I was searching around on Ebay the other day, as you do and came across some Australian, South African and US BBQ rubs and I have to say, some of the prices are staggering, particularly for the imported products!
It started me thinking why people don’t make their own; there is a million and one recipes out there!
I think it’s the number of ingredients in most recipes that dissuades most people; you end up with a small fortune invested in 15-20 ingredients, some of which you only need a small quantity of.
So I started looking for Off the Shelf supermarket products that could make a cheap, simple alternative to the commercial rubs available. I’m aiming for maximum versatility and minimum ingredients, a “Cheats” rub if you like.
I also think that the Australian taste (certainly my taste) prefers a less sweet rub; the joy of making your own is you can adjust the salt, chilli and sugar level to suit your own taste.
You can also “Cheat” the smoke ring intensity by adding a little (and I mean a little) curing salts to the rub.
This "cheats" rub is fantastic! It’s so good I’m giving it a name; I’m calling it Right on the Money, a sweet, slightly smokey, deep flavoured Pork or Rib rub. It can be made with only two supermarket ingredients if you want; I’m going all out by using two sugars. The recipe makes up 270g (9.5oz) for less than $6, so lash out and buy a screw top container to store it in!
Right on the Money Rub
2 packs Old El Paso fajita mix
80g unrefined sugar (turbinado or demmerera)
50g coffee sugar crystals
Turbindo sugar is a similar sugar to Demerara, Turbindo is slightly lighter and has a slightly larger grain, but effectively both are unrefined cane sugars. I’ve used two sugars here so it “looks the part” and to give a granular texture, a granular texture helps you see that you have an even coat.
You could add a little fresh ground black pepper if you like
Now a typical Homemade Fajita mix is something like this;
1 tablespoon cornflour (corn-starch)
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon crushed chicken stock cube
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon cumin
.....So you can see we have replaced all those ten ingredients with one by using the pre-made Fajita mix.
Right on the Money rub variations:
If you like a little kick, add a half teaspoon of Chilli powder or Cayenne Pepper.
Add some Smoked paprika to increase the Smokey taste and the Red colour.
Add more unrefined Sugar and two crushed Oxo chicken stock (bullion) cubes for a “finishing” rub.
Dried Lemon Zest for a bit of fresh Zing, easy to make, just zest a lemon, (I use a microplane) lay it out on a sheet of kitchen paper, the next day it will be dry enough to store in a jar.
Dried rosemary, dried oregano or crushed bay leaf are also good things.
Do I make my own rub? Yes I do! ....And I have some quite stunning rubs, brines and injections, they take time to make up, but only a fraction of the time they took to develop. Having your own unique rub is a great thing, inherently pleasing and good for the soul! I encourage everyone to give it a go, start simple and let your taste lead you!
The one thing I will say is, weigh everything and take meticulous notes, if you do find a winning combination, you’ll want to be able to duplicate it!
Cheers
Chris
