THE CHEF FROM HELL

As anyone who reads this recipe blog on a regular basis knows, I'm a big fan of using spice mixes to season dishes of all kinds.  Today, we'll take a look at some spice rubs.  Dry spice rubs for the preparation of barbecue function on two levels; the rubs can be used to not only season what you're cooking (beef, pork, poultry), they also play an important role in sealing in the flavor as the food is being cooked.  After preparing your spice rubs and mixes, always store them in opaque containers and then keep those containers in cool, dark places as exposure to light and heat causes the flavor quotient of spices to decrease over time.  Here's several recipes for spice rubs you can use when you're doing the barbecue thang!

BASIC DRY RUB

Ingredients:

1 cup Kosher Salt

1 cup Ground Black Pepper

1 cup Paprika

1 tsp Cayenne Red Pepper 

(Note: Use Hungarian Paprika if you can get it-- it's much sweeter than the generic stuff)

Preparation:  Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl.  Using your hands, toss the spices until completely blended.

DRY RUB FOR RIBS

Ingredients:

1 cup Basic Dry Rub

1/4 cup White Sugar

1 TBS Dark Chili Powder

1 tsp Lemon Pepper

Preparation: Place all ingredients in a food processor.  Process the spice mix for 1 minute.

COFFEE RUB FOR RIBS

Ingredients:

1 cup Ground Coffee

1/2 cup Paprika

1/2 cup White Sugar

1/2 cup Kosher Salt

1 TBS Ground Cinnamon

1 TBS Dark Chili Powder

1 tsp Ground Allspice

2 TBS Ground Ginger

Preparation:  Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl.  Using your hands, toss ingredients together until completely blended.

CHEF JP'S BARBECUE RUB

Ingredients:

4 cups Light Brown Sugar

1 1/2 cup Kosher Salt

1 cup White Sugar

1/2 cup Dark Chili Powder

1/4 cup Curry Powder

Note: If you want to make your own curry powder, go to my recipe for CURRY POWDER

1/2 cup Lemon Pepper

2 TBS Celery Salt

2 TBS Butcher Cracked Black Pepper

1 TBS Cayenne Red Pepper

1/2 tsp Ground White Pepper

1 tsp Ground Cloves

Preparation: Place all ingredients in a food processor.  Process spice mix for 2 minutes.

PEPPERHEAD SPICE RUB

Ingredients:

1/4 cup Kosher Salt

2 TBS Dry Mustard

1 TBS Cayenne Pepper

2 tsp Ground White Pepper

1 TBS Ground Cumin

2 tsp Ground Black Pepper

1 tsp Thyme

2 tsp Oregano

1 TBS Basil

Preparation: Combine all ingredients in a food processor.  Process spice mix for 1 minute.

To check out my other post on spice mixes, go to THE SPICE OF LIFE