Nothing beats a nice dry rub rubbed into your meats more than Zoitsa Homely Produce’s Sweet Chilli Rub, Coffee Rub, All Purpose Dry Rub, Pork Dry Rub and our Gyros Seasoning just to name a few (and stick around as we have a lot more coming out soon).
But where did the humble dry rub come from and why? A dry rub is also commonly referred to as a BBQ rub and there is a long history in Southern American cooking. Not South America, but Southern American cooking.
This cooking method dates back to the European Settlers who brought their ‘techniques” over to the USA as a way to preserve their meats. Remember, there were no fridges or freezers back then. Research points that they used a mixture of salts and spices to preserve meat in the winter months. In time this process evolved, and different herbs and spices were incorporated to add more flavour to the meat before cooking. I hazard a guess that because of the European Settlers and their method of preserving and flavouring meats The Texas Barbeque Institution came into fruition.
Using dry rubs, you are assured of adding more flavour and tenderness into a variety of meat products.
What exactly is a dry rub? Essentially a dry rub is am mixture of dry herbs and spices and salts and sugars that are liberally applied and then rubbed into the surface of meats to add KAPOW flavour prior to cooking. Dry rubs are well suited to meat, poultry, fish and even starchy/root vegetables like white potatoes, sweet potatoes (aka kumara), carrots, corn etc,
Dry rubs will always add a beautiful crust to proteins and in turn crust equals texture and big slaps of powerful flavour.
You will always find that dry rubs “base” ingredients is salt and some form of sugar. Salt is needed as it will penetrate the meat and it will season it and the sugar is for caramelization. The salt and sugar combined really amplify the herbs and spices and really bring forth the flavours.
There are many common ingredients that go into a dry rub like black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, coffee, chilli, dry mustard.
Let me delve a little into not only dry rubs but wet rubs and marinades. Is there a difference? I say yes. Dry rubs are just DRY ingredients that add flavour and PUNCH and are applied to the surface of the protein. Whereas a wet rub is a liquid type of paste. Wet rubs are primarily made using olive oil along with herbs and spices and mixed to form a paste, or a liquid paste and that is usually brushed on the outer surface of proteins. Then lastly the marinade. A marinade comprises of oil, sauces, vinegars, herbs & spices, and your protein is soaked in this, and usually for an extended period of time. From a few hours to 24 hours.
From a cooking perspective a dry rub makes prep time a lot faster, and they tend to preserve the quality of the meats original flavour. Some people believe that the dry rub keeps the flavour IN the protein better than a wet rub or a marinade.
At the end of the day, it is personal preference. I use all three methods and it all depends on the recipe that I am making. I don’t like marinades on a BBQ or a BBQ grill, if we are barbequing, I always opt for a wet or dry rub. I find marinades can overpower the taste of the meat and if I’m paying big bucks for my cut of meat then I don’t want it over saturated with a marinade. But hey that’s just me.
When using a dry rub or wet rub I believe that you have a wider range of options, meaning, they can be used in a BBQ, in a smoker, a slow cooker, on a grill, a cast iron-skillet, a Dutch oven, in a pressure cooker or as a roast in the oven.
There are two hints that I swear by.
1- Apply the dry rub and then place in the fridge to rest for 30-60 minutes prior to cooking so that the flavours really work their way into the meat and
2- The trick is always allowing your meat to rest for 10 minutes when you have finished cooking it as this redistributes the juices equally through the meat.
The trick is finding the right marinade, whether that be a dry rub, a wet rub or a marinade and finding the right marriage of flavours.
I hope this blog has given you a bit of insight on dry rubs and if you haven’t already tried using a dry rub jump on our website and see what we have to offer. I can guarantee you that your next BBQ will be flavoursome and absolutely delicious!
Bon Appetit Y’all
Irene
