[durangojo]

hi all
i am planning on making spice rubs (in my spare time!) as christmas gifts this year..my question is...one of the rubs has brown sugar as an ingredient..does this particular rub need to be refrigerated because of the brown sugar? will it go hard or will the other spices keep it soft? or will refrigerating it make it turn hard? i don't think the rub needs to be refrigerated, but for sure don't want to make these gifts and have them unuseable after a few weeks..so just wanted to ask you all..thanks
joey

[KYHeirloomer]

Just curious as to why you think it would need refrigeration? Do you normally store brown suger in the fridge?

I make rubs that include brown sugar as an ingredient, and they sit out all the time, at room temperature, in air-tight containers. Never had one go either bad or hard. True, they can clump up during periods of high humidity. But then, so too can rubs without brown sugar.

[allie]

Les started off making his rub with brown sugar and we never had any problems. Now he uses turbinado because we use his rub on meats in the smoker and it works a lot better.

[DC Sunshine]

What they said - should be fine without refridgeration. If they clump just give 'em a good shake - make sure you have well sealed jars to avoid it any humidity getting in there.

[Harpua]

ooooh! I like the turbinado idea. It would be prettier too.

[allie]

He usually puts everything in the food processor and gives it a whirl so the crystals match the consistency of the other spices more.

[Mezzaluna]

I make a rub for pork and ribs in small amounts. Keeping the ingredients properly distributed in the mixture is difficult- I keep stirring it as I apply it to the meat. If I were making it for a gift, I'd do what Allie said so as to get a better distribution of the ingredients.

[tessa]

anybody got a recipe or 3 for this they want to share

[shel]

Originally Posted by tessa

anybody got a recipe or 3 for this they want to share

OK ... here are a few:

New Mexican Red Pepper Paste

This paste, which was created by Chef Jon Jividen and given to me by Jim Tarantino, is ideal for beef brisket, chicken breasts, and spare ribs. You can also add a couple of tablespoons of the paste to any of the basic marinades or to your favorite barbecue sauce to liven up the flavor.

4 dried ancho chili peppers, stems, veins, and seeds removed
2 dried New Mexican chili peppers (guajillo), stems, veins, and seeds
removed
2 canned chipotle chile peppers (or reconstituted dried chipotles)
l/2 cup chopped onion
4 garlic cloves (smoked garlic, Tessa?)
2 teaspoons fresh ground cumin
2 tablespoon dried oregano (preferably Mexican)
1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt (adjust salt amount for other salts)

Soak the ancho and New Mexican chile in hot water to cover for about 1
hour. Remove the chilies from the water and reserve 2 cups of soaking
water. Combine the chilies. reserved soaking water (as needed), chipotle,
onion, garlic, cumin, oregano, and salt in a food processor and puree
until all the ingredients are blended into a smooth thick paste. Use the
soaking liquid as needed to moisten the mixture in a paste form. Store in
an airtight jar in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 weeks.

Recommendations: Marinate chicken breasts (4 to 6 hours);
wings (6 to 8 hours); beef brisket (8 hours to overnight);
spare ribs (8 hours to overnight)
NOTE: I often leave the seeds in the chiles.

===================================

Looking for something besides the usual BBQ sauce to put on meat before
grilling. This one is is a great way to prepare meat and poultry. I got this
recipe from one of the chefs at The Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas back
around 1990 or so.

Mansion Barbeque Spice

2 Tbsp paprika (Hungarian preferred)
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 tspn fresh ground cumin
1 tspn fresh ground coriander
1 tspn sugar
1 tspn salt
1/2 tspn dry mustard (I use Coleman's)
1/2 tspn fresh ground black pepper
1/2 tspn dried thyme leaves
1/2 tspn curry powder
1/2 tspn cayenne pepper
Mix all ingredients together and use as desired to rub on meats before
grilling.

===================================

This one is as simple as it gets . . .
Pepper and Porcini Rub

2 dried chipotles
1 1/2 tsp black peppercorns
1/4 cup dried porcini pieces
--------------------
Grind everything together and rub on beef. Let beef sit over night in
the fridge, bring to room temperature before cooking. Best with smoked
rather than grilled meat; ideal for brisket.


Using the same basic concept, this one's a little more complex . . .
West Texas dry Rub

3 Tbs coarsely cracked black pepper
2 Tbs dried oregano (Mexican)
1 tsp whole cumin seed
1 tsp onion powder
2 - 3 dried chipotle chiles
1/2 small dried habanero (optional)
1 med Turkish bay leaf
1 tsp ground dried orange peel
2 Tbs dried mushroom pieces (porcini, cepes)
--------------------
Combine all the ingredients in a spice mill, blender or coffee grinder
and grind to a coarse powder. This is ideal for beef brisket, pork ribs
or flank steak. Let the meat sit for about 8-hours in the fridge before
cooking

===================================

Badlands Rangerider Dry Rub

Spice blend
------------
1 tsp whole black peppercorns
1 tsp whole white pepper
1 tsp whole coriander seed
1/2 tsp whole cumin seed
1/4 tsp whole fennel seed
1 small Turkish bay leaf, deveined
1 small - medium size dried habanero, stem removed
15 pequin or chiltepin pods
2 dried chipotles, stemmed
1 tsp hot or smoked paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp lemon zest

Grind everything together into a med-fine powder, apply generously to beef or pork

[tessa]

Originally Posted by shel

OK ... here are a few:

New Mexican Red Pepper Paste

This paste, which was created by Chef Jon Jividen and given to me by Jim Tarantino, is ideal for beef brisket, chicken breasts, and spare ribs. You can also add a couple of tablespoons of the paste to any of the basic marinades or to your favorite barbecue sauce to liven up the flavor.

