur chef Mike has a passion for mixing spices to form new flavors. When he and Manny found the right chili, they knew they had something good that they could roll with, and developed their first seasoning. This original seasoning is called Chain Reaction, paying homage to Mike’s PhD in chemical physics, and every seasoning thereafter seems to be a variation of the chain reaction recipe with additional spices added. I tried the mini ranch set with seasonings for chicken, beef and pork.
What better way to try out some meat rubs than to break out the smoker and take it low and slow? I am currently smoking meats on the Traeger Tailgater 20. This smaller size Traeger has never given me an issue so don’t let anyone tell you size matters. Until it does matter at least (I’m looking at you, Thanksgiving turkey). It’s a perfectly-sized and affordable pellet grill, though. I decided on three common cuts of meat: the tritip, the pork loin and a whole chicken.
I liberally coated the three pieces of meat in the respective seasonings and set the smoker to 225℉ for the tri-tip and pork, and 375℉ for the chicken. Different smokers might work better at different temperatures or you may like to smoke your tri-tips at 175℉ or 250℉; perfectly okay because it’s all preference. I wish I knew the magic formula for how long to cook every cut of meat but alas, I have found every cut of meat and every cooking method yields different times so I always play it safe and have a temperature probe in all my proteins until I reach a mediumrare (125℉) on the tri-tips and fully cooked pork (145℉) and chicken (165℉).
Let’s start with the tri-tip. A company from Texas led me to predict a high amount of pepper in the seasonings. I was right about the beef seasonings but was surprised when I wasn’t also greeted with a large amount of salt. I felt there needed to be a little more salt in a seasoning like this because salt does more than just provide flavor. It is a natural tenderizer and enhancer to meats due to the nature of animal cells that will lose water in an environment that is more saline. This tenderizes the meat and allows salt to penetrate the meat, enhancing the flavor. Chef Michael mentions in a video that the lack of salt allows for the rest of the flavors to be brought out more and I can see this, and I tasted this, but I felt it could have used just a tad bit more salt. Aside from the salt, a proper Texas pepper rub was what I got with the addition of some flavor profiles in the form of the chili that was different and welcomed. But if pepper is not your thing, like it’s typically not for me, then you may want to steer clear of the beef seasoning as pepper was the most prominent spice when eating the tri-tip. Granted it did not taste bad, personally, this was my least favorite of the three.
The pork rub was the most neutral spice out of the three but having read the description of the spice beforehand, I knew what flavor I was expecting. The product page on the Casa Spice website points out ginger as being a prominent flavor in this rub. Without knowing that before, I’m not sure it would be something I would recognize. Having known it, it was just faint enough to reach the pallet later in my bite. It provided good flavor to the pork, giving it a sweet and spicy flavor that was an addition to the chili, but a similar note as the above with the lack of salt left me wanting something a tad bit more.
My favorite overall was the chicken rub. This is a meat rub I intend to use in the future. In the same fashion as the pork, this rub has a forward flavor — brown sugar. I was expecting it to play a big part of the flavor and I was right, and I wasn’t disappointed. The sugar gave a sweetness that at first quickly transitioned to a spicy chili-forward flavor. Not only does sugar bring out good flavor in chicken but the chili did as well, and this took both flavors and balanced them, enhancing the chicken. It was the winner at dinner with everyone who tried it.
Overall, these seasonings did what they are supposed to do. My three cuts of meat were not bland, and they had a good crust of seasoning. I typically make my own rubs where I know exactly what is in them and can choose my own quantities, but sometimes I am running low on my homemade meat rub and these provide a good amount of flavor without being simply seasoned salt. One thing to note is that I only smoked my meat with these seasonings. I think these might be even better seasonings for smaller cuts of meat cooked on a skillet or grilled. I believe these meat seasonings will be perfect for this style because you won’t lose any flavor from smoke and you don’t need as much salt to penetrate the meat. If this is something you do often, I would recommend trying the
Casa M Spice meat rubs on your next cut of meat. If you’re not eager for a trip halfway across the country, you can grab Casa M Spice from their website. These rubs are on the pricier side compared to other rubs on the market, at $16.99, when you purchase the stainless steel shaker option. I have to admit, I do like the shaker but if you are content with a plastic shaker like other spice companies come in then the price is very comparable to the others at $11.99.