Sweet Hickory BBQ Rub
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp chili powder
- 1 Tbsp garlic powder
- 1 Tbsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp rosemary, ground
- 1/2 tsp dry mustard
- 1 tsp hickory powder
- 2 tsp turbinado sugar
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients together and use as a rub on beef, pork or other proteins. Store unused rub in an airtight container in a cool, dark place for up to two months.
And now for the details…
Well folks, it has been a bit since I have posted and I am going for a hella easy recipe to post here. Does it take less than five minutes to make this? Is this only a rub and not a full recipe for a final dish? Will there be a follow up recipe on how and where to use this? The answer to all these questions is definitely yes.
I created this recipe because I tried making beef tongue for the first time last weekend. It was freaking glorious. I used this beef tongue recipe by Jess Pryles to cook the meat initially, but I wanted a spice blend to rub onto the sliced meat with before I pan seared them. So after I had cooked, skinned, and cut the tongue in slices, I applied this spice rub fairly liberally and did a quick sear on high heat in a cast iron pan to get some caramelization going. The flavour I was going for was sweet, smoky BBQ. Thus, this recipe was born.
My typical preference for BBQ flavour is not heavy on the smoke, which is why I am using hickory powder. This powder just screams sweet BBQ. Y’know that very gentle smoky, yet slightly sugary smell that hits your nostrils when opening a bag of BBQ potato chips? This is immediately where my brain goes when I smell hickory powder. It is definitely not the hit to the back of your throat that I find you get from liquid smoke, just an amiable enticement that gets the salivary glands going. If you do not have access to hickory powder (I found it at one of our local specialty grocers, Sunterra, and I have also since found it online from multiple sources), you could trade out some of the paprika for smoked paprika to still get some smokiness. The flavour profile will be a bit different, and lean more into the savoury than the sweet, but would still be tasty. I would not trade out all the paprika, max out at 50/50, depending on how heavily smoked you like things.
What to use this spice rub for besides beef tongue? This spice blend would be great for lighter flavoured meats, like pork ribs, chicken thighs or fish. Remember my Instant Pot Pork Ribs recipe? You can always ditch the spice rub mix listed there and go for this instead 😉 I have also shaken it over some salmon before throwing it on the grill. Because this spice is not too potent, feel free to apply it fairly liberally to whatever protein you are cooking to get those flavours to fully shine.