4 dried ancho chili peppers, stems, veins, and seeds removed
2 dried New Mexican chili peppers (guajillo), stems, veins, and seeds
removed
2 canned chipotle chile peppers (or reconstituted dried chipotles)
l/2 cup chopped onion
4 garlic cloves (smoked garlic, Tessa?)
2 teaspoons fresh ground cumin
2 tablespoon dried oregano (preferably Mexican)
1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt (adjust salt amount for other salts)

Soak the ancho and New Mexican chile in hot water to cover for about 1
hour. Remove the chilies from the water and reserve 2 cups of soaking
water. Combine the chilies. reserved soaking water (as needed), chipotle,
onion, garlic, cumin, oregano, and salt in a food processor and puree
until all the ingredients are blended into a smooth thick paste. Use the
soaking liquid as needed to moisten the mixture in a paste form. Store in
an airtight jar in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 weeks.

Recommendations: Marinate chicken breasts (4 to 6 hours);
wings (6 to 8 hours); beef brisket (8 hours to overnight);
spare ribs (8 hours to overnight)
NOTE: I often leave the seeds in the chiles.

===================================

Looking for something besides the usual BBQ sauce to put on meat before
grilling. This one is is a great way to prepare meat and poultry. I got this
recipe from one of the chefs at The Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas back
around 1990 or so.

Mansion Barbeque Spice

2 Tbsp paprika (Hungarian preferred)
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 tspn fresh ground cumin
1 tspn fresh ground coriander
1 tspn sugar
1 tspn salt
1/2 tspn dry mustard (I use Coleman's)
1/2 tspn fresh ground black pepper
1/2 tspn dried thyme leaves
1/2 tspn curry powder
1/2 tspn cayenne pepper
Mix all ingredients together and use as desired to rub on meats before
grilling.

===================================

This one is as simple as it gets . . .
Pepper and Porcini Rub

2 dried chipotles
1 1/2 tsp black peppercorns
1/4 cup dried porcini pieces
--------------------
Grind everything together and rub on beef. Let beef sit over night in
the fridge, bring to room temperature before cooking. Best with smoked
rather than grilled meat; ideal for brisket.


Using the same basic concept, this one's a little more complex . . .
West Texas dry Rub

3 Tbs coarsely cracked black pepper
2 Tbs dried oregano (Mexican)
1 tsp whole cumin seed
1 tsp onion powder
2 - 3 dried chipotle chiles
1/2 small dried habanero (optional)
1 med Turkish bay leaf
1 tsp ground dried orange peel
2 Tbs dried mushroom pieces (porcini, cepes)
--------------------
Combine all the ingredients in a spice mill, blender or coffee grinder
and grind to a coarse powder. This is ideal for beef brisket, pork ribs
or flank steak. Let the meat sit for about 8-hours in the fridge before
cooking

===================================

Badlands Rangerider Dry Rub

Spice blend
------------
1 tsp whole black peppercorns
1 tsp whole white pepper
1 tsp whole coriander seed
1/2 tsp whole cumin seed
1/4 tsp whole fennel seed
1 small Turkish bay leaf, deveined
1 small - medium size dried habanero, stem removed
15 pequin or chiltepin pods
2 dried chipotles, stemmed
1 tsp hot or smoked paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp lemon zest

Grind everything together into a med-fine powder, apply generously to beef or pork

wow they sound great some of the ingrediants like chipolete (sp) or habanero im not sure if we can get here, what can i exchange for it?
what are pequin/chiltepin??

[shel]

Originally Posted by tessa

wow they sound great some of the ingrediants like chipolete (sp) or habanero im not sure if we can get here, what can i exchange for it?
what are pequin/chiltepin??

chipotles are dried, smoked jalapeño peppers and I honestly don't know what a good substitute might be. Habaneros are very hot and flavorful. Scotch Bonnet are similar. There is another pepper that has similar heat and flavor, but I can't recall what it is right now ... sheesh! I hate when that happens.

pequin and chiltepin are small, hot peppers. They can be substituted with any number of medium-hot dried peppers, although other peppers would have a somewhat different flavor profile.

I'll check my sources for substitutions and see what might work for you. I am so bad about remembering the names of chile peppers, probably in part because so many go by different names.

[chefhow]

Durangojo,

To answer your questions, no they dont need to be refigerated and use rice flour for the clumping and sticking issues unless you have acess to silicon dioxide or calcium silicate.

[Mapiva]

What is turbinado?

[chefhow]

A type of sugar that is made from the crushing of the sugar cane extract called turbinating. It is usually made from younger cane and has a molasses type flavor making it a good substitute for brown sugar.

[Mezzaluna]

Mapiva, it's similar to demerara sugar or a brand here in the US called "Sugar in the Raw". I use it to top my rugelah.

I have no measurements for my pork rub. I guess I'd better get around to standardizing that! For what it's worth, here's my mix for pork chops and ribs:

Brown sugar
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Smoked paprika (I like Penzeys)
Poultry seasoning
Ground rosemary
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Ground celery seed (just a bit)

I rub it on the meat about an hour before grilling, but no longer than 2 hours.

I mix up about a cup of it and store it in my cupboard. It needs to be stirred before use, though, but the flavor isn't affected.