I have a rub recipe that calls for 1/4 cup of cumin...My dad refuses to eat anything with Cumin in it, if he even smells it he won't eat whatever it is in...
Does anyone have a good suggestion for a spice I could use in place of the cumin that won't throw off the flavor of the rub???
If it only called for a small amount like a tablespoon or so I would omit it but 1/4 cup is alot of an ingredient to omit. I'll have to make a run to the spice shop after work today...
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May I please ask you how much do this recipe make? What the total weight or volume when finished making the rub? Like they said above, that's quite a bit of cumin.
The recipe is the Mike Mills Magic Dust from his book Peace, Love and Barbecue:
1/2 cup paprika
1/4 cup kosher salt, finely ground
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons mustard powder
1/4 cup chili powder
1/4 cup ground cumin
2 tablespoons ground black pepper
1/4 cup granulated garlic
2 tablespoons cayenne
That is a lot of rub and a good deal of cumin. He will definitely smell it. Does he dislike curry, too? If he is OK with curry I would almost go with 1 Tablespoon curry and 1 Tablespoon allspice as your sub. HouseHomey - what do you think? I have not tried that rub, by the way.
tbob4 I have not tried this but I have made many like it in a whim. If you take out the sugar and add O powder it looks like a chicken taco Rub take out the sugar chili powder and cumin and it looks lime fried chicken season for flour. And add some herb good call tbob4 on the sub.
My father doesn't like cumin too. I may have seen him throw a fit about it once.
Here's a thought. Cumin has a strong aroma, which is maybe why people don't like it. This ingredient is the "smelling" agent to this recipe (I'm not a smelling expert so I don't know the proper term). Curry powder also has a very strong aroma but has a different note to it. Now, curry powder is a mixture of spices and when I looked at the Curry Powder made by Trader Joe's the first (main) ingredient is cumin and then followed by turmeric and then coriander. Do a sniff test and see if you may like either turmeric or coriander. To me, turmeric is floral and coriander is nutty. If I was in your shoes, I would ask myself what experience do I want, e.g. do I want to feel like I am walking through China Town with smells full of a street food (think Asian/Indian cuisine on a bed of rice), go with turmeric, or do I want to be at my grandma's house in the Winter with chestnuts roasting in the oven, go with coriander.
BTW turmeric is the spice that gives curry powder that yellowish color. Do you want your pork loins to have a yellowish tint to it?
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If you Google "cumin substitute", you'll find various suggestions mostly including coriander, caraway, and chili powder. In the recipe you listed, I'd just leave it out. I'd also make a 1/4 recipe (eg. 1/4 of 1/4 cup = 1 tablespoon). Then you can see if you like it before you make a big batch.
If it were me, I would omit the cumin and cayenne, and sub 2 Tblsp. smoked paprika and 2 Tblsp, chipotle powder. You'll get the heat, plus flavor depth with the chipotle. A little coriander would give you a little "citrusy" flavor as well. Caraway is aromatic in the wrong way for this type of flavor profile, in my experience (40 years as a chef/ cook).
Oh yeah, you can also add a bit of cinnamon too. Augment with allspice in the ratio of 3 parts cinnamon to one part allspice. This is especially effective with pork and chicken...
Strat50, this sounds like a good spice combination to meeeeeeeee! I use smoked paprika and chipotle powder as components to the rub when I make Cast-Iron Cowboy Steaks. Also like the cinnamon / allspice combo. --Ed
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