Need some beef dry rub help.

[Adam10mm]

I've got a beef chuck roast I want to BBQ this weekend. I want to make a dry rub with the stuff I have on hand. This will be a low and slow BBQ over charcoal with some Worcestershire injected into the cut. Like 180-200 degrees.

Spices:

rosemary
fennel seed
sage
garlic powder
onion powder
cumin
garlic salt
turmeric
kosher salt
paprika
black pepper

I'm thinking paprika, kosher salt, black pepper, garlic & onion powder, cumin, and maybe turmeric. What combos of the above would work well as a beef dry rub? I hate BBQ sauce and usually season everything with Lawry's and black pepper but I want to get more into seasoning/dry rubs.

[Sweetpea]

For a simple rub, I like equal parts kosher salt, garlic salt, and coarse black pepper.

For something more exotic, try adding in some cayenne pepper or oregano.

Brandon

[Lloyd Smale]

I like to add about a 1/2 cup of brown sugar to my rub. Especially for pork and turkey but it works well on beef too. to it i usually add some paprika, onion powder, season salt, and fresh ground pepper and a dash of red pepper flakes. For turkey i eliminate the paprika and red peppper flakes. Just did a turkey and brined it overnight in a 2 gal pail with a cup of kosher salt and a cup of brown sugar and 3 teaspoons of crushed garlic then rubbed it with brown sugar and seasoned salt and smoked it till done. You dont eat better turkey then that. Works good in the oven that way too.

[762 shooter]

I would nix the turmeric. Probably turn your meat yellow.

762

[nhrifle]

After the first time I ate at Longhorn Steak House I fell in love with the steak seasoning they use called Prairie Dust. I have used this to season just about everything except desserts and it works great as either a dry rub or as a marinade when mixed into some olive oil.

1/2 cup salt
1 tablespoon ground cayenne
2 teaspoons paprika
5 teaspoons ground dry mustard
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon garlic salt
1 tablespoon black pepper

Put it all into a jar or bowl and mix thoroughly. Enjoy!

[LC Press]

After the first time I ate at Longhorn Steak House I fell in love with the steak seasoning they use called Prairie Dust. I have used this to season just about everything except desserts and it works great as either a dry rub or as a marinade when mixed into some olive oil.

1/2 cup salt
1 tablespoon ground cayenne
2 teaspoons paprika
5 teaspoons ground dry mustard
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon garlic salt
1 tablespoon black pepper

Put it all into a jar or bowl and mix thoroughly. Enjoy!

Mine is VERY similar and I like it a bunch. I add some lemon pepper to it also. Another good rub is "Magic Dust". Just Google it and enjoy.

[375RUGER]

I would leave out the Worchestershire, that's just me. I do have a recipe posted here where I use it or soy sauce, but very sparingly.
Really good simple seasoning would be salt, pepper, garlic and rosemary. This is especially good for turkey or goat.
From your list the only things I use for rubs on meat are:
rosemary
sage
garlic
onion
kosher salt
black pepper
+red chile pepper
+brown sugar

[gwpercle]

Mix a rub with only the spices you like. I would not use rosemary, fennel or tumeric. But that's my taste. I do like sage but would save that for turkey and chicken. To whats left on your list I would add some brown sugar...gives it a nice color. Dry mustard is also good with beef . What you have without brown sugar is a classic cajun spice mix ( some add a little ground red pepper in place of 1/2 the black pepper). Add brown sugar and it becomes a basic rub. Go with LC's amounts + 1/2 cup brown sugar for a good rub. If you don't have dry mustard just rub the meat with a thin coat of prepared mustard and sprinkle on rub. That's how my Uncle did it at his at the BBQ restaurant he operated in Texas...GOOD!

Gary

[gbrown]

I've got a beef chuck roast I want to BBQ this weekend. I want to make a dry rub with the stuff I have on hand. This will be a low and slow BBQ over charcoal with some Worcestershire injected into the cut. Like 180-200 degrees.

