Are you celebrating one of the National Holiday? This page will help make all your celebrations a delicious experience; by learning the facts about Spices!
What are Spice Rubs?
"Spice rub is any mixture of ground spices that is made for the purpose of being rubbed on raw food before the food is cooked. The spice rub forms a coat on the food. The food can be marinated in the spice rub for some time for the flavors to incorporate into the food or it can be cooked immediately after it is coated in the rub. The spices are usually coarsely ground. In addition to spices, salt and sugar may be added to the rub, the salt for flavor and the sugar for caramelization. The simplest rub is just coarsely ground black pepper as in Steak au poivre."
"Spice rubs can also have ingredients like herbs, crushed garlic or oil added to make a paste. The spice rub can be left on or partially removed before cooking."
Common foods that are rubbed
"Spice rubs are mainly used for preparing meats and fish. There are a large number of different recipes for rubs and most of them are targeted towards a specific kind of food. The exact combination of spices that makes a good rub for a particular kind of food varies from region to region and culture to culture."
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A dry rub useful for ribs, pork roast or whatever you like. After rubbing on the meat, let it sit in the refrigerator for about an hour.
- 1 tsp. ground black pepper
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Espresso rubs
"A form of dry seasoning rub for food. Espresso rubs are usually a blend of various savory spices and herbs, most notably using finely-ground espresso beans as a key flavoring adjunct.
Flavor Profile
"The richness of the coffee adds a deep smoky flavor and a dark "bark" or carmelized crust on the surface of the food. This helps seal in natural juices and flavors. Usually an espresso rub produces other flavor attributes, most notably sweet and salty, to give a well-rounded flavor profile. Espresso rubs bring out the savory flavor of any food to which they are applied."
Application
"Espresso rubs are usually applied 15 to 30 minutes prior to the cooking of the food. Espresso rubs are most often applied to grilled meats, but can be applied to seafood and vegetables also, and can be used with any cooking method, including baking, roasting, broiling, sautéing, or searing."
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Spice Rub for Chicken
- 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
- 2 teaspoons ground celery seed
- 2 tablespoons garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
1. Mix together spices in a bowl.
2. Rub on chicken, inside and outside.
3. Let stand for a few minutes before cooking per your usual directions.
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Cooking methods
"Cooking with rubs is almost always done using the dry heat method of cooking where almost no water based liquid is used in cooking. The most popular cooking method for food prepared using a spice rub is grilling. Baking and pan roasting are other dry-heat methods. Sautéing is another method, especially if the spice rub includes flour or bread crumbs."
"When water is used for cooking, it is usually after the food has already been partially cooked with the dry heat method."
Spice rubs and culture
"In some cultures, spice rubs are highly personal and sometimes a very secret recipe. Grill masters in the southern United States jealously guard their recipe secrets and they will usually have a secret ingredient that they will not reveal to anyone. In some cultures, the recipe for making a spice rub and how to cook with it are passed from mother to daughter and every family will have a slightly different recipe. Because of the lack of time to cook in most modern societies, spice rubs are now sold in grocery and gourmet stores with some brands enjoying a loyal following."
See also:
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