Method for creating a rub?

[epope011]

I'm looking for a suggested method to iterate and create a new rub. Point is I want to try a bunch of things quickly and NOT cook a pork butt for each iteration, only I've done some work thru a few rounds. Any suggestions? Again, looking for a method to test lots of rubs and not cook a shit ton. Thanks

[HawkerXP]

Get a big butt and cut into slabs. Rub each with ........

Get a pack of chicken thighs / legs. Rub each with.....

[bbqLuv]

There go my suggestions.

[Alphonse]

Interesting question and one that caught my eye. I too like creating my own rubs. I recently have backed off that a bit and resorted to buying some of my favorites. I was once again reminded of how much one pays for salt!

I like HawkerXP 's recommendation for side by side comparisons. One can choose the meat plus the cooking technique.

There's alway the risk of getting the samples mixed up with me handling them so I would have to use a good identity process!

[HawkerXP]

We use toothpicks. Just write down which one has what rub and how many picks...

[RonB]

With the Blasphemy Rib recipe, you can try a dozen iterations at once. The "problem" is keepin' track of which is which...

[jfmorris]

I like the suggestions so far - just cut slabs of ribs into individual bones before cooking, or even cut a butt into small chunks or strips. The bonus also is that it will cook much faster.

Personally I like to taste a sprinkle of the rub straight to see if I like it, but that doesn't tell you how well it pairs with the meat unfortunately.

I am swearing off buying spices after counting over 100 containers in the pantry. If I don't have it when its time to mix up a new batch of a rub, I'll be substituting something else, until the pantry gets depleted. I'm bad about buying every spice a recipe I make calls for, which leads to a ton of seldom used spices in the pantry. Maybe I need to go into a rub making adventure as well, so that I can use up some of the spices in the pantry sooner rather than later!

[jumbo7676]

jfmorris I got the hatch but haven't tried it yet. So far I've only had the Asian Reds on some cold sesame noodles.

[klflowers]

Yep. I just got some Flatiron myself, and I had to make myself not buy some rub from a BBQ joint I was at last week. We have so may spices they are stacked on top of each other in the cabinet; we have to be careful opening the cabinet doors so as not to cause an avalanche.

[bbqLuv]

Cut a butt into strips?--County Style Pork Ribs are mostly strips of pork butt.

[epope011]

Love the ideas here. Perhaps cutting a butt into I don't know, 6 slabs? I would cut up a rack of ribs into 2-3 ribs per section. Great thoughts.

[Starsky]

If you're cutting meat in to pieces, maybe a pork loin from the local grocery store would make that easier. Not expensive and easy to get

[jfmorris]

Starsky a rub might be good on pork loin, but its a lean meat cooked to at most 140F give or take a few degrees. You don't get to build up bark like on ribs or a butt.

[Spinaker]

As a few others have said, I would take a pork butt and cut it into smaller pieces and try a different rub on each. Pork butts are pretty cheap, easy to split and they make for some awesome BBQ no matter what you put on them. Pork also lends itself to a lot of different flavor profiles, so I think that would be a good way to go.

[Huskee]

To add to the above, you could also try 'country ribs' which are essentially just pork butt sliced into rib-shaped slices.

A method I used when developing a rub I wanted was I tried an online recipe years ago (before discovering AR) that sounded good, but it was lacking. I winged it and added more of this and less of that. Took me three tries but I got what I wanted.

Then later, I used that rub, plus two more, and combined for a total a 3 rubs mixed into one. That killer mix (in my opinion) is my rib rub, Meathead's Memphis Dust and his Big Bad Beef Rub, all mixed to even thirds. Spicy, herbal and sweet all at the same time. My fave.

To me, the thought of finding a killer rub recipe in one fell swoop is a lottery, you might nail it first time with a few samples & one cook but odds are it will take you a few cooks to find your secret recipe, maybe a couple years.

[ecowper]

I was going to suggest country ribs. Take a couple "slabs" and cut them into reasonable size chunks, maybe 2" or so, and then put different iterations of the rub on each one.

[HouseHomey]

If it is for pork only then not use only on pork is my thought. I’m all for the chicken though. Love me some chicken.

also you can try it on beef like skirt or flap or sirloin to see how a crust tastes, on beef anyway.

Also some things taste better when they "bloom" in fat or liquid. Just depends on what you are making it for I guess, those are my thoughts.

[smokin fool]

Just don’t confuse the paprika and cayenne pepper like I did mixing a batch....
It was suicide pork butt

[jfmorris]

ROFL, that's hilarious! I can see myself doing that too.

[Jim White]

Reminds me of the Tres Leches cake I was making for a dinner with a foodie group and I grabbed the cayenne instead of cinnamon to put on top. Fortunately, it was on top of whipped cream, which I managed to mostly scrape off and re-make. But a few folks did notice a bit of a kick...

[Clark]

smokin fool I know exactly what you went thru. Been there, done that.

[epope011]

Good stuff. Honestly - its for pork, as an alternative for Memphis Dust - the best rub I have ever used. Huskee your recipe looks very similar to what I was thinking - big brown sugar base, adding cumin, some chilli powder, and cayenne. I was literally coming to that similar recipe on paper, without having ever seen it. I am from Memphis, and cumin takes me to the Rendezvous . . .

[bbqLuv]

Suggest using a good scale and weigh the ingredients, it's more accurate than measuring by volume.