Spices:

rosemary
garlic powder
onion powder
kosher salt
paprika
black pepper



Using your list, I editted out the spices I would not use. HEB in Texas markets a "Holiday Rub" made by Adams around Thanksgiving and Christmas, and this is what their rub has in it, as well as red pepper flakes and sugar. +1 on gwpercle's brown sugar. My family loves this on beef and pork roasts. Not sure of the measurements, but the majority of the ingredients are the first 3 spices. You can really smell the rosemary, garlic and onion.

[Adam10mm]

Thanks for the help guys. Most of my seasoning is pretty boring. For pork and beef I just use Lawry's brand seasoned salt and some black pepper. For fish, I use a light seasoning of Lawry's touch of black pepper and some Walmart seasoning called "lemon pepper". Usually on grilled lake trout.

I'm a spice guy. I love them and admire the way they can enhance meat. I get the salt/sugar/pepper base but struggle with what direction for the "signature" spices to unite the base and give it that signature flavor and/or aroma.

I wish I could figure out a Lawry's level blend, but back off on the salt a bit and then move it in a direction for beef, pork, poultry, and fish. Like have four rubs.

[gbrown]

Papain is an extract of the papaya fruit. It is the primary enzyme used in meat tenderizers. I believe the original Lawry's used this. I have a bottle of meat tenderizer made by a local/regional spice company--TexJoy with that in it. Look around the spice shelves of your local stores and see if you can find a similar. Mix up your own rub/steak seasoning. I make my own rub sometimes and my own sausage blend. I'm like you, don't like all that salt, just the spices.

[sparky45]

I used to make up a rub until I found this product.
http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/bb351/glynnm1945/Johnnys_zps4f4358e1.jpg (http://s1201.photobucket.com/user/glynnm1945/media/Johnnys_zps4f4358e1.jpg.html)
Use it on everything including poultry.

[Adam10mm]

I mixed up the Prairie Dust rub but made a minor change. Instead of 1/2 cup of salt, I dialed it back to a 1/4 cup of salt and then added a 1/4 cup of brown sugar. Everything else is as that recipe states. I'll post results tomorrow after I BBQ it and taste it.

[nhrifle]

That should work great. With most any meat rub, especially with beef, the best rubs for me add just a little heat. But the big secret to it, is the dry mustard. Adds a hint of sweetness that makes the whole experience heaven.

Medium rare angus sirloin paired with one of my homebrews.............mmm, heaven!

[Adam10mm]

Here's a pic of the meat and rub. 2.75lb chuck arm roast and the Prairie Dust rub. The brown sugar got a bit clumpy, but it should still be alright.

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[Adam10mm]

Medium rare angus sirloin paired with one of my homebrews.............mmm, heaven!
I'm more of a medium ribeye steak guy. Homebrew too of course.

[brotherdarrell]

Just a thought - The purpose of low and slow is to break down the connective tissue, thus making it tender. As we all know that connective tissue is the base for gelatine, which we all know has lip-smaking benefits. Whenever I smoke a brisket (with mesquite of coarse) I like to do the last couple of hours in a foil pan sealed with foil. This allows the gelatin to be incollected in the pan. I use this as a base for a sauce as it is already seasoned with your dry rub.

As for your ingredients I would also loose the tummeric and the winchester (fish)sauce.

Just a couple of thoughts.

[Adam10mm]

I don't do BBQ sauce though. That's not allowed in my house.

[brotherdarrell]

I don't do BBQ sauce though. That's not allowed in my house.

I don't do "BBQ" sauces either. This kind of 'sauce' is rather thin and it is adding flavor that comes from the hunk 'o beef back into the hunk 'o beef. My thinking is why let such lusciousness go to waste?

Another ingredient that I have played with that is not on your list is Habanero peppers. A couple times I have sliced one pepper into the sauce while it is reducing and then removing it. When used in small amounts it gives a little fruity taste with just a little heat on the lips. Of course being from southern N.M. my idea of a 'little' heat may be different from others. Otherwise your choice of ingredients sounds pretty good to me, except the winchester (fish) sauce.

[Adam10mm]

Way too salty, even cutting the salt in half and adding equal amount of brown sugar. Barely tasted the spicy peppers there was so much salt. Still have some left and will add a lot of brown sugar to cut down the salt. Next batch will be a tablespoon of salt instead of a 1/4 cup. No way I could tolerate a half cup of salt like the recipe above states. That being said, the grilling part went well. My wife had to trim off the outside portions and just eat the inside, but she said it was otherwise perfectly cooked. 200 for about an hour.

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[gbrown]

What I have noticed with all the dry rubs and steak seasoning is that to cut costs and increase profits, many spice retailers have added salt and red pepper to maintain volume/weight. There are several that I have used that I sense more salt and red pepper in. The local spice people, as said in a previous post is TexJoy--about 10 years ago, I noticed that their steak seasoning (a regional favorite) tasted saltier and warmer. BTW--they are also the producers of Saltgrass Steak Spice. Their "Old Fashion Sausage Seasoning" also became saltier and warmer. Me, I love heat, but only my oldest grandson and I do. Everyone else around here starts crying about it. I make my stuff mild, and just use other things, such as jalopenas, red pepper and Tabasco to "kick it up," for my portions. That's why I started to make my own rubs and sausage spices. Like you, freakshow10mm, I love the spice, but not the salt. Figure out your own recipe and go with it. None of us are carbon copies, we all have our own tastes/preferences. All the "store bought" stuff is a one size fits all package, to meet the tastes of the masses, not of the individual.

[Rick N Bama]

It looks great, but was it tender? Every Roast I've cooked on the grill turned out tough.

Rick



Way too salty, even cutting the salt in half and adding equal amount of brown sugar. Barely tasted the spicy peppers there was so much salt. Still have some left and will add a lot of brown sugar to cut down the salt. Next batch will be a tablespoon of salt instead of a 1/4 cup. No way I could tolerate a half cup of salt like the recipe above states. That being said, the grilling part went well. My wife had to trim off the outside portions and just eat the inside, but she said it was otherwise perfectly cooked. 200 for about an hour.

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[Adam10mm]

It looks great, but was it tender? Every Roast I've cooked on the grill turned out tough.

Rick
Yes it was tender. My 2yo daughter had no problem chewing it. Low and slow is the key. Roasts are generally going to be the tougher cut of meat and they are cooked on low heat for a long time. Very easy to duplicate that on a grill. Some guys like to grill higher at 250-350 degrees, but I like it cooler in the range of 180-200 degrees. Warm enough to cook and kill any "bugs", that slow process lets the muscle fibers break down and tenderize, and it also allows me time to do some yard work or play with the kids while it cooks. :)

[Rick N Bama]

My wife bought a nice Rump Roast today which I think I'll try on the smoker with some Peach wood. The last roast I attempted was on a gas grill which came out tough as nails. If I remember right the wife finally used it as stew meat.

Rick



Yes it was tender. My 2yo daughter had no problem chewing it. Low and slow is the key. Roasts are generally going to be the tougher cut of meat and they are cooked on low heat for a long time. Very easy to duplicate that on a grill. Some guys like to grill higher at 250-350 degrees, but I like it cooler in the range of 180-200 degrees. Warm enough to cook and kill any "bugs", that slow process lets the muscle fibers break down and tenderize, and it also allows me time to do some yard work or play with the kids while it cooks. :)

[gbrown]

My wife bought a nice Rump Roast today which I think I'll try on the smoker with some Peach wood. The last roast I attempted was on a gas grill which came out tough as nails. If I remember right the wife finally used it as stew meat.

Rick

That rump roast is probably going to be dry, as usually there is very little fat in that particular cut of meat. I cannot think of the term or word I want to use, but the French used to take a lean roast and either stuff it with fat or thread "strings" of fat through the meat using a crochet needle. As said by freakshow10mm, low and slow is the key.

[joec]

Here is my favorite rub and spice blend for any kind of meat or even beans.

1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sweet paprika ( I use hot)
1/4 cup kosher salt
3 tablespoons black pepper
2 tablespoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons onion powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon dried basil

Combine all and mix well. Yeields about 3/4 cup

[TES]

Freak show I hate you in a very jealous way!:drinks: